Each year we make similar plans around the Blackpool Radio Rally in Norbreck Castle, all very weather dependant. Travel up on the Friday, activate a hill (or two) if possible, stop over somewhere between the Lakes and North Pennines, the two areas where we have hills left to activate. Then Saturday activate hills or find things to visit if the weather is not good enough. Sunday go to the rally to meet up with SOTA friends, pick up bits and pieces for projects and grab any bargains followed by a gentle trip home.
Apart from 3 in Wales and Slightly Crag, the LDs and NPs are the only two areas I have any real numbers of summits left to activate in England and Wales.
Slightly Crag (G/SB-005) is always a bit too far away, Mickle Fell (G/NP-002) wasn’t going to be an option as it wasn’t a Bank Holiday. Burnhope Seat (G/NP-003) and/or Dufton Pike (G/NP-027) were possibilities as the most practical to visit in “the North” directly from home. The weather forecast wasn’t particularly good for the weekend, all the predictions showed showers across the Lakes and North Pennines possibly wintery and cold. We decided to travel up and chose what to do when closer; our stop-over was in Penrith.
We decided to aim for Burnhope Seat, getting to it from the South-East via the A1(M) and Barnards Castle. It’s boring to travel the M6 every time. The weather on the way up was promising, blue skies with high clouds, but on crossing the high moors the clouds began to threaten rain. We had read about the very poor conditions underfoot climbing Burnhope Seat and the suggested ways up. We decided to go via Paul’s (G4IPB) route, hopefully short and dry-ish from the description.
The recommended parking spot was clear of other cars and with the weather holding up, it was a quick assembly of packs and away we went. Expecting to be partially bog-hopping, we were surprised to find the going firm. It was easy to avoid any wet areas following the (obvious) advised way-marks. We took a little longer than the 30 minutes suggested but we were in no hurry. Soon we were on the summit and decided to activate from the mapped summit location and not go over to the trig-point. Rain was in the air and we may have needed a quick decent.
The start of the walk up Burnhope Seat (G/NP-003) with the campervan behind and the radar at Great Dun Fell in the distance
Once the antenna was up, I started on 40m. The band was full of S9+ signals and I struggled to find a spot to claim. After 4 contacts, including Paul “down the road” I decided I didn’t need to struggle with the conditions, after all I had activated, qualified and completed the summit. A quick reconfiguration of the antenna from a ¼ wave on 40m to a ½ wave on 20m and Helen had a much easier time of qualifying the hill with 10 contacts before we swapped over for me to add 35 more contacts to my log. We had only spent 30 minutes activating between us but in that time we had watched 3 big squalls run down the valley blocking the views to the hills opposite. As the drizzle of another one started, we packed up. The temperature dropped considerably since we arrived on the summit, as the cold-front predicted had finally arrived. The climb and decent was really uneventful; we have been on many, many worse hills!
Late afternoon activation of Burnhope Seat (G/NP-003)
100 mW LoRa APRS spotted near the summit. The green spot is the parked campervan
Walking down past the sheepfold waymark
Heading to Penrith via Alston we noticed a possible distraction for Saturday if the weather closed in as expected, the narrow gauge railway of the South Tynedale Railway. A stop off at the large car-park on Gamblesby Fell to take pictures of the Eastern side of the Lakeland fells, almost all we had walked on in the past, finished our day.
Evening Lakeland view from Gamblesby Fell
Saturday appeared to be unpleasant with a chill in the air as it had rained and the clouds had merged into one grey menacing mass. So the forecast was for wintery mix and rain showers on the hills and very cold temperatures during the morning possibly clearing lunchtime then closing in again in the afternoon. The plan was to visit the South Tynedale Railway for the hour and a half round trip up to Slaggyford and back, then get some lunch/brunch and maybe go to the parking of Dufton Pike (G/NP-027) to assess the conditions.
Climbing up to Alston towards the railway, we quickly started to see the snow that had fallen over night. The temperature had dropped and it wasn’t pleasant. Looking back across to the Lakes, the fells were adorned with a white blanket and it was quite a contrast from the evening before.
What a difference a day makes - Similar Lakeland view from Gamblesby Fell next morning
Climbing into the snow as we travelled to Alston
The Narrow gauge railway was very much worth the visit with a Polish built engine, “Naklo”, doing the hauling that day. All the staff were friendly and knowledgeable with a cake and hot chocolate on offer at Alston. During the turn-round and despite the cold, we had ice-cream, well we hadn’t had a proper breakfast! After a look in one of the engine sheds and a quick dip in to the local museum, we decided to visit the waterfall at Ashgill Force before going to Dufton Pike.
“Naklo“
So this is where the day went bad!
To see the waterfall requires a climb down a steep, muddy, rough stepped path from the main road that crosses almost directly over the fall. Around half way down there is a flat-ish intersection of paths. Here a momentary distraction of turning round to see where Helen was, meant I slipped on some mud. My foot caught something, I twisted, heard a “pop” and found myself in a heap, on my side, in the mud in the most severe pain I have ever experienced! My usual thing after a tumble is to lie for a second, catch my breath, then start checking extremities, wriggling fingers and toes. They worked. I half expected a sprain, painful but hopefully still possibly mobile. However the slightest pressure caused almost unbearable pain and my ankle was unstable. I managed, with Helen’s help to carefully get myself sat on a rocky step to be a little more comfortable. We assessed the situation. It seemed like the only practical way back up was the way we had down but even if it was dry I wouldn’t be able to climb. I knew for the first time ever I wasn’t getting out of this one without some assistance.
Just behind Helen was a couple who stopped to see if they could help, one a trainee doctor who did a very basic visual check to see if I had done any other damage and that I wasn’t in too much distress. I assured her that nothing else was hurting. Helen got on the phone to call for assistance about 1:40pm, knowing any help was probably at least an hour away. The couple stayed with me while Helen went back to our van to collect another fleece and a large umbrella as the showers and hail promised arrived.
I had heard stories that the ambulance service struggled with the location beyond the usual urban or village areas and that they couldn’t cope with actual coordinates on top of the actual name of the area we were. They did send a first responder and an ambulance crew to get me but we insisted that wasn’t going to be enough. Helen saw the first responder as she walked up 10 minutes after the call had finished and the ambulance service then contacted someone at Penrith Mountain Rescue who called Helen at 2:20pm and sent her a text with a link to get her actual phone GPSr location when she was got back and was right next to me.
The paramedic from the ambulance a CFR (community First Responder) and a first responder from mountain rescue were with me before 3:15pm and they set up a bothy bag with the group huddling inside to keep me warm. By now even though I was wrapped up well for the conditions, I was beginning to get chilled. Helen went back to the campervan and the ambulance to keep out of the way when the full 16 person mountain rescue team from Penrith arrived at 3:30pm, basically the one hour it takes to drive from Penrith.
Sharing a bothy bag to keep warm between showers
At 4pm I had been assessed by the Mountain Rescue Doctor, installed on a stretcher with my leg splinted and then was carefully lifted over a fence then carried and slid up the very steep grassy slope to one side of the steps to the farmhouse drive above. At 4:30pm the ambulance set off on the hour drive to Carlisle Hospital A&E with Helen following behind. At the hospital everyone expected it to be a sprain or torn ligament but they took an X-ray and confirmed the worst – I had badly fractured my tibia and fibula a bit above the ankle. A back-cast was applied (to allow for swelling) and I was sent on my way after just an hour and a half at the hospital. A quick drive down the M6 got us to the hotel just after 9pm. All told, it was a little over six hours from fall to leaving A&E; it could not have been any quicker.
View from the road near the end of the rescue
We had been advised by Carlisle Hospital to get to our local A&E to be reassessed as soon as possible. We decided to stay the night in Penrith and travel the next morning when I might be a little more comfortable (we were going home on that Sunday anyway but now the Radio Rally was not possible), going directly to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Fractured tibia and fibula
Now a couple of weeks after the fall, I’m being treated “conservatively”; I was right on the cusp of an operation. I didn’t have surgery as the alignment of the fracture seems to be good and crucially I hadn’t damaged the joint. The risks involved with an operation outweighed “waiting to see”. As long as I’m really careful, with no weight bearing for at least 6 weeks, the prognosis, long team, should be ok. It is going to be quite a while though before I am at full strength and confident, so only chasing for now.
Hopefully on the mend
I will be eternally grateful to all those who looked after me so well: the first responders, the paramedics, all the members of the Penrith Mountain Rescue Team and the staff at Carlisle Hospital A&E. Thank you.
Carolyn (G6WRW)
Equipment used on Burnhope Seat (G/NP-003); Yaesu FT-817, HF Packer Amplifier @25W, ¼ wave (for 40m) and ½ wave (for 20m) vertical, 2x Li-Fe batteries.