Bob Graham Leg 2 / Filming Channel 4

Tuesday I was out with Stuart Williams and his mate in pretty awful conditions for a pootle along the Helvellyn Range from Threlkeld to Dunmail. Now Stuart certainly knows the route intimately and I'm sure he'll be very successful in his sub 22 hour attempt. I wasn't feeling too good so sat down as the sun came out below Seat Sandal and missed out Fairfield.

Out yesterday on Skiddaw filming with Pete Sidwell for his cookery / travel series which is due to be aired throughout September on Channel 4. It was better than Monday and turned out to give some quite atmospheric and moody conditions - which hopefully will be captured and stitched together to give a half decent show.

Busy busy in the Bed and Breakfast with a full house. Shanee and co leaving mega early tomorrow - but as they are regulars I'll be up to give them breakfast and see them off.



Then 3 rooms to turn around whilst looking after 2 children! Hmmm. A tricky one but I have a cunning plan....

Now - where was I?

Okey dokey - bit of a long time since the last post but then it is officially the silly season. B&B work is now absolutely mad and all time consuming. Juggling it all together with the family and our other jobs is a tough act - especially as we don't want to compromise the B&B, our guests or our quality of life (hence the long time since the last post).

Anyway it looks possible (possible not probable) that our BGR attempt will be next week. Weather looks like it may be ok for next Mon / Tues - we'll see nearer the time. Unfortunately this also coincides with a frantically busy week with lots of room changes at the guesthouse as well as Ali being at work. But we'll get there. Somehow.

Talking of the weather, I was supposed to be out filming with Pete Sidwell today for his Channel 4 series that is being aired in September. Totally and utterly clagged in with virtually zero vis so we've postponed until Wednesday.

Out tomorrow with a chap to do Leg 2 of the BGR. Strangely enough the way we got in touch is when he made a booking at the Bed and Breakfast because of The Bob connection. So we got chatting (and I must say it sounds like he's done a lot more training than me) and he's coming up tomorrow - so we'll share lifts and have a mooch on the hill. I was supposed to be out on Leg 3 last Sunday but contracted man flu (it was a serious bout - lasted over 48 hours) and so decided against it. Not sure which was the worst prospect - making myself a little iller due to the exertion, or sounding croaky for Pete Sidwell's filming episode.

So it's now busy busy with B&B change overs as guests come and go, final preparations for The Bob not to mention the final tweeks and changes for the Ama Dablam trip. With Ali at work for the rest of the week it's going to be a busy one and then out on the hill with a group on Saturday and a slide show on Sunday. Just taken 3 bookings today for guests coming in the next fortnight and have a few climbing bookings coming up over the next few weeks as well.

Still ... I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, yes, joined the 21st century with an iPhone 4! Fantastic.

'The Bob' is a go

Have just announced intentions to have a crack at The Bob Graham Round sometime at the beginning of August. Rather than setting a fixed date now, and being at the mercy of the weather, I've contacted my potential supporters, I'll find out their availability to do various legs according to which day of the week and what commitments they have, and then once I have a better idea about the weather I'll get in touch with everyone and set the date accordingly.

Went out on Blencathra with Stuart (the chap who'll be having a go on the same day as me) and we hoofed it up to the summit in 1hr 10mins. Then we went back along towards Great Calva to suss out the line from the river crossing and then hung a left and dropped across to the Skiddaw House track and back across the top of Latrigg. A good little run out but I realised as I got to the top of Latrigg that all I'd had that day was a left over rasher of bacon for breakfast and a spoonful of baked beans for lunch. It had been a bit of a busy day in the B&B and I'd had Max to look after and, well, I just ran out of time for breakfast and then forgot to have lunch. Nearly, but not quite, bonked - so a very valuable lesson. Good to know that I could still run on empty and took on the importance of keeping the fuel tank topped up.

Just been up Clough Head this afternoon in between and amongst the rain showers. Not sure whether to tackle it up the steeper more direct line or the less steep but longer ascent. The difference amounts to about 300m / 4 minutes - not a lot but if you lose 4 mins here and 4 mins there it could make all the difference between success and failure.

The beauty of mobiles and the internet! Managed to take 3 calls and a booking while out on the hill. Brilliant. Not like the old days where the B&B owner had to be in to get the passing trade. Or when people used to get the tourist brochure, ring the B&B, make a booking, send a letter and a cheque to secure the reservation and get a letter in reply to confirm the booking. Nowadays people can book at any time of the day or night online - which is why we offer a discount for internet bookings.

We have tweeked the B&B website and gone for a brand new, cleaner look with bigger photos and a slightly different layout. Any feedback much appreciated.

Still getting Ama Dablam enquiries but have unfortunately had to close the trip. Not so much because of the number of people that I am looking after but more that there could be a potential logjam if everyone is on the same schedule and trying for the summit round about the same time. The camps are rather bijou to say the least:

Camp 2 on Ama Dablam - just enough room for 5 or 6 tents

Camp 2.9 on Ama Dablam - even less room. 3 tents at a push.

The problem comes when trying to get more people than the available tent spaces up and down over a two or three day period - especially when relying on tent spaces being vacated for the next wave of people on their summit push only to find that the people who are already there are perhaps too pooped, or conditions haven't been suitable, for them to descend.

Anyway all being well we'll have a great time out there and hopefully we'll be reporting back with lots of summit successes. Watch this space.

In the meantime I'll be out on the hill in a couple of weeks with Pete Sidwell who is filming with a company called Liberty Bell for a forthcoming series that he's managed to get picked up for showing on Channel 4 throughout the whole of September. Fingers crossed for some good weather. Not sure how the day will pan out, or how it's going to fit in to the structure of the programme, but I'm delighted to be working with him. Apparently he's been doing an awesome job and it will be good to see the end result.

For the time being ... 'That's all Folks.'