Following my unfortunate tangle with the Covid 19 virus in August, by late September I was recovered and missing my trips out in the wild places searching for long forgotten trig points. It would probably be my last adventure for this year so I decided to visit three trig points that I either failed to find previously, or due to planted fields I could not reach without causing damage to crops.
Coombe Hill and number 19 on my list was the first one to locate. On my previous visit I failed to find it, I searched the forest until bad light, rain, hunger, and a poorly researched description finally forced me back to the comfort of my car. The fish and chips in Scarborough tasted good!
So on a nice sunny day, after a long drive on narrow unfenced roads that led deep into the forest, I arrived at the viewpoint close to where the trig point should be situated. From here I had to walk along a bumpy lane alongside a thick tangle of undergrowth at the edge of a dark forest. With the sun shining over my shoulder and penetrating into the trees I had no problem in spotting the white freshly painted pillar…
Pleased with my find I returned to Scarborough and before lunch, continued on to the second trig of the day at Cloughton, number 20.
Although I found this one on my last visit, the field was full of ripe corn and would have been too damaging to tramp out to the middle of the field, and besides, I pass this way quite often on our visits to the East coast cliff path. The corn had been harvested but the field was ploughed. Deep furrows made walking difficult, and my hundred quid running shoes weren’t the best of footwear for this sort of terrain, but eventually I arrived at the trig point.
Time ran out on my previous search for the Langdale pillar number 21. So armed with a good map and description I drove up the narrow country road into the forest where I found the little deserted parking space.
It was a long walk along the forest track, perhaps three miles or so, but the views were spectacular and the solitude was perfect for unwinding from the stresses of 21st century life. No reception for the mobile phone, and the nearest civilisation was ten miles away. A bad place to suffer a heart attack I thought as I left the path and struggled up a very steep climb.
It had been quite a while since I struggled up a hill like this and a lot had happened since then. I had discovered that my heart was not in good shape, and running had to be ceased since April, so my fitness levels were in doubt, although I had continued to walk regularly, Covid had interrupted my training.
Half way up the steep climb and I had to stop for a breather after struggling for breath, but I managed to finish the climb and ended up on a massive plateau at the top. To my surprise there were sheep grazing and the sight of the stone pillar five hundred yards away had me excited and running to the welcoming obelisk.
As I made my way back to the car in diminishing light I decided that it would not be a good place to be in the dark but satisfied with my three finds today, and taking my tally for this year to 21, I was pleased that I had made it through a difficult year and look forward to doubling my collection of trig points next year.
