Music inspired by the hills

The beautiful hills and valleys of northern England have for centuries inspired some of this country's most famous poets, writers and painters. However, it seems that this is not the case with the country's most famous classical composers. One could search in vain through the catalogue of works of Britten, Elgar, Holst, Vaughan Williams or Walton for music inspired by the countryside of northern England.

In addition to my love of hill walking I also have a passion (nay, addiction) to collecting music. Over the last 4-5 years I've spent quite a lot of time exploring the music of well known, and not so well known, English composers and during this time I've discovered a small, but interesting body of work, that does have direct links to the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and even the Forest of Bowland. This blog is about this music and the composers who wrote it.

Perhaps the best known of these composers is Frederick Delius (1862-1934). Born in Bradford to German parents the young Delius was brought up in Yorkshire. After brief stints working in Sweden, and most notably on an orange plantation in Florida, Delius studied music in Germany before settling down in France. Probably his most famous composition is 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring' one of a number of quite beautiful musical portraits of nature. Delius composed a number of works inspired by his love of the hills including, 'Over the Hills and Far Away' (a personal favourite of mine), 'On the Mountains' and 'Song of the High Hills'. The latter is Delius's own personal vision of, "the joy and exhilaration one feels in the mountains and also the loneliness and melancholy of the high solitudes and the grandeur of the wide far distances". Interestingly, these works all seem to stem from his love of the Norwegian mountains rather than the landscape of his native Yorkshire.

The one work of Delius's that seems to have definitely have been inspired by Yorkshire is his 'Northern Sketches'. First performed in 1915 the work is an orchestral suite with the following sections; 'Autumn: The Wind Soughs in the Trees', 'Winter Landscape', 'Dance', 'The March of Spring: Woodlands, Meadows and Silent Moors'. It has been noted that the first two pieces in particular are, for Delius, surprisingly bleak, even desolate. On the other hand anyone with any knowledge of the Pennine moors near Bradford will know that, especially in autumn and winter, the words 'bleak' and 'desolate' are often apt.

Bleak Pennine moors in winter

 

After 1918 Delius began to suffer the effects of syphilis and by the late 1920's he had become blind and virtually paralysed. In 1928 a young Scarborough-born musician called Eric Fenby (1906-1997) travelled to France and volunteered to act as Delius's amanuensis. With Fenby's help Delius was able to commence composing once again. Fenby himself was also a composer, however he later destroyed most of his own works. One of the few pieces to have survived is the overture, 'Rossini on Ilkla Moor'. The piece apparently came about following a walk on Ilkley Moor with the actor and director Charles Laughton. Fenby skilfully takes the theme of the well-known Yorkshire folksong, 'On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at' and uses it as the basis for a work written in the style of the early 19th century Italian opera composer Rossini. About as far away from Delius's delicate nature pieces as can be imagined 'Rossini on Ilka Moor' is a brilliant pastiche and a hugely enjoyable piece in its own right.  

Ilkley Moor, not the best place to be caught in bad weather without a hat!

The piece by Fenby tends to be classed in that wonderful sub-genre of classical music called British Light Music. British Light Music tends to be fairly short, often descriptive, orchestral pieces in which melody and tunefulness is generally given more importance than the more intellectual strains of classical music. Although it had its heyday in the mid-20th century some of the most famous pieces of British Light Music can still be heard as the theme tunes for radio programmes today including Eric Coates's 'By the Sleepy Lagoon' (Desert Island Discs), Arthur Wood's 'Barwick Green' (The Archers) and Ronald Binge's 'Sailing By' used to precede the shipping forecast.

The vast expanse of Kielder Water

One of the most prolific composers of light music is the Rawtenstall-born composer Ernest Tomlinson (b.1924). After a period living in London after the war Tomlinson later settled down on a farm near Longridge Fell. In addition to a six year stint conducting the Rossendale Choir, Tomlinson also founded the Ribble Vale Choir in Longridge in 1989. The only 'northern' themed piece I've so far come across by Tomlinson is 'Kielder Water', a short orchestral piece commissioned for the opening of the Kielder Dam in 1983. The piece describes the tranquil beauty of what was, when it was built, the largest man made lake in Europe.

 

The beautiful Tarn Hows

Two Lakeland themed pieces of light music are 'Tarn Hows, A Cumbrian Rhapsody' by Maurice Johnstone and 'Striding Edge' by Matthew Curtis. Maurice Johnstone  (1900-1976), was born in Manchester and was, for a while, BBC Head of Music in the North. His 'Tarn Hows' is a fairly substantial piece of about 14 minutes which evokes the mood of the popular beauty spot in the morning, noon and evening. Johnstone also wrote a 'Pennine Way March' which I'd love to hear but which does not seem to be available on a recording. The Embleton-born Matthew Curtis (b.1959) belongs to a much later generation of light music composers. His 'Striding Edge' (2006) is a very catchy and surprisingly jaunty march, however, as the composer himself admits, anyone who approaches the real Striding Edge at anything like the tempo of this march would be risking injury or worse!

Striding Edge

A more extended, and more sombre work, that has strong connections to the Lake District is the 'Symphony No.3 - Westmorland' by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960). During the Second World War Gibbs and his wife were forced to evacuate their London home and move to Windermere. The Symphony No.3 was composed between 1943-1944 and was a reaction, not only to his new surroundings, but also to the tragic death of his son, David, who was killed in action on 18 November 1943. The subtitles of each of the four movements are, 'I will lift up mine eyes', 'Cartmel Fell', 'Weathers' and 'The Lake', the latter presumably Windermere itself. It is a moving work with many lovely passages and one which should be much better known.

Other than his 3rd symphony Gibbs wrote a number of other works inspired by the northern countryside including 'The Yorkshire Dales - Three Impressions for piano, violin and cello' (1926) whose movements are, 'Walden', 'Whernside' and 'Woodale'. The 'Three Pieces for String Quartet' (1927) has clear Lake District links with subtitles of, 'Above Blea Tarn', 'Winster Valley' and 'Loweswater: Calm After the Storm'. Neither of these two pieces seems to have been recorded and neither has his 'Lakeland Pictures - Eight Preludes for Piano' (1940). One piece that has been recorded is his suite for string orchestra 'Dale and Fell' (1953), whose three short movements, 'The Beck Climb', 'Rest at Noon' and 'Over the High Fells' describe in musical terms a walk out into the hills.

Walden, one of the less well known valleys in the Yorkshire Dales

Perhaps the composer most inspired by the north of England is the Manchester-born Arthur Butterworth (b.1923) who has for many years been a resident of Embsay, near Skipton. It has been said that, "virtually all his music has been the outcome of a contemplation of the aura of Northern England". Some of the more obvious of these includes the orchestral 'Dales Suite', another orchestral suite called, 'The Moors' and the 'Moorland Symphony' with words by the Saddleworth poet Ammon Wrigley. Whilst none of the above seem to have been recorded two that are available are, 'The Quiet Tarn' (about Malham Tarn) and 'The Path Across the Moors'. Both are beautifully scored and atmospheric orchestral pieces. Also worthy of note is his 'Coruscations', a depiction of the twinkling lights of the Morecambe Bay coastline as seen on a summer evening from a high and remote moorland road.

Malham Tarn

Although largely unknown to the wider public Butterworth is still by far the best known of a group called the 'The Lakeland Composers'. Their website features a few musical samples including a couple of works by Chris Gibbs, 'The Western Dales - 3 pieces for flute and piano' as well as a suite called, 'The Forest of Bowland'. The short extract to be found on the website is enough to make me wish that the full piece is available. Another member of the group, Leslie Meurant has written a suite for strings titled, 'From Eamont to Eden' and whose Piano Concerto No.4 is subtitled 'Rothay'. A short sample from his piano piece 'Neath Gable's Crags' can also be found on the Lakeland Composers website.

As the 'Lakeland Composers' website shows, the amount of music that is both inspired by the lakes, dales and moors of northern England and which is currently available on recording is probably the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully more of this music will be recorded in the future. Whilst many of the composers mentioned are fairly obscure it is not to say the music they have written is not worth listening to. It is anything but and for me personally I enjoy listening to a composer's attempts to put into music their feelings about the beautiful landscape I take such pleasure in exploring on foot.

Discography

The following works are all currently available on CD.

Butterworth, Arthur - 'The Quiet Tarn', 'Coruscations', Dutton Epoch, CDLX 7253
Butterworth, Arthur - 'Path Across the Moors', Resonance, LC 11303
Curtis, Matthew - 'Striding Edge', Campion Cameo, Cameo 2085
Delius, Frederick - 'Northern Sketches', Chandos, CHAN 9355
Fenby, Eric - 'Rossini on Ilkla Moor', Resonance, LC 11303
Gibbs, Cecil Armstrong, - 'Symphony No.3 'Westmorland', Marco Polo, 8223553
Gibbs, Cecil Armstrong, - 'Dale and Fell', Hyperion, CDA67093
Johnstone, Maurice - 'Tarn Hows - A Cumbrian Rhapsody', Resonance, LC 11303
Tomlinson, Ernest - 'Kielder Water', Marco Polo, 8223413

Variety is the spice of life - my walking year 2012

Considering that 2012 has just been named the wettest year on record for England and the second wettest on record for the whole UK it is perhaps fitting that it rained on both my first walk of 2012, on Pendle Hill on New Years Day, and my last walk of the year, on Whitestone Cliff in the Hambleton Hills. Whilst I did get caught in some real deluges (Green Crag in the Lake District and Alston Moor in the North Pennines spring to mind) I think that overall I managed to avoid the worst of the weather. Nevertheless it did still impact on the type of walking I did in 2012.



Wintry weather early in the year, particularly icy conditions meant that I avoided higher ground and instead led to my first forays into the Howardian Hills (nice but definitely not hilly) and the Arnside & Silverdale AONB (absolutely lovely) as well as a couple of walks in the North York Moors, an area that I've enjoyed re-acquainting myself with in 2012 and plan on visiting more in 2013.



The weather perhaps had its biggest impact on my Easter holiday in North Wales. I'd been particularly looking forward to walking in the Carneddau for the first time but it was not to be. For the most part the weather was wretched and the highest I managed to get was Great Orme and even then I got to the top via the cable car (a memorable ride). Abandoning my plans for the Carneddau I instead managed a series of short walks in between bands of rain exploring the small hills and headlands in the Llandudno / Colwyn Bay area. They were all very nice little walks but ultimately it wasn't what I'd been hoping to do.



Thanks largely to trips to the youth hostels in Wasdale (in March) and Eskdale (in September) I managed another 12 Wainwrights leaving me agonisingly five short of completing the set of 214. I did however complete both the Northern Fells and Southern Fells. If I'd made a concerted effort I perhaps could have done the remaining 5 over the course of the year but I had limited opportunities to get out to the Lakes during the summer (again partly due to the poor weather). Fingers crossed I'll get to do the remaining five (Caw Fell, Hartsop Above How, Haycock, Lank Rigg and St Sunday Crag) by the end of spring 2013.



Although I didn't quite manage to complete the Wainwrights I did manage the last few tops I needed to complete all the 2,000ft summits in the North Pennines and, by extension, the Pennines as a whole. My final top was Flinty Fell, perhaps not one of the most interesting 2000fters around. Instead the highlight of that particular walk was a return visit to the superb Ashgill Force, definitely one of my favourite waterfalls in the country. In terms of Hewitts this just leaves me with Haycock, Iron Crag and St Sunday Crag to do in the Lakes and High Willhays on Dartmoor to visit in order to have completed the set of English 2,000fters. To complete the English Nuttalls I just need to also do Yes Tor on Dartmoor and Caw Fell, Little Gowder Crag and, ahem, Pillar Rock. Not quite sure about the last of those but it would be nice to try and organise a 'smash and bag' raid on the two highest tops on Dartmoor sometime in 2013.

The 'new' area that made the biggest impression on me was the week I spent in the Scottish Borders in August. Staying in the lovely town of Melrose I walked the Eildon Hills twice and had a fantastic full day's walk in the Manor Hills when I did the Dun Rig Horseshoe just south of Peebles. I arrived at the top of the first Donald on the walk, Birkscairn Hill, in low cloud and rain. Minutes later the skies began to clear and within half an hour I had an absolutely fantastic prospect of the Southern Uplands. When I've completed the Wainwrights I'm going to give serious consideration to having a go at the Donalds.



Apart from the North York Moors another area I got re-acquainted with in 2012 was around my home town of Harrogate. Between April and July I did a number of short walks in the Harrogate area, including lower Nidderdale and lower Wharfedale. Despite bringing me into increasing contact with the dreaded cows I really (somewhat to my surprise) enjoyed these outings. Although most of these walks were fairly short my longest walk of the year, and indeed for a number of years, was the 21 mile Harrogate Ringway.



In total I did 64 walks over the course of the year, in addition to the areas already mentioned I also did walks in the Forest of Bowland, South Pennines and Yorkshire Dales, the latter including a visit to the trig point on Horse Head for one of my favourite views in the Dales. Whilst it would be tempting to spend most of my time walking in the Dales and the Lakes there really is so much great walking country elsewhere in the north of England that I much prefer to mix things up as much as I can. In walking terms variety really is the spice of life. One slight disappointment is that I didn't quite manage a step in the Peak District National Park, the nearest I got was Harridge Pike and Wild Bank which both stand above Stalybridge, just a mile or so west of the National Park boundary.

Anyway here (after a great deal of agonising) are my favourite walks, views and walking moments of 2012...

Top 5 Walks of 2012:

1. Horse Head & Birks Fell
2. Arnside Knott
3. Great Calva
4. Dun Rig Horseshoe
5. Harrogate Ringway

Top 5 Views of 2012:

1. The view of the Manor Hills, Tinto, the Pentlands and Moorfoots from Stob Law on the Dun Rig Horseshoe
2. The view of Eskdale from the scarp above Low Birker
3. The view of Ingleborough and Penyghent from Horse Head
4. The view of Dentdale from Galloway Gate on Great Knoutberry Hill
5. The view of Hackfall Woods, near Masham, from 'The Ruin'

Top 5 Favourite Walking Moments of 2012:

1. The rain and cloud clearing on Birkscairn Hill to suddenly reveal a huge expanse of the Scottish Border hills
2. Stepping out on to the seemingly endless sands of Morecambe Bay on a super walk from Arnside
3. Jumping into the Wharfe, near Linton church, to carry my daughter to the other side after getting half way across the stepping stones and finding a stone missing in the middle. I ended up with very soggy boots but we both loved it.
4. The late evening sunshine at Low Birker Tarn and the subsequent views over Eskdale made up for the horrendous rain and hail shower minutes before
5. The delightful walk along the banks of Long Preston Beck in an unsung part of thr Yorkshire Dales

5 Least Favourite Walking Moments of 2012:

1. On an evening walk up to the Huller Stones on Eavestone Moor a swarm of flies took a liking to me and followed me over a mile across the moor, very unpleasant
2. Getting drenched on the pathless moor between Flinty Fell and the trig point on Alston Moor, to make matters more uncomfortable I also had to cross a large stretch where the reeds were between waist and chest height.
3. Out of a number cow incidents I'd have to pick the occassion near Markenfield Hall where a whole herd of cows made a beeline for me from the far corner of the field to send me retreating back through a gate.
4. The tremendous rain and hail shower shortly after leaving the top of Green Crag in Eskdale, I don't think I've ever got so wet while out on a walk
5. Another unpleasant hail shower, this time on Pendle Hill on my first walk of the year

Exploring the towns and villages of the north

Located on the A65 between Skipton and Settle, and just within the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the village of Long Preston has always been somewhere I've travelled through rather than being a destination in its own right. In fact I've worked out that I must have passed through the village no less than 180 times on my way to, or on my way back, from walks in Bowland, the Dales, Howgills and Lake District.  Prior to last weekend when, for the first time I stopped in Long Preston for a walk, the most memorable thing about the village was the horrible blind right-hand turn back on to the A65 from the Slaidburn road.



As it happened I had a wonderful walk (in particular the path along Long Preston Beck is a real gem) which made me regret not stopping there earlier. More to the point though it made me think in a wider sense about how many villages and towns I had now visited, either at the start, finish or during the course of a walk. I've worked out that, since 2004, I have set foot in over 200 towns and villages in the north of England from Castleton in the Peak District to Hethpool at the northern end of the Cheviot range during the course of a walk.



The objectives of most of my walks have been particular summits, trig points or specificr features such as a crag or waterfall. Inadvertantly, it seems that my passion for hill walking has led me to hundreds of places which I'd never have visited otherwise. If you also include all the places I've driven through but not actually stopped in the number would probably rise to over 500.

Out of all the towns and villages I've visited while out walking it would be extremely difficult to pick out a handful of favourites for this blog. Instead I've decided to highlight five places, in alphabetical order, that I've set foot in for the first time this year and which have made a particularly strong impression on me.

Arnside  - Arnside, along with Silverdale to the south, lends its name to the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, one of the smallest AONBs in the country. Arnside sits below the northern slopes of Arnside Knott looking across the Kent Estuary towards the Lake District. The seafront itself is understated and rather quaint. Carrying the train line from Arnside Station across the Kent Estuary is the magnificent 50 arched Kent Viaduct, a feature that, for me, adds immeasurably to the attraction of the view across the estuary. The combination of the village, estuary, viaduct, the views across Morecambe Bay, low limestone cliffs and Arnside Knott together make an irresistable package.

 

Blanchland - Situated on the Northumberland side of the border with Durham in the North Pennines the medieval village of Blanchland is located in the upper Derwent Valley. The village is largely built of stone from the remains of a 12th century abbey. In the 19th century it became  a centre for lead mining, the archaeological remains of which add interest to the vicinity of the village. Apart from being very attractive in its own right the village is also a good place for starting a walk up on to the moors above, as I discovered just a few weeks ago.

 

Hutton-le-Hole - I do like a nice village green and I don't think I've come across one quite as impressive as that at Hutton-le-Hole, it even has its own beck running through it. Hutton-le-Hole is apparently one of the honeypot villages of North Yorkshire but when I first visited there in January it was very quiet. It is not hard to see why it is so popular, the village is beautifully situated in the Tabular Hills with the heathery moors of Hutton Ridge and Spaunton Moor just to the north.

Melrose - In August I spent a week's holiday with my family in the Scottish Borders where we stayed in a house in Melrose. It is no exaggeration to say thay by the time we left I was seriously thinking of forsaking the hills I love in northern England to move north of the Border and settle in Melrose. It is a lovely little town with great character helped by three outstanding features; the fantastic mini-range of the Eildon Hills, one of the UK's finest monastic ruins in Melrose Abbey and a beautiful stretch of the River Tweed.

 

Walsden  - Squeezed on either side by steep moors Walsden, like neighbouring Todmorden to the north, manages to pack an awful lot into a small space. The presence of a train station on the Leeds - Manchester Victoria line means that the village is easily accessible by public transport, something which cannot be said of a lot of places I go walking. Whilst the hill walking options from Walsden are quite varied the real gem in my mind is the presence of the Rochdale Canal that also runs through the village. I walked the section from Warland back into Walsden and it was a lovely, and in the autumn at least, colorful path. I aim to be back at Walsden station next year to head up Reddyshore Scout.



 

I look forward to visiting even more new towns and villages during the course of my walking adventures next year.  



Horse Head and Birks Fell Video

This is my latest attempt at putting a short video together from one of my walks. I actually took this footage back in April but my old computer was unable to handle editing the video files.

On this video there is less of me actually walking about and I've also added some music and a few stills as well. It was a super walk. Littondale is a beautiful valley in the Dales whilst the ridge walk from Horse Head to Birks Fell featured great views. The trig point on Horse Head Moor is one of my favourite places I've been to (read my original walk report).

Newton Moor Video

This is my third attempt at doing a video. The footage was taken on last Sunday's walk up on to the modest height of Newton Moor in the southern Yorkshire Dales.

I'm quite pleased with some of the footage but I don't seem to be having much success in reducing the wind noise. See what you think.

10 reasons to love the Northern Fells

On the 5th May earlier this year I got to the top of Great Calva and in doing so completed all the fells covered in 'The Northern Fells', Book Five in Wainwright's series of pictorial guides to the Lakeland Fells.

It had taken me 11 walks to do all of the 24 fells and I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. Indeed I have a real soft spot for the Northern Fells. It is obvious though that not everyone holds them in such high esteem. For instance, I remember meeting a couple of other walkers on Brae Fell and when I said how lovely the area was they were fairly dismissive. Even Wainwright, who at one point in his conclusion to Book Five realises he is in danger of becoming too enthusiastic, backtracks somewhat and adds that compared to the fells surrounding Borrowdale, Langdale and Wasdale the Northern Fells are, "not in the same class."

Of course what constitutes good fell-walking country is highly subjective but I'd guess that most people would concur with Wainwright and that the Northern Fells wouldn't rate too highly in many people's favourite Lakeland areas. In an attempt therefore to change perceptions of the Northern Fells here are, in no particular order, my '10 reasons to love the Northern Fells':

1. Sharp Edge - Wainwright lists no less than 12 routes to the top of Blencathra. I've so far only done two of them, the first time up the Hall's Fell ridge and then the second time via Sharp Edge, perhaps the finest ridge in the Lake District. Striding Edge is more famous but Sharp Edge is better. For a start you'll meet a lot fewer people and there is a reason for that - it is a lot scarier!

2. Mungrisdale Common - The very antithesis of Sharp Edge, the broad, featureless expanse of Mungrisdale Common is, by any reasonable way of measuring these things, not even really a separate fell at all. It is actually, like Sharp Edge, a part of Blencathra. It is tempting to think that Wainwright included it in his 'Northern Fells' as something of a joke. Yet by including it far more people have crossed its 'summit' than would ever have done otherwise. My visit to Mungrisdale Common came on the same walk as Sharp Edge. It was on Mungrisdale Common that I sat and ate my lunch with no one else about whilst listening to the song of the local skylarks. In truth I enjoyed these moments of pure relaxation as much as the adrenaline rush of Sharp Edge. Where else in the Lakes can you get such a contrast?

3. I wandered lonely as a cloud - While the opening line of Wordsworth's most famous poem were inspired by a walk in the woods on the lakeshore of Ullswater they could refer to the Northern Fells. Wainwright claimed that apart from on Skiddaw and Blencathra he didn't pass any other walkers in two years of tramping the Northern Fells. While that is highly unlikely to happen nowadays (ironically, thanks in part to Wainwright) these fells are still remarkably quiet compared to most areas of the Lake District. For hill walkers who like to get away from the crowds the Northern Fells hold an appeal far greater than the fells of Borrowdale, Langdale and Wasdale. The only Wainwright I've visited three times is Knott and, apart from my wife who was with me the first time, I didn't see a single other person each time.



4. Skiddaw - Recently, whilst staying in the Eskdale Youth Hostel, I got talking with a couple of other walkers who expressed some surprise when I said that Skiddaw was one of my favourite fells. It seems that despite being the 4th highest mountain in England (as well as being much older than most of the Lakeland Fells) there have always been doubters as to the worth of Skiddaw, hence Wainwright's eloquent defence of the fell. As Wainwright notes  Skiddaw is one of the noblest looking fells in the Lakes. I don't think I could ever tire of the view of Skiddaw from Keswick and Derwent Water. It is the true overlord of the surrounding fells, something that cannot be said for Helvellyn for instance.While the main path from Keswick may not be the most exciting climb in the world the approach via Ullock Pike, Long Side and Carl Side is magnificent and gives you a real appreciation for the sheer size of Skiddaw. My first visit to Skiddaw was via the Ullock Pike ridge with the descent made via Bakestall and the Dash valley and it remains one of my favourite walks. The views from the top are pretty awesome too.

5. Great Cockup - Up there with Bodmin Moor's Brown Willy and Lord Hereford's Knob in the Black Mountains for having one of the more amusing fell names Great Cockup is certainly a more original name than the endless number of Dodds that can be found in certain parts of the Lakes. However, there is more to Great Cockup than its chucklesome name. On a clear day the view north beyond Binsey, an outlier of the Northern Fells, and across the Solway Firth to Criffel and beyond is magnificent.

6. Latrigg - Is there another fell in the Lakes where it is possible to get such a good view for so little effort? Latrigg is an easy walk from Keswick and the reward is a superb view south across Derwent Water. If the walk is extended by a descent along the east ridge to Brundholme and then a return to Kewsick via the old railway line then a lovely walk will have been had.



7. Trusmadoor - A small, narrow pass separating Great Cockup from Meal Fell, Trusmadoor is an atmospheric little gem.





8. Lonscale Fell's north-east buttress - It might surprise people when I say the most nerve wracking ascent I've made in the Lake District was up Lonscale Fell. As the fell is for the most part grassy and fairly featureless I decided to add interest by taking the route Wainwright describes up the north-east buttress direct to the east peak. While Wainwright describes the route as 'for scramblers only' he also says, 'there is little need to handle rock'. As the route became increasingly steep towards the top and the view back down increasingly precipitous I began to wish for a bit more rock for something to hold on to. I'll happily admit that when I got to the top my legs were a bit wobbly. At the time I vowed never to do it again, over a year later I quite fancy another crack at it.



9. Uldale Fells - To the north of Knott is a small group of hills called the Uldale Fells, including the likes of Great Sca Fell (about as different from the famous Sca Fell as it is possible to get), Meal Fell, Brae Fell, Longlands Fell and Lowthwaite Fell. The Uldale Fells are smooth grassy hills with steep flanks. They are a delight to walk on and I can think of no better compliment than to describe them as like a miniature version of the Howgill Fells. Like the Howgill Fells there are very few walls of fences in the Uldale Fells and this, combined with the nature of the terrain, means that walkers have a wonderful freedom to explore wherever they want. Another thing the Uldale Fells have in common with the Howgills is the presence of wild ponies. The first time I happened across these magnificent animals in the Northern Fells a small herd trotted right past us on the path leading to Trusmadoor. It was a thrilling moment and not one you are likely to experience in many other areas of the Lake District.



10. Carrock Fell - At the end of Book Seven, 'The Western Fells', Wainwright, somewhat reluctantly lists his favourite fells. Before doing so he mentions several other fells that were high on the list but didn't quite make it, mainly due to lack of height. Carrock Fell is one of those that didn't quite make it. Compared to most of the Northern Fells it is quite a rough hill with rock and heather in abundance. The climb up from Mosedale is enjoyably intricate, there being a distinct lack of a well trodden path. The best thing about Carrock Fell though is its rocky summit which is adorned with the remains of an ancient hill fort and which provides a super view across the Eden valley towards the North Pennines.



Those then are my '10 reasons to love the Northern Fells'. Apologies to the east ridge of Bannerdale Crags which deserves a more than honourable mention as does the summit of High Pike with its cairn, trig point and handy memorial bench. I've not yet ventured into Roughten Gill but suspect that that too would prove to be another reason to love the Northern Fells.

Berghaus Freeflow 20 Rucksack Review

This is my first kit review so don't expect anything too technical, on the other hand I'm not going to indulge in the kind of 'kit porn' that I've come across in magazines such as Trail.

I've been using a Berghaus rucksack now for just over 8 years. It has served me faithfully but after over 400 walks and being carried for over 2,000 miles it is now getting a bit worn and, if I'm being honest, it is starting to smell just a little bit stale. Therefore when I was given the chance to review the Berghaus Freeflow 20 Rucksack I jumped at the opportunity.

I've taken the rucksack out once, on a 6.5 mile walk in Balderdale in the North Pennines. I've been using a Freeflow 25+5 so the Freeflow 20 was a fair bit smaller to what I'm used to. This in itself was not such a bad thing as it forced me to only pack the essentials though I still filled the bag right up. At about 870g it is certainly quite light and, as I'd not packed as much I normally would, I hardly noticed any weight on my back at all whilst walking, it was certainly very comfortable.

One of the main things to note about the Berghaus Freeflow rucksacks is the Freeflow system itself which is basically a frame that keeps most of the rucksack from direct contact with the wearer's back to increase airflow and reduce sweating. It is a feature I like though it can sometimes be frustating when packing as the main compartment area is forced into a curve.

The Freeflow 20 has one main compartment that can be unzipped to almost half way down which allows good access to the bottom of the pack. There is also a zip compartment on the back for easy access to items such as a map or compass. Other features include a hydration pouch that can hold a 2 litre water pouch, walking pole holders and two angled side pouches, one of which I used for easy access to my water bottle whilst on the move.

Something I have to mention is the raincover - or lack of it. The information on the tag claims that there is an, "integrated raincover that is stowed away in the top lid". I've searched every inch, not just of the top lid, but of the entire rucksack and haven't been able to locate this raincover. Having said that it is not a feature I'm particularly bothered about. From experience I find that raincovers tend to blow about quite annoyingly in windy weather (a friend of mine used to refer to them as a 'spinnaker'). It was a glorious day when I took this bag out so it remains to be seen how it would perform in wet conditions.

In conclusion the Freeflow 20 is a bag that I will happily continue to use, and indeed recommend - but only on shortish walks in favourable conditions. In reality though it simply doesn't have the kind of capacity I'd need to pack what I'd need for the kind of long pathless rambles in the hills that I often indulge in or even a shorter walk in very wet or wintry conditions. However, for short to moderate country walks in good weather it is perfect and a much better alternative to the heavy bag I'd normally carry.