A lot of people have been increasing their training. Having successfully tackled Scafell Pike and Snowdon, Lexie and Morag recently travelled to Ben Nevis. Here is their story."We set off from Nottingham with high hopes of good weather. Stopped off at Tebay services for some award winning homemade farmhouse food! Then continued on to fort William to complete the 400 mile journey to the foot of Ben Nevis!
We arrived at our accommodation for the evening, but first tucked into some fab food - haggis, neeps and tatties with a whisky sauce was the order of the day... Morag felt right at home. Following dinner we checked into the bunkhouse at which point we learnt that the bunkhouse is a downgrade from a hostel - cubby holes with beds in them and no doors... We were in section two (not dissimilar to cell block H) and shared this section with some interesting characters, let's introduce them... fairly anonymously!
1. The snorer (and porridge eater and official light switcher off’er)
2. 'Been there done that' lady
3. Queen faffer
4. Mr ‘almost normal’
5. Mr pessimistic (as named by their own group)!
On reflection, they probably had names for us too… Miss 'doesn't belong in a hostel' and Miss 'if I make enough noise will she ever wake up'
After being rudely awoken by section one - the children, making bacon butties at 5:45am!!!! We were the last to leave the "hostel" at 8am. The weather was lovely (following a downpour the night before). We remembered our instructions from Edale and 'set out a little bit cold'.
We stopped for a homemade flap jack after about two hours, then for first lunch at 11.30am. This is when the steep climb really started. Walking across a waterfall, then zig-zagging around five fingers (imagine a child's drawing around a hand at this point except the hand is on a steep mountain).
This is when we started to encounter the people that lie on mountains, i.e. those that have made it to the top and on the way back down completely forget how long it is back to the top. So, with fingers in our ears, singing to ourselves 'La La La La I can't hear you' we ignored all suggested timescales and made it to the top at least twice as long as the time of peoples’ suggestions!
The top was freezing, wind chill made it feel like at least minus 7 degrees celsius!
After some photos and Facebooking, we started the steep climb down. Half way down it started to rain, making the tricky rocks, even trickier.
After our second lunch, followed a couple of hours later by a mini Peperami snack stop, we made it back to the bunkhouse. First back, meant first into the shower block which had just been cleaned, lovely!
Showered, changed and ready to party we hit the Ben Nevis Inn, very glad we booked a table as people were getting turned away!
After our celebratory fizz to mark our third and final National Peak we opted for the local haggis and black pudding burger, chicken and haggis rumbledethumps followed by cranachan (when in Scotland....) - devine!"
Lexie & Morag
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