I've not written a "proper blog" for a wee while, so, I'm trying to play catch up now, I'll start with my 3 day trip to Coniston......going to Coniston is an annual event with all the members of Young Church from Lytham Methodist. The thing is, the members of the young church are growing up - I think the adults outnumber the kids these days! Anyway, there were about 35 of us this year. We stay at the St Martins Youth Centre which is bang in the middle of Coniston, it's like going home as we have been going for a number of years now. This year, I chose to camp out in Dora McFlora, because the kids/young adults keep you awake til all hours and the bunk beds are just a bit too soft for my creaky back. We all had a great time and I got chatting to a famouse fell runner in the Black Bull pub on a Friday night called Joss Naylor. He is a LEGEND in the fell running world. I know about Joss Naylor as I bought a book about Fell running last year in Ambleside, and his name is mentioned throughout that book. What an opportunity to be able to have a chat with such a great man, who, in 2006, (age 70) ran 70 Lakeland fell tops, covering more than 50 miles and ascending more than 25,000 feet, in under 21 hours!
My meeting with Joss gave me the impetus I needed to climb Coniston Old Man the very next day, I even managed to run up several parts of it and on the descent, my friend Nikki and I on the spur of the moment went wild swimming in Goats Water Tarn - it was very cold!
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| Me at the top of Coniston Old Man - First time this year my legs have been out in a pair of shorts! |
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| DoraMcFlora in the Youth Centre Car Park |
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| Tarn on the ascent up Coniston Old Man |
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| TiddlyWinks with some light refreshment |
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| Some of the kids in Coniston Lake |
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| Another Tarn! |
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| Fern covered steps |
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