Originally Posted by
Tindersticks
It was a case of deja vu with another trip over to South Yorkshire...."how do"....and just like last weeks Thurlstone Chase it's showtime again. To be fair Broomhead show is larger than Thurlstone and once again we're entertained by a brass band (Deepcar) and I'm pleased to see 'Chef on a bike' is in attendance selling his delicious flour based goods.....a loaf of apple and cheddar had to be purchased along with four Portuguese custard tarts.....simply lovely.
Deepcar brass band had my wife and I partaking in our own little 'pop quiz'...basically who could guess the tune first. We both got "9 to 5" in unison but I think most people are familiar with Dolly's big 'hits'. I lost out when mistaking "Mr Blue Sky" by ELO for "A day in the life" by The Beatles....it's an easy mistake, Alison said "tough" and the gloating began.
I had my revenge when up stepped a local rock band playing not your typical run of the mill covers. It was great to hear tracks by Presidents of the USA, Jet, Razorlight, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age.....the locals seemed quite perplexed with the rock band...We thought they were beltin, I'd almost forgotten I was here for the race, Alison rubbed it in by crashing out with a burger and a beer.
It was then our turn to be perplexed when we noticed a banner above a stall that said, "Cow pat competition". Curiosity got the better of us and we went to investigate. It was quite simple: you buy a raffle ticket for £1 and a cow craps in a field covered in numbers, if the cow pat lands on your number you're £200 in pocket....simple. However there's a twist...in recent years due to Health and Safety a real cow can no longer be used, honestly, and instead a pantomime cow is used as a replacement from which the blindfolded occupants drop a pretend pat.....silly, but brilliant.
I must say though, that no matter how many of these great little shows fell racing takes me to I'm still yet to witness Ferret-legging....have my Yorkshire friends gone soft?
Right let's get down to business...the fell race.
I'd read in previous post that route finding can be a problem and apparently a few went astray this year. Personally I thought it was really well marked with tape at various junctions and marshals at the river crossings and summit. It's basically a run from the show field down towards the river which is waded across, it's not deep. Then up through woods onto open fields and run up the hill towards the pillar cairn and then double back for a short distance before branching off down a track. More downhill running over a field and track soon leads into the woods....lookout for tape as you twist and turn your way down towards the river. A short stretch alongside the river, ducking and hurdling fallen trees and it's back across the river to run back up the fields towards the show....this section feels steeper than you'd expect.
Many thanks to all involved...."si thee".