In the midst of our carol singing, the rest of this hymn’s first line came to mind, “cleft for me”. Deep in between the rocks of Bamford Edge and sheltering from the raging wind and drizzle, we clustered together to sing the second threesome of carols from Andy’s (now) traditional sheet. Appropriately, “In the deep midwinter” was sung with gusto, in defiance of the wind raging outside our tightly packed cleft. We felt better for it.
Before, our first threesome of carols was in Jarvis cabin which is still standing after surviving another year of its decrepitude. But, it was shelter from the furious drizzle so we ten (including an almost forgotten but very fit Ian W) could sing with enthusiasm. It is an uplifting experience to sing in a group of like-minded folk all clad in multiple layers of warm and waterproof gear. Will our next choral performance include snippets from the Messiah, culminating in a complete summer production in the old quarry near Nether Moor? I’m not sure but, currently, our singing abilities complement our questionable running abilities, so don’t book your place in the quarry just yet.
Jarvis cabin was reached by the track from near the car park and we did run (yes!) most of the way there, risking a possibly humiliating paddle/semi-immersion just in front of the audience already in the cabin. Having completed our stream crossing and our vocal and photographic activities, we slithered up by the cabin side to reach open moorland, open in the sense that there were no major obstacles, for our crossing to Bamford Edge.
However, there were several minor obstacles of the usual sort, deep heather and bogs, tall reeds and curiously energy sapping soft vegetation. All this fun was on the bearing of 215⁰ to Great Tor. We survived but took a line a little to the left of Pete’s more right line, which ensured he got there directly and so was ensconced in the Tor’s cleft, ready to sing. The rest of us staggered along the windy Edge to join him.
Having completed our dose of Harmerian ground and our singing, the edge path beckoned, so we enjoyed soft and very wet ground (recent weather had been rainy!) for a crossing of Jarvis Clough which reminded us that we were fell runners and had to do a bit of hill climbing every now and again. Our last seasonal singing without a carol sheet, was at the Hordron Edge stone circle. It had to be “We wish you a merry Christmas……….”
It was to the YBI, after our activities of singing, photography and running that we considered retirement from work, not running, and general Christmas bonhomie.
A grand outing, thanks to all and have a Happy Christmas
Graham
