I climbed Keadeen

My track: 36.4 miles cycling

and 4.4 miles hiking

A new mountain peak for me: Keadeen at the south west limit of the Wicklow Mountains and standing somewhat separate connected only by the Ballinabarny Gap.  It was Sunday and I met several other groups tackling the peak, though none without shoes and mostly with those hiking sticks which I abhor (at least for easy hiking like this). There was even a parking place, which I biked to from home, and the trail was well used though boggy in places.

Overall stats: 40.8 miles, elevation gain 1394m, maximum 658m though, interestingly, other sites report varying heights e.g. 653m, 635m, and OpenTopoMap, which is the best open sourced map ever, reports a spot height of 705.3m though its contours do not bear this up.

Here is a pile of my photos, the last one being of mist rising from our lake the early morning after. Click on the images to view full-screen.

I climbed Benbulbin

My track: 7.1 miles elevation gain 521m

I got a bit lost on the way to the access point and a helpful local man gave me directions to Luke's Bridge and told me that on no account was I to climb Benbulbin as it would be too dangerous with the recent rainfall.  However on parking the car it was evident that numerous others were climbing so I dismissed his advice and set off, and was glad I did.

Luke's Bridge, seen looking down from the top

Looking down one of the many fissures

The relatively flat top

Looking back on the way down

The inscription on the bronze plate affixed to the triangulation pillar reads:

Kevin Myers

12.12.74 - 7.7.2002

Passed on in the middle of living his dreams

Cheers to our mate kev

Great memories live on

Love from

Trav Beth Russ Tracy Wrenny

Steve Nick Viv Amy

and all your aussie mates

That he came from Australia is evident. But what were his dreams? - and how did he die: was it on this mountain?  Sadly Google could tell me no more so I was left wondering. 

The climb and views from the top of this unusual mountain were awesome, ecstatic almost. Marred only by the many other hikers attempting it, with their hiking gear, many layers of clothing, boots and sticks, but none barefoot or lightly clad as I was. But we coexisted amicably. 

And what are my dreams? And will they be of sufficient consequence to live on in anyone else's thoughts should I decease? And does it matter anyway?

Although it mattered to me enough to wonder and to write this post that this man, otherwise unknown to me, should have friends loving enough to erect this epitaph on having his dreams so abruptly extinguished.

Moone and Timolin

Moone and Timolin are villages close to each other in the south of Co.Kildare. My cycle ride this afternoon took me past a signpost that announced I was within a few km of these villages and this brought back memories of purchasing my first PC, as mention of either village always does.

My track, 38.2 miles, 12.45mph average

My route was "go anywhere you like but keep away from Dunlavin". Which you will see from my track that I did very successfully. It's not that there is anything particularly wrong with Dunlavin, just that all roads in this area appear to lead there and it is thus a struggle to keep away.

So - my first PC. This was shortly after my decision to start an electronics design consultancy, Microlite. Having used a multi-user computer in my work for the BBC I at least knew that I needed one but not much else. I left the BBC in 1981 and in the next 7 years before Microlite I was totally out of touch with the world of electronics. During those years I did other things like learning to live in a community, building work, picking potatoes, a painting and decorating business, teaching people to drive, I even helped to cook a meal for a restaurant. And during those years I was oblivious to the birth of the PC.

The decision before me was the lower cost Amstrad PCW which used the CP/M operating system, or the IBM PC. Thankfully I chose the latter. I can't remember how one did market research back then before the dawn of the internet, but somehow I found this outfit in Moone. I must have seen an advert somewhere because I can still sort of picture the front of this XT desktop. And I longed for an excuse to go to Moone to see it for myself and possibly purchase. Back then one couldn't just jump in a car on a whim - money was short and getting permission was the order of the day. How things have changed since then! In the event I ended up buying a PC-AT (286 processor) from a company in Dublin. I remember asking them what colour it was, which bemused the salesperson somewhat - "computer colour of course".

I chose a Hercules graphics card and monochrome monitor in colour orange, though virtually all of my work was text based. Later, when I purchased my first PCB-CAD software, I got a CGA monitor which boasted a resolution 320×200 in 4 colors. How things have changed since then!

Fair waved the golden corn

Fair waved the golden corn

in Canaan's pleasant land,

when, full of joy, some shining morn,

went forth the reaper-band.

Every week-day morning at Alresford Preparatory School we sang a hymn probably followed Miss Curtis reciting a prayer. That was our morning "assembly". The hymn was chosen from a fixed and short list, round robin style. And one of the hymns, and the one that for some reason I hated, was "Fair waved the golden corn". Possibly because of the very dull melody, possibly because of the lyrics the point of which is nigh incomprehensible to me even now.

The other hymns in the list? Sorry, but I cannot remember. Strange that I should only remember the one I disliked.

The God of chance

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.  (Proverbs 16:33)

Casting lots was a method used in the Old Testament to determine the "will of God". This verse was quoted in this morning's sermon to show that God still controls outcomes so that there is no such thing as "chance" regarding events in our lives.

My son has four girls. If they were to have a fifth - what would be the probability (i.e. chance) of it being a girl? A trick question and of course the "correct" answer according to statistics is about 49%.  But actually, quite apart from God, it is somewhat meaningless to talk statistics when the sample size is so small. The best one can say is that it will certainly be either a girl or a boy. Or, if you believe in the God of Proverbs 16, that it will be the exact sex that God appoints. And so were born two boys: John to be "the Baptist" and Jesus "the son of God".

So, if indeed God interferes with the laws of chance, doubt is cast on the outcome of physical phenomena that the law is supposed to govern.  And modern physics is all about probability.  Enter quantum mechanics with Schrödinger's cat and Maxwell's demon, Bose–Einstein statistics and Fermi–Dirac statistics and wot-not. Carbon 14, and any other radioactive-isotope, dating not only assumes that things were then as they are now, but also depends on probability.

Maybe God putting his spanner in the works and tweaking chance explains miracles, and could even justify creation. Like as in the angel Gabriel's For with God nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:37)

Not that I can prove this anymore than I could predict the sex of my son's fifth child. Indeed the point about the "thought experiment" named Schrödinger's cat is that, according to quantum mechanics the cat is both dead and alive at the same time and this reality collapses into one or other possibility only when the box is opened and the cat is observed. I'll only know for such when my daughter-in-law gives birth (or is scanned)... in the unlikely event that they have a fifth child!

Devon and Somerset Gliding Club

Yesterday we drove great-grandma to Blackborough on the edge of the Blackdown hills, and that reminded me of a previous run and spurred me to do something similar again.

Blackdown Hills part of my track

This time I left early in the morning on this our last day in Willand, and I clocked up exactly 16 miles with elevation gain 817m. The footpaths around my furthest point in Broadhembury did not disappoint. You'll see that (in the unlikely event that you are interested enough to look) from my photos. All barefoot of course. Click on the images to enlarge.

Sunrise over the Culm valley

Footpath #1 through the middle of a field of long grass

Footpath #2 - a wide swathe through corn

The picturesque village of Broadhembury

Footpath #3 with horse

More of footpath #3, so wonderful

Last stretch of footpath #3 showing well maintained style

Ascending the scarp face of the Blackdown Hills

Stony underfoot but not bad

A glider-club airfield at the top

Sadly no airplanes though

Majestic Blackdown woods

View of Culm valley from Blackborough

I'm a wimp

12 year old Christian Li with his violin

“I’m so excited to have signed to Decca Classics just after my 12th birthday, and to be releasing my very first recording! I love playing the violin, and really hope you enjoy listening.”

When I read about a 12 year old like this I realise that I am a wimp. I aspire to musical heights but hardly lift a hand to reach them. Likewise in other areas of my life. I aspire to being an expert in my field, but I am not even sure what my field is. Jack of a few trades, master of none. I've highlighted several other musical prodigies recently. What more can I say? For time would fail me to tell of...

This two weeks chez great-grandma: the early mornings are mine as neither she nor Ali surface until after 9am. So I've listened to some music. This morning it was Tchaikovsky's 5th conducted by Manfred Honeck, a symphony I have not listened to for many years. And yet in it are themes that have infiltrated my being since my youth, so that I find myself humming them whilst running, or picking them out when I sit at the piano...

The french horn solo in the 2nd movement - way back in time when I had that reel-to-reel tape recorder I recorded this excerpt onto a small tape reel and mailed it to my Aunty Mary. Now-a-days you would just attach a clip to an email or chat but such things hadn't been invented back then. I wanted to reach out and share my enjoyment and hoped that she would respond appropriately. But there was no response and later, when I asked her, it seemed as though she hadn't even played the tape. Which saddened me.

Accepting that I am a wimp I long, at least, to in some way inspire the youngsters at home to excel, particularly but not necessarily in music. I see much potential for talent, even some desire to do well but, as a community, I think we shy away from excellence and competition perhaps because it is seen to exalt the creature rather than the creator. I wonder - what would we do with a 12 year old that wanted to practice 6 hours a day? The nearest we've had to this is when my daughter was learning to fly: a seeming impossibility at the time but it happened and this ought to encourage me to push others, but there's got to be something to push...

Great Western Canal

Click here for original

My track, 26.1 miles

The goal - to traverse the whole of the Great Western Canal Country Park cycle route on Jenny's bicycle before it changes hands, to explore the canal beyond the Country Park, and to buy some carrots for Sunday's dinner. Click here if you are interested in some canal history.

OpenTopoMap showing hill contours

So I cycled to Tiverton (6 miles) to the terminal canal basin which is strangely situated on the side of a hill. In its hay-day when used to transport goods by barge - how did they man-handle the goods from this terminus to where-ever?

Canal basin, Tiverton

Being a canal with no locks for the 11 navigable miles, the tow path is of course level and thus ideal for cycling. Being a Saturday there were lots of walkers and a few other cyclists which slows one down a tad, but altogether very enjoyable.  As my cell-phone was strapped with insulation tape to the bike frame and thus somewhat inaccessible, I took no photos till I got to the other end.

The other end of the 11.42 navigable miles

Plaque at the other end, click to enlarge

Just before the other end is a short tunnel (40 yards) which the tow path and thus I circumnavigated. The final other end was once the first (Lowdwells) lock since Tiverton. The first part of my mission complete, my next was to investigate whether the footpaths that follow the now largely dry remains of the canal from here to Taunton were navigable by bicycle. The short answer is "no"...

OS 1:25000 map

I got as far as Greenham - along the way once sinking to wheel hub depth in mud and many times pushing nettles and brambles out of the way whilst hardly balancing between hedgerows either side and finally hauling the bike over a style in Greenham. The continuation of the footpath there appeared even more formidable as so instead I detoured slightly to wash myself and bicycle in the river Tone and then returned on metalled roads via Whiteball to the A38 and thence home (8.75 miles including the difficult footpath).

One day maybe I'll drive to Greenham, park and explore the footpaths on foot, as there are what promises to be interesting remains of boat lifts, an aqueduct over the Tone and locks on the way. Although making it all the way to Taunton and back might be a tall order!  For a complete walker's map see here.

Oh - and I forgot the carrots. So, after hose-spraying the remaining mud off the bicycle, I tootled off to the nearby Co-op store thus drying the bike and acquiring said carrots in one operation.

Garnsey's Tower

I don't know anything about this chap Garnsey except that he built a tower on the brow of a hill. This site suggests it is "a decaying tower in Blackborough woods that served as shelter for whetstone miners" which is not ever so revealing. Whetstones are used for sharpening tools and can be a variety of rocks, and I didn't see any evidence of mining. But the tower served as a focal point for the run-cum-hike barefoot which included several major footpath segments.

15.2 miles, 657m height gain, 4.2 mph

Detail showing some footpaths...

The work of an enterprising houseowner in Kentisbeare

It was a simple circuit in Gauge 1 and working too

Checkerboard church tower, Kentisbeare

Thatch is picturesque but that's about all

The ascent to Blackborough Common

My first footpath got dicy here - it was not well kept

But it resolved into a much better path

The roof of the ruin of Blackborough House

And finally, Garnsey's Tower, ruin thereof

From this angle, clearly a tower that once was

The views looking north from this part of Blackborough Common were spectacular. You can of course enlarge the pictures by clicking on them, after which you can scroll through them.

Large toadstool I noticed on my descent

The second major segment of footpath was also poorly maintained. According to my GPS enabled maps (I use UK OS and OpenTopoMap via MOBAC on OruxMaps) the footpath led me through the middle of an oil-seed rape field and then...

...through the middle of a wheat field (or some such grain) - I followed a line made by a tractor to minimise any additional damage to the crop, but in any case going barefoot does a good deal less damage than when shod because one feels one's way through the stalks.  And then...

...through a grassy meadow where I could actually run...

... and through hard to identify gates or styles to the next field or, in this case to...

... a very muddy and dark lane that finally opened up into the village of Ashill where there was a helpful sign telling me the lane was "not surfaced", and thence to...

... Culmstock and my much traversed water-meadow footpath to Uffculme and home. And (sadly) one tick so far.