27 miles and 4600ft ascent between Wensleydale and Swaledale, organised by Swaledale Fell Rescue Organisation
When I was sitting down eating my meal after this event, a lady opposite me nudged her companion and whispered "he’s the one". I asked her what was so special about me and she said "you’re the one who stopped to look at the view on the top of Great Shunner Fell". I admitted that this was so. Perhaps, with the current debate about runners and walkers in Strider this is one trait that can be used to separate the two classes; because, according to these ladies, no proper runner would dream of stopping to have a look round. It isnt often that you get a view from the top of Great Shunner Fell, but this year it was surprisingly mist-free and certainly worth at least a brief stop.
Apart from Great Shunner Fell (which was nowhere near as boggy as it has been on previous years), the section between Kisden and Swinner Gill is memorable for its scenery, but much of the GSS is on hot dusty tracks which are prone to engendering painful blisters. The final trek up to Oxnop beacon is always one of those ones where you realise that gravity can pull a lot harder when it feels like it, and you really have to struggle to escape its paws.
Now and then, along the GSS, you encounter large plastic drums of water which have been dumped along the route. These can be very welcome, but this year the weather was fortunately not quite so hot as previous years. Its a shame that the checkpoints themselves are fairly minimalist, with only cold drinks, jam butties and shop cakes – no refreshing tea. Nothing wrong with this, of course, because most of the £9 entry fee goes to SFRO funds which is the main purpose of the walk. But it would be interesting to know how much money does go to funds, and just how little is spent on the event; especially as the entry fee is higher than that for the Cleveland Classic, for example, which makes a point of raising several thousand pounds and provides cups of tea at checkpoints.
It would be interesting to try the GSS at a different time of year – a winter event (with tea at the checkpoints!) would be quite challenging, although there is less chance of getting lost on Great Shunner Fell than there used to be, now the Pennine Way is paved all the way.
The GSS is a "mug event" – no, not a description of the people who participate (for all its 27 miles and 4600 feet it doesnt seem to be too bad), but an event where the finishers get an interestingly styled pottery mug, from the Wensleydale pottery in Hawes. If any event organisers are reading this, lets have a few more Mug Events. They clank a bit if you sew them onto your rucksack but they are much more useful than cloth badges for, say, drinking out of.