Lake District: Helvellyn

Our bed & breakfast, the Maple Bank guest house in Braithwaite (near Keswick), had a great view of Skiddaw (the 4th highest peak in the Lake District at 3054 feet).  We were delighted to wake up to clear, albeit cold, skies.  Our plan for the day was to walk up Helvellyn, the 3rd highest peak in the Lakes at 3118 feet, which Wordsworth allegedly walked when he was 70 years old.

Britt and Jack in front of the Maple Bank guest house:
A scenic morning drive to the lake Ullswater and the village of Glenridding brought us to the start of our hike:

Looking back over Glenridding and Ullswater:


Britt and Jack near the first minor top of Mires Beck:
The path to Helvellyn:
Britt in front of Helvellyn:
Jack boldly awaits the toughest climb of his short dog-life - our traverse of the Striding Edge:

Me, beginning our walk along Striding Edge:
What a good little scrambler!
Britt, on edge:
Me, on edge:
Looking back along the ridge:
Britt & Jack on top of the world:
Jack, at the cairn:
After descending along Swirral Edge, we came to our pastoral end:

Lake District: Wordsworth and Gingerbread

The village of Grasmere was our first stop upon arriving in the English Lake District (me being a Wordsworth scholar and all).  Grasmere was precisely the picturesque, mountain-nestled, tourist-swarmed village I had imagined.  The quiet of the hills greatly softened the buzz of the village:

Grasmere's famous gingerbread - a flat, dense and gooey bar, coated in fairy dust, with a strong ginger zing:
And everything Wordsworth:
Oswald church, Wordsworth's place of worship:

Wordsworth and his family are buried in the church cemetery:

We ended our tour of Grasmere at Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth museum:

Garscube Christmas Ceilidh

Every holiday season the Garscube harriers come together in a beautiful expression of camaraderie and cohesion - and nothing expresses this so beautifully as Scottish catering - mmmm, sandwich triangles, the essence of cohesion. Just as Garscube sticks together, so do the spongy slices with their generous mortar of butter and mayonnaise:
The boys:
The gals:
Heather & Davie:
Britt & Me:
Natasha & Stephen:
Lesley & Jon:Danny & Alison:
And no Scottish party is complete without the ceilidh band and dance!
The pledge:
The turn:
...more turning
...and then some more turning
Finally, the prestige:
Now, that's Garscube magic:
And that's Garscube closing down the bar:

B.O.W.W.O.W.

Beer of the Week:

"Blackfriar" scotch ale from Inveralmond brewery - at 7.0% ABV - is a smooth, malty ale (though surprisingly light on body and mouthfeel) with roasted, chocolate, and caramel notes balanced with a dried apple and raisin fruitiness. And hoppy for a scotch ale.

Whisky of the Week:

"Singleton" 12-year from Dufftown distillery (Speyside) had decent malt and spice up front, warm and chewy with some smokiness, finishing bitterly and somewhat abruptly with a harsh burn for a whisky at 40% ABV. Imbibed at our local whisky pub, "Uisge Beatha" (ISH ke bah), along with the folk songs of local singers and musicians.

B.O.W.W.O.W.

Beer of the Week:

Now that the winter season is upon us like a wet, black cloak, the b.o.w.'s will be primarily the darker, heavier stouts, scotch ales, and barley wines (as opposed to the crisp blonde summer ales).  "Ca'Canny" is a porter-style ale at 5.2% ABV from the Kelburn brewing company. Outstanding coffee and chocolate richness with a deep fruity aftertaste - just like the label says (and they're not exaggerating)!

Whisky of the Week:

"Bruichladdich" 12-year, another whisky from my favorite region, Islay.  Subtle for an Islay malt since this one is unpeated.  Green fruits (pear/apple) and vanilla are predominant.  Full malty sweetness.

Dunbartonshire and West District Cross Country

Dunbartonshire AAA Cross Country Championships:

A beautifully sunny and crisp morning on the hilly fields outside of Kirkintilloch, a town circa 10 miles northeast of Glasgow. Scottish cross country is often run in the country, literally - not on the manicured golf courses of American cross country. Dunbartonshires were thus held in a local farmer's wheat stubble. The snow-dusted Campsie fells (i.e. hills) to the north completed the pastoral mis-en-scene. (Photos courtesy of fellow Scottish running blogger, Chris Upson):
A picture of what Wordsworth would call "glad animal movement" - a random Scottish youth flows with the wheat stubble, over the sheep scat, and along the thorny hedgerows:

The adult race was approximately 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, and consisted of three loops with a non-trivial hill bisecting the course. The cruelty of the course designers had the runners cross up and down this hill 4 or 5 times per loop, making for 15 solid climbs up the muddy slope. Below is Garscube mate Rob McLennan tackling one of said hills: Garscube Harrier, Joe McKnight:
Garscube harrier and fellow running blogger, Marco Consani:

The Garscube Harriers ran a brilliant race, taking the Dunbartonshire team championship with a mere 22 points (with Dumbarton and Helensburgh coming in a distant 2nd and 3rd with 84 points and 85 points respectively). Individually, I emerged victorious (in a time of 36:47) over 17-year-old 1500 meter specialist Sean Fontana and recent Glasgow transplant, a fellow bearded American and former University of New Mexico athlete, Mike Deason. Other Garscube scorers were Danny Price (6th), Toby Messanger (7th), and Dave Robertson (8th).

West District Cross Country:

The week after Dunbartonshire brought the highly competitive West Districts, which includes all the top club runners in the west of Scotland - undoubtedly the strongest of the three districts in Scotland (in terms of depth). My goal going into the race was a top 20 finish - ambitious considering the quality of athletes, led by the Shettleston harrier's Eritrean contingent who have recently competed at World Cross Country championships!

The 10 kilometer course was flatter, firmer, and thus much faster than the previous weekend's slop-fest. From the start of the race, I latched onto the purple vest of Bellahouston harrier Kenny Richmond, a top 20 finisher from last year. Near the end of the first lap (of three), since I was feeling comfortable at the pace, I decided to move past Kenny and very gradually worked my way up the field - not so much chasing the chaps ahead of me as holding off the other chasers, one of whom turned out to be the American running for Glasgow Uni, Mike Deason. Deason sat right on my heels for the second lap and seemed to be much more relaxed than me at that point - as witnessed by the photo below!

Mike apparently found more humor in the act of dodging an angry dog that was loose on the course, which happened just before this photo was taken I believe. On the third and final lap, Mike decided to make his move. I was determined not to let him get away, so I dug deep and let him pull me along, overtaking a few more runners in the process. Coming into the final stretch, I was a few meters back and unleashed my kick. After going by Mike fairly authoritatively, and with him seeming to concede by uttering "nice race man," I began to doubt whether we were indeed approaching the finish or whether the course had another zig-zag (and perhaps another 200 meters) remaining. Upon easing off for fear I had kicked too soon, Mike again overtook me as we came upon the finishing area. I was not able to regain momentum, and we came across the line in 32:56 - he in 14th position and me in 15th. I was very pleased with the overall effort if not with the result of my duel with Deason. Garscube, despite our missing a few runners on the day, finished a respectable 7th place in the senior mens competition.

See Debbie's slideshow for more coverage of the West District race!

B.O.W.W.O.W.

Beer of the Week: "Bede's Chalice," a barley wine from durham brewery, weighing in at 9.0% ABV, is an amazing and complex beer with the flavors of rich thistle honey, toffee, prune, and (on the finish) orange bitters - sweet and heavy, but not nauseatingly so.

Whisky of the Week: "Ardbeg" 10-year is another smoky, medicinal whisky from Islay (resembling Laphroaig). Combining with the peaty, smoky, earthy qualities is a sweet smooth tobacco that evokes the spirit of grandpa's living room - pipe smoke, dessication, and home remedies.

B.O.W.W.O.W.

Whisky of the Week: There is no beer of the week (b.o.w.) this week as the elements have driven us to whisky night after night. In these cold, dark and damp times, we must focus our attention on whisky. Cragganmore 12-year immediately became one of my favorites - one I will surely return to as the Scottish sun sets at 4:30, then 4:00, then on the solstice - God help us - 3:30! Incredibly smooth and sweet malt with complex floral and honey flavors on the nose and tongue, finishing like a roaring wood stove in the throat and belly.

edit:
Beer of the Week: we have a belated beer of the week after all, "St. Cuthbert" IPA from Durham Brewery. Heavy all around with malt, yeast, hops, taking a quaff trajectory from honey to peach to wee orange citrus, on to a meaty, musty yeasty wit long dry throat puckerin finish. Bottle-conditioned certified real ale. The best IPA I've had in a while.

Scotland on the Tele

Today I would like to share - whether it be introducing for the first time or simply reminding of an old favorite - some of Scotland's finest moments on cable.

The first (and my personal favorite) is a sit-com produced right here in Glasgow's Kelvingrove park (a wee jog from our flat and site of my occasion hill reps or interval workouts) - "Dear Green Place." The way this show captures the speech, attitudes, and behavioral suites of Glasgow's blue-collar workers (whether they be park rangers, close sweepers, window washers, trash collectors, or street sweepers) is 'pure brilliant':



The next clip, a comedy sketch from the show "Absolutely," depicts Scotland's desperate attempt to take the spotlight on the world's stage - a punch line more recently brought to life with Glasgow's (successful) bid for the Commonwealth games in 2014:



And finally, though not pertaining to Scotland specifically but Britain more generally, is the hilarious "Little Britain":



Just one more from Little Britain!

B.O.W.W.O.W.

Beer of the Week:

An oddity this week, the b.o.w. is a German-style beer, though brewed here in Glasgow - West brewing company's Hefeweizen (their Vienna-style lager, St. Mungo's, deserves honorable mention). This Hefeweizen was as good as any sampled while living and traveling in Germany - floral, spicy, fig and banana. I regret not trying the Dunkelweizen ... next time.

Whisky of the Week:

"Talisker" 10-year, the only single malt from the Isle of Skye, is this week's w.o.w. and this month's nightly sipping whisky (now that the weather is turning colder and the sun is setting at 4:40!). Complex earthy and herbaceous qualities are central - mint and spruce - with a peripheral warm sweet bread.

Cross-Country Relays

Dunbartonshire AAA Relay Championships:

Posties Park, in the shadow of Dumbarton Rock (photo below), played host to a small 4 x 4 kilometer cross-country meet for competing clubs in the area.

The site of the relay can be seen to the right of where the River Leven empties into the Firth of Clyde on the west of Scotland:

Since the Garscube men's team was the defending champion, there was a strong motivation to field our best squad and retain said championship. On a mostly flat, slightly boggy (for Scotland anyway), not quite 4 km course, our team of Stephen Mulrine (12:32), Lindsay Cunningham (12:36), myself (11:56), and Euan Mackay (13:14) were successful in over-coming an early lead by Victoria Park of Glasgow and remaining the top harrier squad in Dunbartonshire.


Scottish National Relay Championships:

Cumbernauld - the oft voted runner-up as 'crappiest place to live' and champion in the category of 'most derelict town center' played host to last weekend's Scottish National Cross-country Relays. Behold the lovely Cumbernauld shopping center:


An afternoon walk down main street:Exiting one of the local markets:

Cumbernauld: the perfect place to raise your neds
The cross-country race itself - another 4 x 4 km relay - was made equally lovely by the atrocious weather conditions, with high winds and heavy rains turning Cumbernauld's 3 acres of green space into what was, for all intents and purposes, a muddy cattle yard. Due to the weather conditions, I did not bring the camera and thus have no photo documentation of the runner's sliding up and down muddy slopes, drudging through mucky suck pockets of pure muck.

As this was a national level competition, our Garscube Harrier squad was something of an underdog. We (Stephen, Euan, Joe, and I) finished 26th place overall, myself only managing a 16:15 for the 4 kilometer loop. However, congratulations go to the Garscube ladies vet's team (Ali, Kristy, and Mairi) for winning the ladies vets title!