Beer and Chocolate

It was now the turn of Ramsbottom RNLI Beer Festival at the civic hall.  The Chocolate festival was in town the same week, where the main street is closed and lined with stalls selling many different chocolate based produce.

We even had Marshmallow Unicorn Brownies.

The beer festival was reasonably busy until Saturday mid-afternoon, when there was a massive thunderstorm, interrupting the Sunny weather.  Instantly everybody dived into the Civic Hall, and started drinking beer.

By the time the music was finishing on Saturday night, there were only 12 beers left!

Sunday was a quiet countdown, 11 beers, 10 beers, 9, 8, 7...and the final beer ran out at about 2 O'Clock.

Due to the sellout, we managed to Raise a massive £3330 for the RNLI.

A break between two Festivals

Having not offended them too much last year, Padiham council asked us back to do another festival.

 35 Beers and 12 ciders and a set up in record time, so we celebrated with a spot of lunch

The doors opened and some people came, but not the hoards we were expecting.  I think beer festivals are getting so common, that they aren't anything special anymore.









 More to the point, I don't think anyone at the town hall could be bothered putting out the posters, banners and flyers we gave them!




Quick break between festivals, I went up to the Old.  After a few beers, I awoke the following morning to perfect walking weather.

That's it, I going for Bowfell.


Everybody and his dog was going up the Bands, so I decided to go up Mickleden and up between Bowfell buttress and Rosset.

Nice fluffy clouds and blue skies all the way up, perfectly warm I am down to a T shirt for the first time this year I think.

Having a short break overlooking Angle Tarn, and there still seems a bit of snow on Hanging Knotts.  I was only saying last night, that I haven't done any proper winter climbing for ages, and as it is now March, this is all that is left of the snow for this year.

The snow is melting, so it will be slippery and wet.

It would be insane to try to climb that by myself, without my climbing gear.

Ok.

It took a fair while to climb the snow, as it had partly thawed out, so several times I fell through to my waist.


Still evidence of snowmen though.

The last bit before the top was tricky, because I was trying to climb over this without breaking any of the superb icicles.

 Any normal person would have found a way around. Ho Hum!

Up to the top, and the views are superb.

A scramble over the rocks and I am at the top of Bowlfell, probably my favorite peak to climb.

There was a bit more snow going down towards the Bands,

 and more snowmen.

Back at the bottom, and it is a beautiful evening in Langdale.

Finished, and the best end to a slightly wintery walk.

Well, I thought that would be the last snow of the year, but the following morning...

A Beautiful setting for the Tipi's

And the snowmen are back

Wig wam bam

A quick stop over at Langdale on the way up to Cockermouth, and the tipi's are looking great.

www.basecamptipi.co.uk

I'm not sure about the flowers on the table in the Old though...

Festerers 15

We saw Rachel Sermani in Manchester with Tom Terrell.  Supporting were local artists Kate Ashton-Butler and Finch and the moon, both superb.  Next came Tom with his his up-beat Nova Scotia music about Drinking, Murder and Death. A bit like country & Western, but set to music. 

  Rachel finished the evening off in superb style.

 Monday was a bad day for England, as the last remaining PUBLIC transport firm was sold off to Virgin: how does the only national rail company, with the best service get sold to a private company with terrible service?  Simple answer : Government Corruption

The following weekend was at the Festerers reunion in Bowness, at a tatty run-down overpriced hotel.

I was going to get the ferry over to Sawrey, and walk around Claif Heights, but the ferry wasn't running.  Apparently it was too windy.

I set off in the other direction, up Squirrel Bank (I think ?) and headed over to Crook.

There was a duck sanctuary half way up the hill...

 ..and St Marys church is the outskirts of Crook

there is a Llama in the fields just outside of Crook

I continued on to Staveley to have a pint and something to eat at Hawkshead Brewery.

I'm glad I eat at the brewery, because the food at the hotel was overpriced rubbish.

Plus they ran out of beer, Guinness and wine.

I could see the snow down in the Valley, but I had to go the other way and go home :-(

   ..at least I got a better Sunday dinner at the Lock and Quay!

The kitchen worktops have had ten coats of oil now, and are looking good.