AFPeak District: Report

From: "Selina T. Lock" <lbstl@liba.lboro.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: [F] AFPeak Meet report (err, possibly rather long!)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 12:56:16 +0100
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.980707120624.4157H-100000@liba>


Well seeing as how no-one else has done one yet here's my tuppence worth.....

After battling up the M1 on friday afternoon & taking a minor detour via 
Chatsworth house [1] I finally arrived at the Fieldhead Campsite, Edale 
at about 5:40pm. No sooner had I stepped out of the car but what did I 
see, I saw a Suzi [2] & upon following her around the corner I saw Gid & 
the palace they had erected before my arrival. With much swearing & 
begetting of blisters I managed to get my tent into a state that could be 
called erected & sat down to a nice cuppa kindly supplied by Suzi.

2 hours later we were bemoaning the fact that no-one else had yet arrived 
& Gid was hearing the call of the pub strongly. Upon debate it was 
decided to put AFP in gaffa tape on Gid'n'Suzis tent so everyone else 
knew where we'd pitched. this task done we were just about to depart when 
Mike arrived & so we stayed to laugh at him putting up his tent, it was 
fairly amusing. others then arrived & we all departed to the pub in dribs 
& drabs to partake of food & quite possibly a little bit of drink as well.

The final group at the pub & meet consisted of me, Gid, Suzi, Mike, Maurice, 
Lottie, Barry R, & Janice until a bit later when we were also joined by 
Will & Kath whom none of us had met before but seemed to join in merrily.

Janice astounded us by producing some very euurrgghhh! worthy cc'd objects 
in the shape of chocolate covered locusts which were devoured by most, 
even I tried them after a bit of peer pressure & they just tasted of 
chocolate if a bit crunchy! I have no idea what subjects were covered in 
the conversations as they were many & varied & I'd had a couple of 
bottles of cider!

After the pub we meandered our way back to the campsite & proceeded to 
sit around a couple of lamps eating much chocolate & drinking some rather 
nice alcohol provided by Mike.......I never thought I'd like the taste of 
melon gin but it's actually rather nice. Maurice produced Kinder eggs for 
us all, great fun & I completely failed to put my kinder toy together!

Afp once again astounded us by what it could manage to geek about...this 
time it was torches & tent pegs! I mean......

We finally collapsed in tents at about 1:30am ish after upsetting other 
campers with our noise...oooopps.

Oh & somewhere along the line that evening I became Suzi & Lotties 
identical triplet...yipppeee :-)

Saturday
********

After we all finally arose the group split in two, seven of them to go up 
Kinder Scout [3] & three of us to go do touristy things. Gid, Suzi & I
proceeded to Speedwell cavern[4] just in time to get in line behind about 30 
school kids...great timing! Going down Speedwell was an interesting 
experience but would probably have been better if we could hear what the 
guide was saying as he was drowned out by a rather frightened two 
year-old. Obviously it's impossible to get away from Discworld references 
because we wandered into the gift shop to see some of Isobel & Bernards 
wonderful candles on sale.

We also visited Treak Cliff Caverns [5] which I found more interesting as 
it had those lovely spikey things [6] hanging from the ceiling & among other 
things a rock called happy that was supposed to bring you good luck if 
you patted it! I also discovered that caves seem to be another natural 
environment of Gids [7] & he seemed to want to live in one.

Somewhere along the lines we also went into Castleton & visited a few 
pubs....what a surprise! got back to the campsite to find the others 
already back & some of them preparing to go swimming in an outdoor heated 
pool [8] while the rest of us went....guess where?.....yep that's right, 
to the pub!

We all met up again later in a pub to consume large amounts of food, 
talk, drink, geek about teles, suggest what would make a better national 
anthem than God save the Queen, tune in the pub tele above our heads for 
everyone else to watch football, Mike & I to complain that everyone else 
was talking about or watching the football!, realise it's quite 
disconcerting to have a room full of people starring at the corner above 
your heads, get extremely hot & head outside, get extremely cold & head 
to another pub. After the pubs we all admitted to being shattered & sloped 
off to bed early.

Sunday
******

We all dragged ourselves up & pottered around for a while before deciding 
that taking the tents down maybe a good idea, especially before those 
nasty clouds got overhead. Sat around deciding what to do & waiting for 
Mike to emerge from his tent! Set off in convey to go to peak 
cavern leaving Mike packing up his tent, lose Gid'n'Suzi en route & later find
out they decided to go to Blue John mine instead & then changed their minds
when they saw the amount of steps. So Will, Kath, Maurice, Lottie, Barry, 
Janice & myself descended on Peak cavern which is a natural cavern. I 
once again found myself bent double trying to get through low 
passages.....this had been a theme of the day befores visits too!

Later we all met up for a rather nice lunch at the George in Castleton 
before heading off our seperate ways home.

Overall a really great weekend, many thanks to Maurice for organising it 
& hope to see lots more people for one next year *grin*

luv & jellybabies

Selina

[1]Yes, I took a wrong turn
[2]Well not a Suzi, but The Suzi
[3]Mad people
[4]A flooded old lead mine
[5]A Blue John stone mine
[6]Stalatites..mites? I can never remember.
[7]As oppossed to his more well known environment of the pub.
[8]I told you they were mad people


From: *barnes@globalnet.co.uk (Maurice Barnes)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: A[F]Peak Report - The Official Meet Report of AFPeak
Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 19:27:27 GMT
Message-ID: <6ntsrs$grd$1@library.lspace.org>

(Those who were at the meet will get the header in-joke).

As comilped by Barry and messed about with by Maurice. (that's the
report not Barry).  Quote file is the follow-up.

AFPeak District 3-5th July 1998

Edale, Derbyshire.

Attendees: (in order of arrival)
Gid & Suzi, Selina Lock, Mike Knell, Janice Wright, Barry R, Lottie,
Maurice,  Will, & Cath. 

Friday:Arrival, Pub.

First to arrive were Gid and Suzi, who had with them a frame tent
upon which they emblazoned AFP in gaffer tape. 

Next was Selina, followed by Mike, then Janice, Barry, Maurice and
Lottie in quick succession.  Each of these quickly erected their
tents and greetings were made. After each tent was firmly set, the
group adjourned to the Ramblers Inn. Whilst there, food was ordered
by those requiring it, (Mike has a picture of the Cumberland sausage,
the only food to look just as good pre and post digestion) and drinks
were consumed.

During the time
the group were in the pub, Will and Cath arrived at the campsite,
and after erecting their tent, joined the rest at the pub. Fluffy
toys were produced, more drinks were consumed, the next days
activities were decided upon (i.e. argued about) and Janice's
chocolate coated locusts were swallowed.   After last orders, the
group returned to the campsite. Mike produced a bottle of Baileys and
a bottle of melon gin (Mmmm), various lamps were lit, Chocolate was
devoured, and the group sat around chatting. Various things were
discussed (like Virgin Trains inability to run on time), Lottie then
proceeded to remove Mikes left boot and sock and one of
the high points was when another campsite user delicately hinted at
the noise level by shouting "Must you make so much f*cking noise". to
which Gid v.quietly and humerously reposted.
Ahhhh, the vocabulary of the intelligent and circumspect. After
this display of finesse, the group decided to retire for the night,
and gain some sleep in preparation for the morning.

Saturday:Kinder Scout, Swimming, Food.

Most of the group were awake before seven o'clock, although many
decided on staying inside their tents.   Mainly due to the drizzle and
the wind.

When everyone had decided to get up, breakfast was cooked (special
mention to Selina's Bacon Sandwiches), Whilst cooking his breakfast,
Mike dropped a sausage into the pan, and splashed his leg with the fat
he forgot would be displaced.  Preparations were made
for the days activities. Decisions were made on which route to use
for the climb of Kinder Scout, and people began to gather together
any supplies they needed. Once ready, the intrepid Hikers set off.

This herewith is the chronicle of Barry R. B.F. OSB

Bright was the morning  and high were our hearts when we, Will,
Cath, Mike, Janice, Lottie, Maurice, and myself set out upon the
(ad)venture known as "Climb of Kinder Scout".

Beginning our trek from the start of the new official route of the
Pennine Way, up Kinder Scout, the first part of our journey was
mainly uneventful, except for a few flying hats and inquisitive
sheeps.

The weather was quite acceptable, in that it wasn't raining, and
the brisk wind kept us from overheating. The only annoyance was the
low cloud base whcih hampered the spectacular views from Kinder Low,
the higherst point on the peak.

Mike (wearing a T-shirt) proceeded to set the pace, with a surge to
the front. This prompted the comment "Can someone tell Mike it's
not a marathon."  Unfortunately no-one could catch him :-)

All of our group began to chat amongst themselves, and a merry time
was had by all until a particularly muddy ditch was happened upon.
Those of an athletic nature avoided this hazard by leaping across a
stream (well, trickle) five yards along. Others either just ignored
it and carried on at a brisk pace, or carefully squelched their way
through.

Carrying on undaunted, everyone settled into an easy walking pace.
Continuing along the stone path and across stiles, our group made
their way further and further along the Pennine way.  Whilst making
his way along a small grassy fringe beside a fairly steep incline,
Maurice suddenly noticed a rabbit. Others of our group tried to see
where it had gone, but sadly the timid creature had vanished into
the scenery. Our group then came upon a small calf stepping out
from behind a small wall, prompting a small chorus of "aahhhh's".
These quickly turned into "whooa's", when the mother suddenly emerged 
having been hiding behind the same wall. (Funny how the first thing
you notice is the size of the horns.) 

Continuing on, our group was making good progress, when Jacob's
Ladder was reached we stopped beside the river for a quick break,
everyone sat down and consumed any supplies they felt they
required and looked worriedly at a pair of v.muddy walkers who had
just decended  from the peak.   Once refreshed, our intrepid group
climbed the steps.Some of the steps of Jacob's ladder were in a sad
state of repair[2], but ever onwards and upwards we climbed.  The top
was reached without incident, and the view was quite astounding. 

Again we marched on,  Maurice recieving a Page from his mum thanking
him for leaving his bedroom alarm set at 6.00am  . Following the map,
we made for Edale Rocks near Kinder Low and the triangulation point
which we failed to find in the mist. 

During the ascent so far, various members of our group had been
discussing their enjoyment of climbing, and when the rock formation
came into site, it was quickly nominated as the site for lunch. Two
of our group then immediately divested themselves of bags and
rucksacks, and then explored the rocks to see how good a climb they
could find, quickly returning after finding that the rocks were to
damp to climb safely. 

Lunch was unpacked, and while our group were in the process of
eating, two curious sheep came exploring. They seemed fascinated by
Mike for some reason, (see quote file). Mike promptly took pictures
of them, for the pin up calendar, whilst Will threatened them with
taunts of "Mint Sauce" and "Gid".

Once lunch had been consumed, our group prepared to leave, making
sure not to leave litter lying around.  As we continued on, the low
cloud base caused visibility to shorten.    Ooooh scary :-)

Following Will, who had made this ascent before, we followed the
Pennine Way making our way to Kinder Downfall, stopping in a good
position to view the waterfall which was disapointingly drippy due to
the low rainfall last week.  Still a wonderful view to Kinder
Reservoir and Mermaids pool. 

The downfall can be quite spectacular after a rainfall, with it
flowing backwards in stond westerly winds. For
this reason, Mike had decided to put on his jacket. Sadly, having
had no rain, the downfall was not in the best of shape. 

Our group then made our way to the feeder sttream for the Downfall
itself and began
following the waterway inland. After making our way inland for some
distance, past Kinder Gates (no relation) we found what appeared to be
our planned exit. Following
the offshoot we came to a fork in the stream. Deciding to take the
lefthand fork, we set of at an easy pace. It quickly became
apparent that the route taken was not the one planned, as the
peat around us became higher, and the stream became thinner and
slightly deeper. During this detour, Will displayed an uncanny
messianic ability to walk on water. The rest of us were stuck with
trying not to sink too much. Coming to the end of the channel, we
decided we should climb out and and make our way overland (or
overpeat) to the
point we had originally aimed for which was the original route of the
Pennine Way. When we were in the process of
climbing the walls of the gully every member of the party, once
their head had cleared to top of the rise, quickly looked around.
Mike quickly commented that we all looked like Meerkats. We decided to
have a quick break, ostensibly to gain our bearings.  Looking around
we noticed other walkers, who were also doing impressions of meerkats,
and an unopened Capri-Sun blackcurrant drink carton. 

There was much discussion upon whether it was drinkable or not and,
if you want to know the outcome, it was deemed safe. (if you don't
believe me, there was a photo taken of Mike drinking it - hope you are
well<g>).

Once we had finished our break, we set off across the peaty
landscape. Heading East, we tried to keep to the more firmer
ground. During the journey, Maurice displayed some flashes of
Will's ability to stay afloat where mere mortals kept sinking. [3]
Coming across the origin of the Grindbrook Clough stream , we
consulted the map, and decided
to follow it. Whilst following this, we came across a waterfall of
about two to three feet. The first one to drop down noticed that
the landing area was a bit too soft, and notified the rest. Mike
then jumped down, promptly sank up to his ankles, and said some
ungentlemanly words.  After an entertaining and prolonged period
of walking, we finally emerged from the wilderness. Thanks to the
amazing map reading and orienteering abilities of the entity known
as WillMikeandMaurice, we were only about four hundred feet from
our originally aimed for destination.

We continued following the pre-planned path, and made our way to
the downward part of our trek. Following the steep and rocky streambed
 we climbed down to more gentle walking terrain.  We came to the
woods that marked the beginning of the final leg of our journey.
Following the path through the woods and across a bridge, we came
upon the road leading to our campsite. Walking towards the
campsite, a small detour was taken into the Nag's Head Inn. From here,
some of our group made their way back to the campsite, while others
enjoyed a cool refreshing drink. 

Of those who returned to the campsite, Maurice, Lottie, and Barry
decided to visit the open air Swimming pool in Hathersage. 

After arriving, and Maurice spending a few minutes trying to work out
why his car wasn't working properly we joined the crowd already in the
pool, and discovered one of the disadvantages of open air pools.
Unless you keep yourself submerged up to your chin, the wind makes it
feel like it's minus 10.

After a relaxing swim, to ease tired joints and muscles all three
returned to the campsite, and
joined Gid, Suzi, and Selina (who had spent the day in the local
caverns) and the
rest of our group. After a short period, everyone adjourned
to the pub for dinner and alcohol. 

Arriving to a packed Nag's Head Inn, we somehow managed to get a table
(underneath the telly) , and, after a small discussion, Barry was
almost unanimously voted to order food. This consisted of;

4 Rabbit Stews
2 Fish and Chips
2 Hiker Specials (with a side order of onion rings) [4]
1 Chicken Kiev

and whatever Selina had already ordered. <G>

During the wait for the food to arrive, the football was requested
by another member of the pub clientele. Barry climbed up to change
the channel. and promptly found out that there were no preset
channels, and that he had to manually tune the telly. Eventually
the tuner made it's way to BBC1 and he returned to a sitting
position.

Dinner arrived, and was consumed with great enjoyment by all
present. After everyone had cleared their plate, some members of
the group ordered dessert. Again Barry went to order, and received
some fairly fed up looks from the barman. Returning to the table,
he commented upon the fact that he was sure the Barman hated him,
and if anyone had any problems with their dessert, he wasn't going
up to the bar again.

Dessert arrived, and those who ordered it consumed it with every
sign of enjoyment. It was Rhubarb Crumble and so you can imagine the
looks from the surrounding clientele when we launched into a
disjointed version of the Gathering filk.   With the clearing of the
table a member of the
group, mentioning no names Will, remarked upon the fact that it was
quite hot inside, and suggested we adjourn outside, for some cooler
air. The group moved outside, and commandeered two tables. 
(The table inside was being filled before we'd even finished
vacating it.) Outside the weather was colder than expected, and
coats were closed and fastened. Conversation was resumed and
eventually made its way onto old 80's TV shows. Among those
mentioned were old AFP favourites The Scarecrow and Mrs King, and
Manimal. After enjoying a good chat, the group decided to move on
to the Ramblers Inn, for the purpose of drinking inside, in a more
moderate temperature. 

The Ramblers Inn was again invaded by AFPeak and, during the last
part of the evening, a good time was had by all.

Saturday ended [5] by leaving the pub after last orders, walking
back to the campsite, getting into respective tents, and going to
sleep.

Sunday. Visiting Peak Cavern, Lunch, Exploring Castleton. Home.

Sunday Morning was very windy, and no one was really out and about
before nine o'clock (although some people had got up, had a wash,
and disappeared back into their tents to escape the biting wind).

Eventually, everyone emerged into the cold, and proceeded to pack
away their tents. Once all the tents had been stowed, a trip to
Peak Cavern was decided upon with Mike deciding to give it a miss
and meet us for lunch at the George in Castleton. Making their way
via various cars, the group eventually reached the car park for
Peak cavern (somehow losing Gid & Suzi on the way)(Maurice-my fault!).
The timing of
the group was perfect, as a tour was just about to start, and so
was the rain. The tour of the cavern was very interesting although,
like yesterday, Will and Barry began talking about climbing various
parts of the cave. After the tour had finished, the group made
their way out. Whilst leaving the cave, Gid and Suzi were spotted
in the group starting a tour. Both said they would meet us in the
George after their tour. On the way to the George the group came
across a  stream in which three little ducklings (aaahhhh) were
swimming, accompanied by their mother.  A bookshop was passed by those
of sterner stuff, a few though succumbed to its wiles. Continuing on
towards the George, the group passed a Mountain Rescue Fund Raising
and surprise surprise, Will and Barry stopped to geek. 

Eventually, the group arrived at the George, tables were found and
lunch ordered. During Lunch, The quote file was reviewed, notes
were taken, Gid and Suzi returned to our midst, and Barry was told
he was to be the official meet report writer of any meets he
attends in future. 

Mike turned up, and said he needed to be going as he had lots to
do. Everyone wished him well, and hoped he had a good journey home.
The rest of the group decided to spend the remaining half hour or
so looking in the shops in Castleton. 

The only major purchase made was a sheep, which was  bought by Gid
(why am I not surprised).

Once back to the car park, the members of the group decided to
begin their respective journey's home. Darren's Norfolk Meet was
discussed as the next time we all might meet again. 

Goodbyes were said and everyone began their journeys home.

(and Virgin still couldn't run trains on time)

Barry R. B.F. The Official Sad Bastard (Y&UGZY)

Thanks again to Selina for the lift to the train Station

[1] This footnote intentionally blank.
[2] These are currently being repaired by the HT. Good people all.
Long may they be around.
[3] The only time he sank further than he expected, I'm sure that
his next three steps never even left an imprint. ;)
[4] Thank you Maurice. ;) 
[5] for me at least

AFPCode 1.1 AB/NL$-UK d s+:-- a@24 UP++ R++ F++ h P-- OSD--: C+
M- pp L+ c B+ Cn-:+ PT+ Pu@49 5+ !X MT? eV+>V r/p-- y-- end
Maurice Barnes (Mr O.)- barnes@globalnet.co.uk
All Things Discworldly at http://www.lspace.org

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