I can definitely recommend the bivvy recce - my avatar is taken on the summit of Sca Fell just before I got into my bag.
Parking in Whitehaven for anything longer than a 2 hour shopping trip is a bit of a nightmare (not that you'd want to spend 2 hours shopping in Whitehaven.....) but if you speak nicely to the harbour master he might let you park right under his look out tower like we did.
Good luck with the training and the race - hope your sea legs are sturdier than mine........
Careful nowt wrong with WhitehavenOriginally Posted by Norfolk & Goode
Don't try and park in the town centre, of course there's a two hour limit.
Our team used Cyclocross bikes
Does anyone have details of the exact route that needs to be taken for the Snowdon leg please?
Cheers
...indeed, all three would be useful as I'm hoping to recce this year and get our entry together for next year.
Are maps provided with the routes on? They seem to be quite proscriptive so I'm guessing it's best to have the routes wired in advance.
The route up Snowdon is basically from the wharf in Caernarfon (which is near a Morrissons as I recall), then up the A road that goes to the south of Snowdon, up the Snowdon Ranger path to the summit (where there is the only checkpoint), down the railway path to Llanberis and then back along the A road to Caernarfon. There isn't much route choice.
The Scafell Pike leg is a bike ride to the youth hostel at the head of Ennerdale Water (not Black Sail), run up the valley and then over Black Sail Pass to Wasdale Head (checkpoint), then up a diagonal path that leads to the main path to Hollow Stones. You then go left a bit to the col between Lingmell Fell (??) and Scafell Pike, then straight up to Scafell Pike (this last bit is how you would finally ascend Scafell Pike if you'd done the Corridor Route from Styhead). The bike ride is along the West Cumbria cycleway (I think).
The race is a defined course route, but I think you need to do the sensible thing on the ground (like the route that is marked up the last bit of Scafell Pike might be a right of way - green dashes on the map, but it's not a path).
Thanks for that, Zlod. They seemed the most logical routes but I didn't want to start recce'ing the wrong lines...that would be a distinct waste of calories :-)
Thanks Zlod
So you use different paths for the ascent & descent on Snowdon... Up the south side on the Ranger path from the YH & down the railway path to Llanberis?
Yes thats correct. We figured it was to split the field up a bit more as you are usually doing this in the dark so you don't know where the lead or the chasing runners are. By Scafell you are so split up any way the lead runners are probably close to a day in front of the back markers.
Watch out for Mr Howard
Yep: you've got it!
It's the A4085 on the way to Snowdon Ranger and the A4086 on the way back from Llanberis.
Note that there is only one checkpoint on this leg (at the top of the Snowdon summit cairn), so you don't actually have to go to Snowdon Ranger YH. Also note that you don't have to go to Black Sail YH on the Scafell Pike leg (you pass beneath it).
The run from Llanberis back to Caernarfon can be pretty hard work, especially when your skipper has given you a schedule to get back to the boat!
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