YORKSHIRE RAMBLER THE YORKSHIRE RAMBLERS CLUB MOUNTAINEERING & CAVING BULLETIN 24, WINTER 2005 Articles National Forest..........................4 Roy Denney Mauritania ......................................7 John & Valerie Middleton Lakeland 3000s................16 W J Anderson Something Dippy 18 Roy Denney Commitment.........................19 Tim Josephy Rat Race.........................................20 Mark Cocker George Spenceley ........22 David Handley David Handley Newby Moss Cave..........26 Bensley & Campion Mountaineering 28 without guides Return to Skye.....................30 Adrian Bridge Lyke Wake Walk..................35 Kilimanjaro..................................38 Mike Smith The Dolomites ......................42 The Monroes............................57 Tony Smythe Nepal............................................59 CHINA, THE GREAT WALL Ken Aldred The Yorkshire Ramblers Club Established 1892 The mountaineering and caving club Club Member of The British Mountaineering Council Secretary - Gordon Humphreys, Mountbegon, Hornby, Lancashire LA2 8JZ Editor - Roy Denney, 33 Clovelly Road, Glenfield, Leicestershire LE3 8AE The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the YRC or its Officers. LOW HALL GARTH CLUB COTTAGE LITTLE LANGDALE CUMBRIA LOWSTERN CLUB COTTAGE CLAPHAM NORTH YORKSHIRE bULLETIN 24 - WINTER 2005 CONTENTS 4 The National Forest Roy Denney 6 Club activity 7 Mauritania John & Valerie Middleton 11 Lord of Whernside ? David Handley 12 Yesterdays men - Denis Driscoll David Smith 14 Cottages 16 Tales of Yesteryear - Lakeland 3000s W.J.Anderson 18 Something dippy Roy Denney 19 Commitment Tim Josephy 20 Rat race Mark Cocker 22 In conversation with - George Spenceley David Handley 25 Animal silhouettes 26 Newby Moss Cave Bruce Bensley & Ged Campion 28 Mountaineering without guides 30 A return to Skye Adrian Bridge 33 Yorkshire Ramblers Olly Burrows 35 Lyke Wake Walk 38 Kibo, Kilimanjaro Mike Smith 42 Dolomites Meet 52 King Lauren’s Garden Ken Aldred 53 A gardeners friend Roy Denney 54 Of gardens 56 Botanical report - Dolomites Ken Aldred 57 The Monroes Tony Smythe 59 Nepal Ken Aldred 63 Dr Michael Ward 64 Improvements on the Ben 65 Natural History Snippets 73 Chippings 85 Book review - Between a rock and a hard place. 87 Meets Report 104 Club Proceedings 107 The President 108 Obituary - Ralph Hague 109 Merchandise 111 Useful web sites YRC Bulletin Page 3 THE NATIONAL FOREST THE STORY SO FAR In less than 10 years the concept has become a reality, as there is now plenty of evidence of decline; into an area where woodland cover has a physical entity called ‘The National Forest’. more than doubled, a major new recreation and tourism resource has been created and where Comments like “we have seen all the road signs more people now want to live, work and spend but where are the trees” should be a thing of their leisure time. the past as the trees which have been planted reach heights making them more obvious. The The Forest is creating a new sense of forest covers 200 square miles in all and is no community spirit and pride, particularly in the longer just a series of road signs. old coal field area where house prices have soared and new house building is in full swing. In fact a fairly dramatic environmental, economic and cultural change has taken place In addition to the blocks of woodland being in the area. planted, new hedge rows are being created (12,000 metres last year alone and a total of Woodland cover within the Forest has more 47 miles so far) providing wildlife corridors than doubled from under 6% to an impressive and homes to many species. As much again has 16%, with ambition to achieve about 30% also come under management, which will see eventually. Even this 6% figure was deceptive them thickening up into useable habitat. as it was concentrated in two largish blocks and much of the area was very poorly served with trees. The National History Museum quotes over 600 species of plant as having been found in British In effect the ancient forests of Charnwood hedgerows and they provide homes to birds, and Needwood are being linked by massive bats, butterflies, moths and numerous other amounts of planting in the lands in between. small mammals. There is no plan for wall to wall trees but eventually it will compare with the New Forest The Rt. Hon John Gummer MP established the and Epping Forest. National Forest Company when he was Secretary of State for the Environment in Perhaps the New Forest will have to be 1995. renamed with the advent of this new forest. At a meeting I attended last year he reflected Much of these plantings have been on on the progress made. “Ten years ago, we reclaimed and previously derelict land and has wanted to find a new way to create this changed the countryside of this region out of Forest,” he commented “It had to be big; it all recognition and as the trees mature will had to be innovative, without the heavy hand increasingly do so. of bureaucracy all over it; and it had to be here. It had to have variety and its own unique The area has been transformed from one that spirit through real and meaningful was sparsely wooded, scarred by dereliction partnership”. “From the start, the Tender and badly affected by economic and social Scheme system enabled individuals and groups YRC Bulletin Page 4 to have their own ideas carried through, but 82% of the new forest sites offer some form the whole Forest was still protected as an of free public access and a further 7% will entity”. when fully developed. A total of 310 miles of linear access has been created. The Tender Scheme is the NFC’s unique method of woodland creation under which Increasingly landowners are having the landowners apply for funds from the NFC to confidence to give full informal access. carry out woodland schemes of their own devising on their own land as their The new National Forest means very contribution to the creation of The National different things to different people but the Forest. first essential of all our woodlands must be to provide havens for all forms of wildlife and to Through a decade’s worth of successful be the 'lungs' keeping our air quality up. The schemes, 162 in total to date, the Tender provision of sporting and recreational Scheme process has created 3000 hectares, facilities also ranks very high. or two thirds of the new woodland in the Forest. Wildlife considerations feature highly and of the trees planted 84% have been broadleaf. 300 km of new trails have also been created with over 30 km for cycles. Over 600 ha of Whilst there are some dramatic outcrops of grasslands, wetlands and heathlands and 243 originally volcanic origins the granite in this ha of woodland have been brought into area has been worn down over eons and management and over 400 ha of new nowhere does any hill exceed 1000 feet in grassland, wetland and heathland habitats height so the area is unlikely to feature in have been created. our meets programme but it does afford opportunities for long distance walking and So far £23,000,000 has been invested in increasingly diverse wildlife. Some climbing is tender schemes and all together over done in old quarries. 6.000,000 trees have been planted creating a total of 4,600 hectares of new woodlands. There is a plan for a two hundred mile walking and cycling route through these new I serve on the National Forest Company’s woodlands so who knows we may yet see a club Access & Recreation Working Group and one long walk down here in the Midlands target which I keep promoting in particular is in the provision of links because if the public Tourism is increasing bringing benefit to local is really to be able to wander at length many communities and there is a slow increase in of the smaller blocks need to be joined small businesses aimed at providing facilities together. to the visitors. The normal method of creation is a tender This includes a proliferation of antique and scheme where ideas get ‘scored’ on several bric-a-brac shops. There are of course some criteria with the best receiving grants. Long who are trying to fleece the gullible, and we distance routes must however be developed must always remember that most ‘antiques’ by proactive measures even, if necessary, to are sold by dealers, who mostly only buy ‘junk’. the extent of direct acquisition of land by the National Forest in its own name. Roy Denney YRC Bulletin Page 5 CLUB ACTIVITY There is abundant evidence that already the Club and the Cairngorm Club. No sort of objects of the Club have been and continue to permission has been asked or given for such an be fulfilled in a very large measure. intrusion - the "open door" is taken for granted. Every year increasing numbers of the members have gone abroad, to Switzerland The only time the Yorkshire hills have been and Norway especially, and acquitted deeply covered with snow since the Club was themselves well. Not in spite of this tendency, formed was early in 1886, when on some of the but rather as the result of it, our members steeper slopes steps needed cutting here and have scoured the British hills as they never there, and the novelty of a long glissade on did before, particularly those most easily Ingleborough could be experienced. reached -in Scotland, the Lake Country, and North Wales. Every Christmas, Easter, and The short rock climbs (and it must be Whitsuntide, and in fact the year through, confessed they are short) to be found on the members are busy with all their talents. slippery limestone and the uncompromising Parties, excepting for the Annual Meet, are millstone grit afford a certain amount of never made up "officially," but the many practice and enjoyment; such climbing as our informal, not unlooked for, but not hills afford, however, would remain unknown pre-arranged, gatherings at Wasdale, if it were not for the singular and inviting Pen-y-gwryd, and elsewhere add not a little to beauty of the country.