On Saturday, with a few good friends, I climbed Pen-y-Ghent in the Yorkshire dales. It was hard. The ways were steep and rough and the last 300' was almost real climbing. But I made it. Not bad, I thought, for a fat old bloke with asthma:-)I got to the summit and was grinning like a Chesire cat for a good 15 minutes. The weather was glorious. The views across to Ingleborough and Whernside then back to Fountains Fell were stunning.

We had passed Churn Milk Pot on the way up and I thought that was quite impressive. On the way down we passed Hull Pot. Sheeeeesh! The Hole is the size of a football pitch and the echo of the stream thudering down into depths beyond the scope of us mere mortals is tremendous. The walk finished with a cup of tea with whisky in while reading a good book in the pub lounge.

Then into a music and singing session to end all sessions. I went to bed at 3. The bar was, apparantly, still serving at 4! Jim (or was it Joe? Mmmm. Nevermind), the laid back barman from Swaziland took everything in his stride. The real ale (Timothy Taylors) was excelent and the company wonderful.

Yes, life is indeed good if you know where to look. And often made better by the absense of technology and the addition of some silence:-)

Cheers

Dave the Gnome