Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => Freewheeling => MTB => Topic started by: SoreTween on 17 January, 2017, 09:29:05 pm

Title: Cauldron Snout
Post by: SoreTween on 17 January, 2017, 09:29:05 pm
Is anyone familiar with the trails around Cauldron Snout?
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: PhilO on 22 January, 2017, 11:08:20 am
It's been a while (c. 19 years! Gulp!), but I recall enjoying the PW crossing from Cow Green resvr to High Cup Nick. Not sure about other routes in the area, but I imagine any BWs crossing the moors up there are likely to be rather boggy.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: SoreTween on 22 January, 2017, 06:25:38 pm
It is the boginess that concerns me.  In August Mr Bond and I are heading that way and need to link Kirkby Stephen to Dufton.  The road route (https://www.strava.com/activities/374161189) we used in 2015 was no fun and the short route through Warcop will be closed.  What we have in mind is to circle around Warcop to the East and North.  There's decent looking bridleways but there's this gap:
(http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq18/SoreTween/Misc/Couldron%20Snout_zpsjbbwhzxh.jpg)
We'd be heading into that from the East on the BW right on the Danger Posts and wanting to link to the BW crossing Grain Beck.  The brownish background area is all free to roam, white background private.  Even if we had to walk the 1km gap it'd be ok except a) We've no idea our chances of fording Maize Beck, that it has a marked waterfall with Force in the name suggest we might be in for a soaking.  b) it's all just marsh, we might just sink up to our knees.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: L CC on 22 January, 2017, 07:06:09 pm
Quite tempted to head up there and have a recce for you.
On checking with the driver we shall go have a look on Tuesday- weather permitting.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: PhilO on 22 January, 2017, 07:33:08 pm
From the map, it doesn't look like that bit will be boggy. Checking aerial photographs on Bing Maps seems to also suggest rockiness. I'd be surprised if the stream is a serious problem in August, but probably worth considering an alternative if you have a particularly rainy day.

A proper recce should settle it. Certainly if it's passable at this time of the year it should be ok in summer.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: SoreTween on 22 January, 2017, 08:00:40 pm
Quite tempted to head up there and have a recce for you.
On checking with the driver we shall go have a look on Tuesday- weather permitting.
Thank you fboab and The Driver, that's exceedingly decent of you :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: andrew_s on 22 January, 2017, 10:00:09 pm
Checking aerial photographs on Bing Maps
Always a good move.

The BW that you intend to come in on, past the danger posts, doesn't look like anything more than random hillside that someone's taken a Landy over a few times - i.e. visible enough to save navigating time, but not any better to ride on than any other bit of grassy moorland.
I'd be inclined to approach from Langdon Beck and Cow Green resr, even if the track is officially footpath.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: Chris S on 24 January, 2017, 07:56:53 pm
Well! That was AWESOME! Nothing like a day skiving off work in the hills  :).

We parked the van at High Force, and walked the bridleway alongside the Danger Area, after taking the Pennine Way from HF. We didn't make it all the way to Maize Beck, for several reasons - but mostly because of the technical nature of the terrain.

We joined your proposed route here:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=386073&y=528050&z=115&sv=386073,528050&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=841&ax=386073&ay=528050&lm=0

The track is soft tussocky grass, moss, and random rocks:

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/566/31692560473_536393aac9.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QhyE5r)20170124_113951 (https://flic.kr/p/QhyE5r) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

As you climb Birk Rigg, heading west, it becomes steeper, and rockier:

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/426/31692558803_de47152685.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QhyDzD)20170124_114502 (https://flic.kr/p/QhyDzD) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/386/31692557473_58ef5dd6a6.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QhyDbH)20170124_114816 (https://flic.kr/p/QhyDbH) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/403/32352036272_1647496585.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RhQDfQ)20170124_114813 (https://flic.kr/p/RhQDfQ) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

The ramp at the top is steep - Strava reckons 35%.

Once at the top, it's properly rocky

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/441/32352034062_9b1f7c7953.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RhQCAJ)20170124_115340 (https://flic.kr/p/RhQCAJ) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

but the view back into the Tees Valley is tremendous

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/781/31692550753_bbf56f3eda.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QhyBbR)20170124_115558 (https://flic.kr/p/QhyBbR) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

Once at the top, the path is indistinct, and alternately rocky, boggy and in places precipitous as you head back down to the river

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/589/32504086525_79e9cecb60.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RwgWuV)20170124_122323 (https://flic.kr/p/RwgWuV) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/343/32382361501_35cb49ebe9.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Rkw4TB)20170124_122328 (https://flic.kr/p/Rkw4TB) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

We made it to Lingy Holm, but the weather was closing in, and we needed to leave enough time to get back to civilisation before the Wolves came out

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=381940&y=527937&z=115&sv=381940,527937&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=841&ax=381940&ay=527937&lm=0

There's no sign of any crossing point this far downstream of the Dam, and although we can't comment on Maize Beck, the Tees here is much more of a river than we anticipated. You could probably ford it on foot if it's been as dry as it has been recently, and in the summer - today it looked to be about 30-50cm deep at the most suitable crossing points, but it has been very dry.

Walking up/down the valley here is very hard going - it's basically a bog with many small (one or two not so small) becks to traverse. The section you show on the map, between Lingy Holm and Birkdale, over Black Hill, is probably hard going - it's boggy and there look to be many more becks to cross.
 
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/291/32352027412_a14266430b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RhQAC5)20170124_135010 (https://flic.kr/p/RhQAC5) by Chris Smith (https://www.flickr.com/photos/40735552@N05/), on Flickr

When we get another chance we'll walk down from the Cow Green end and check out Maize Beck for you.

FWIW - fboab asked me at one point: "Have we walked any section so far that you'd want to ride a bike on?", and I have to say, I couldn't think of much! YMMV of course.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: SoreTween on 24 January, 2017, 10:21:37 pm
You two are flippin awesome, thank you so much :thumbsup:

Most of that does look like the sort of ground we would 'enjoy' riding, and likely walking.  It looks much like a lot of the Pennine Bridleway surfaces.  It is particularly reminiscent of the Selside to Austwick stretch (http://streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=377546&y=473151&z=115&sv=377546,473151&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=841&ax=377546&ay=473151&lm=0) though you can see how sparce the brown lines of pain are compared to where you were.  This is right by Thieves Moss looking North:
(http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq18/SoreTween/Pennine%20Bridleway%202015/20150804_095212_zpsux0iskog.jpg)
It got a lot more technical and rocky further on but I have no photos as the weather turned to mmmminging.

That last bit up Birk Rigg will almost certainly have us on foot but who knows?  We are this time planning on being a pair of light weights compared to in 2015 (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=92611.0).  We'll be using a luggage transfer service for some of it rather than going fully loaded though that removes all flexibility.  We're not MTB supremos by a very long chalk but we have exceedingly realistic ideas of our likely rates of progress.  Well we do now after the PB gave us a very blunt re-educating  :facepalm:  There was plenty we thought we surely could manage 6mph on?  No, no we couldn't.  That looks like 3, maybe 4 mph territory.

Trouble is, the last photo.  I really do not fancy wading that one little bit.  Maize Beck does look a lot smaller than the Tees on google but that can be deceptive, just because it is narrower doesn't mean there is any less water flowing.

Thank you both again. You have allayed some of the boggyness fears with all that rock showing.  I'm all excited now ;D  I must stay realistic though and put some time into Plan B.  That is as Andrew suggests to come in from Cow Green walking the footpath stretch if necessary.

[ETA]Hells teeth that last bit of Birk Rigg is steep isn't it?  The climb up Garsdale Common (http://streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=378788&y=490728&z=115&sv=378788,490728&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=841&ax=378788&ay=490728&lm=0) will forever be etched on our minds.  That's if anything not quite so steep and on good tarmac!
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: iddu on 01 February, 2017, 11:44:32 pm
http://s144.photobucket.com/user/iddu/media/20160912-C2C/DSCN0764_zpsavpt2u01.jpg.html?sort=2&o=72 on will give taste of transit from Cow Green to High Cup Nick, done last year as part of a ruff C2C.

http://s144.photobucket.com/user/iddu/media/20160912-C2C/DSCN0775_zpsm2fywwg7.jpg.html?sort=2&o=83 is Grain Beck, and
http://s144.photobucket.com/user/iddu/media/20160912-C2C/DSCN0782_zpsicnnx1c2.jpg.html?sort=2&o=89 is the bridge over Maize Beck.
Title: Re: Cauldron Snout
Post by: SoreTween on 03 February, 2017, 02:21:55 pm
Thanks iddu, plan B looks sound.