The Round E-Book

Steve Chilton

• Herausgeber: Sandstone Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 459

Beschreibung

The Round is not only a history of the Bob Graham Round, but also an exploration of the what, why and how of this classic fell endurance challenge. After covering the genesis of the BGR in detail, it documents its development from a more-or-less idle challenge to its present status as a rite of passage for endurance runners. Interspersed with this detail of the round are extensive profiles of many of the event's most significant individuals: innovators, record setters, recorders and supporters. Some links to resources for potential BGR completers are be included. The Round is emphatically NOT a 'how to' guide, but it IS a terrific follow up to Steve Chilton's hugely popular first book, It's a Hill, Get Over It.

Leseprobe

THE ROUND

In Bob Graham’s Footsteps

Praise for ‘The Round’

‘The book gave an in-depth insight into the world of the Bob Graham challenger and inspires readers that grand running challenges are achievable by all.’ Active Outdoors

‘This book is one of the best reads ever of this exclusive club.Steve Chilton should be a very happy man with what he has produced. The in-depth interviews are just a great read… something very special.’ Joss Naylor

‘A very worthy edition to add to the published fell running category. I enjoyed the book as a historical reference, a source of wry amusement, a reminder of yesteryear while encapsulating the spirit of long distance fell running challenges in the Lake District.’ The Fellrunner Magazine

‘Unfailingly inspiring. Steve’s lovingly-researched, in-depth, entertaining interviews with Bob Graham round completers past and present provides a fitting testament to a now legendary challenge.’ Claire Maxted

‘Steve Chilton’s book is a carefully researched and fact-packed examination of the run-up to the first and subsequent Bob Graham Round, further attempts at beating Graham’s record and the extension by various runners of the number of Lakeland fells that can be summited in 24 hours.’ Grough

‘We found this book to be an informative and interesting read, and feel it will become a valuable historical addition to the small library of previously published books on fell running and endurance.’ Kenny and Pauline Stuart

‘Steve Chilton writes with authority, documenting the development of the Round from a more-or-less idle challenge to its present status. There are extensive profiles of many of the challenge’s most significant individuals: innovators, record setters, recorders and supporters.’ The Westmorland Gazette 

‘There is something legendary about the Bob Graham Round. Steve Chilton has interviewed the men, and the women, people of rare determination and doggedness, as well as extraordinary fitness, who have completed the Round.’ Steve Matthews

‘[Chilton] has done extensive research, and gone out of his way to interview those making and helping the pivotal attempts in the BGR’s history, to get first hand stories. This includes a rare interview with Billy Bland, the current record holder… The book finishes acknowledging ‘the unsung heroes’ who facilitate many attempts: the pacers, navigators and supporters… this is an interesting and informative read, and makes a valuable contribution in the fell running library.’ Compass Sport

Steve Chilton is a committed runner and qualified athletics coach with considerable experience of fell running, and a marathon PB of 2-34-53. He is a long-time member of the Fell Runners Association (FRA). In a long running career he has run in many of the classic fell races, as well as mountain marathons and has also completed the Cuillin Traverse.

Steve works at Middlesex University (where he is Lead Academic Developer), and is currently involved in an in-depth project to document the history and value of the 1st Edition 6” maps of the Ordnance Survey.

Steve’s work has been published extensively, particularly in his roles as Chair of the Society of Cartographers (for whom he co-edited Cartography: A Reader), and as Chair of the ICA Commission in Neocartography. He is heavily involved in the OpenStreetMap project (osm.org), having co-edited OpenStreetMap: Using and Enhancing the Free Map of the World.

His first book for Sandstone Press, It’s a Hill, Get Over It, won the 2014 Bill Rollinson Prize for Landscape and Tradition, and was nominated for the Boardman Tasker Prize and shortlisted for the Great Outdoors Book of the Year.

First published in Great Britain by

Sandstone Press Ltd

Dochcarty Road

Dingwall

Ross-shire

IV15 9UG

Scotland.

www.sandstonepress.com

This edition published in 2017

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

© Steve Chilton 2015

© All images as ascribed

© Map Steve Chilton 2015

The moral right of Steve Chilton to be recognised as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patent Act, 1988.

Commissioning Editor: Robert Davidson

Editor: Roger Smith

Index: Roger Smith

The publisher acknowledges subsidy from Creative Scotland towards publication of this volume.

ISBN: 978-1-910985-36-6

ISBNe: 978-1-910124-69-7

“The record [17:45] was likely to go, Billy having dawdled round in 18:50 back in 1976. He told us pacers that 16 hours was the target, but it was the amount under the target that stopped the world turning . . . Having run (and won) the Ennerdale the previous weekend as a depreciation run our Willie had most of Keswick AC and more dotted round the region . . . The day was still and mild but low cloud obscured the tops all day . . . Broad Stand was the riot it commonly is. Stuart was shoved up to pull up Billy then Jon. I was last and nearly had me and Stuart down Mickledore Chimney . . . Our time off Scafell was ridiculous and a small group was assembled at Wasdale Head. Billy only stopped a very short while, but I recall him with a butty and bottle of Mackeson as I stood croaking behind Joss’s car. Only Joss continued with Billy on up Yewbarrow . . .”

From a report by Tony Cresswell, one of Billy Bland’s pacers when he set the record of 13 hours 53 minutes (from ‘Bob Graham – the Bland Way’ in The Fellrunner, July 1983). Before researching this book, this was the only first-hand account I had ever come across of the record round. Billy’s own account is included later.

The peaks, route and crossing points

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter 1     Origins of the challenge

Chapter 2     Bob Graham and the 1932 Round

Chapter 3     The Round

Chapter 4     First challengers

Chapter 5     Male record setters

Chapter 6     Billy Bland

Chapter 7     Female record setters

Chapter 8     Nicky Spinks

Chapter 9     Some fast ‘near records’

Chapter 10   Mark Palmer

Chapter 11   Winter rounds

Chapter 12   Jim Mann

Chapter 13   Impressions

Chapter 14   Pacers: the Unsung Heroes

Chapter 15   The Bob Graham network

Chapter 16   Not all who try succeed

Endnote

Postscript 2016: Three Amazing Rounds

References

Appendix

List of Illustrations

1 – Phil Davidson, Bob Graham and Martin Rylands at Dunmail Raise, 13 June 1932

2 – Lizzie Graham (sister), Gordon Graham (nephew) and Bob Graham

3 – Bob Graham, with friends Ruth and Alfred Taylor in 1959

4 – Balmoral House, Lake Road, Keswick – Bob Graham’s guesthouse in the late 1930s

5 – Barrow House, which Bob Graham ran as a hotel in the 1940s and 1950s

6 – Derwentwater Independent Hostel (formerly Barrow House) as it is now

7 – Ken Heaton, Alan Heaton and Stan Bradshaw

8 – Joss Naylor on his 60 @ 60 round, 1997

9 – Billy Bland and his support on the run-in through Newlands Valley, 1982 (?, David Bland, Martin Stone, Stuart Bland, Billy, Pete Barron)

10 – Billy Bland, flanked by Pete Barron and Stuart Bland, at the Moot Hall after his 13:53 record round, 1982

11 – Billy Bland and support, (incl Fred Rogerson, Jon Broxap and Joss Naylor) after his record round, 1982

12 – Billy Bland at the Langdale race, 1990

13 – Helene Diamantides/Whitaker at Dunmail on her 1987 round

14 – Helene Diamantides/Whitaker at the end of her solo round in 1988

15 – Anne Stentiford/Johnson celebrates on the last peak of her 62 peak extended round, 1994

16 – Nicky Spinks, with Joe Mann and Tim Whittaker on Scafell Pike, 2012

17 – Nicky Spinks contemplates yet more rice pudding on her record BGR, 2012

18 – Nicky Spinks on Steel Feel during her 18:06 record round in 2015

19 – Mark Hartell finishes fast, with Steve Birkinshaw behind, at the end of his BGR, 1999

20 – Mark Palmer, and Dave Nuttall on Watson Dodd, on his BGR, 2011

21 – Mark McDermott at the Wasdale support point on his 76 peak 24 hour record round, 1988

22 – Mark McDermott’s support at Grisedale Pike, the last summit on his 76 peaks record, 1988. (Tim Laney, Mark McDermott, Martin Stone, Andrew Addis, John Brockbank, and Steve Wood)

23 – Colin Donnelly

24 – Steve Birkinshaw at Wasdale on his BGR, 2005

25 – Jonny Muir being told he has to eat, at the Wasdale support point on his BGR, 2012

26 – Martin Stone shows where his safety card will be at Honister for the solo/unsupported round, 1987

27 – Jim Mann at Honister, supporting Patrick Bonnett, 2012

28 – Jim Mann pacing Patrick Bonnett’s BGR, 2012

29 – Fred Rogerson, Eva Graham and Phil Davidson

30 – Duncan Archer and Adrian Belton at Dunmail, supporting Patrick Bonnett’s BGR, 2012

31 – The Bob Graham memorial, near Ashness Bridge, Borrowdale

32 – Bob Graham’s gravestone, Stonethwaite churchyard

Photocredits

1 – Abraham Photographic

2 – Gordon Graham

3 – David Taylor

4 – Dickson Barron

5 – Derwentwater Independent Hostel archive

6 – Steve Chilton

7 – Copyright unknown

8 – Colin Dulson

9 – Billy Bland

10 – Billy Bland

11 – Billy Bland

12 – Pete Hartley

13 – Helene Whitaker

14 – Helene Whitaker

15 – Anne Johnson

16 – Nicky Spinks

17 – Nicky Spinks

18 – Lee Procter/www.inov-8.com

19 – Mark Hartell

20 – Mark Palmer

21 – Mark McDermott

22 – Mark McDermott

23 – Scottish Hill Runners

24 – Steve Birkinshaw

25 – Jonny Muir

26 – Martin Stone

27 – Patrick Bonnett

28 – Patrick Bonnett

29 – Brian Covell

30 – Patrick Bonnett

31 – Steve Chilton

32 – Steve Chilton

Map

The map of the round was compiled and drawn by the author. Map data is derived from the OpenStreetMap dataset which is available under an ODBL licence (http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). The contour data is derived from Andy Allan’s reworking of the public domain SRTM data (http://open cyclemap.org/).

Acknowledgements

There are many people to thank for their support, encouragement and contributions in the production of this book. Firstly, massive thanks go to Moira for understanding why I wanted to spend so much of my time in researching and writing another book. This was in the full knowledge that it was as unlikely as the first one to contribute any significant finances to possible new lifestyle choices. But I do hope she feels that the pleasure I have got out of the research and interviewing process, and the pain of the writing process, have been worth any sacrifices on the way.

I would like to acknowledge help with research given by several library teams. A number of productive days were spent in Kendal public library, and I really appreciated the support of staff there, particularly Jackie Faye. Middlesex University provided an efficient inter-library loan service. A lead from Middlesex took me to the Leeds University library. Staff in the Brotherton Library (Special Collections team) were fantastic – and what a brilliant building to work in.

The range of sources has been very wide, and every effort has been made to contact copyright owners, authors and publishers so that appropriate attribution of original sources could be made. In particular I would like to acknowledge two particular sources I have gone back to repeatedly. First, the Fell Runners Association (FRA) archive of digital copies of The Fellrunner magazine, which goes up to 2006 and is now available to read via their website. The following individual authors from that source have agreed to allow me to reproduce information from reports or articles they wrote for that publication: Des Oliver, Billy Bland, Tony Cresswell, Martin Stone, Mark Palmer and Alison Crabb.

Secondly, much valuable material was compiled by Fred Rogerson in his loose-leaf ‘publication’ entitled History and Records of Notable Fell Walks, 1864–1972, Within the Lake District (henceforth Notable Walks . . .). This is hard to get hold of, and I am immensely grateful that Cumbria Libraries hold a copy of it. Jeff Ford (of the Mountain Heritage Trust) tried valiantly, but ultimately unsuccessfully, to obtain a copy of the booklet for me, but he came up trumps by securing for me a DVD copy of a programme shown on Border TV It’s Bob’s Round (directed by Jannicke Wallace). Thirdly, Roger Smith and Paddy Buckley agreed for short quotes from the editions of 42 Peaks that they edited to be used. Paddy also supplied copies of a couple of early photos from his own collection.

Bob Wightman kindly agreed to let me reproduce his findings on the early proto-rounds, and the differences in routes taken. He had compiled this information for the website he runs about the Bob Graham Round, and has generously allowed me to quote extensively from it. Staff at the Derwentwater Independent Hostel, Nicola and Kathy in particular, provided useful information on Graham’s time running it as a hotel, plus a couple of photos from their archive. Through them I was able to make contact with a member of Bob Graham’s family, who now lives in Scotland, but does occasionally call in to the hostel for old times’ sake. Gordon Graham (Bob’s nephew) provided some fascinating material about Bob’s early life, plus a photo used in the book.

Massive thanks are due to the fell running community. Its members unfailingly managed to provide me with contacts, links, and information when asked, often via the lively FRA Forum. These contacts allowed me to conduct a series of crucial interviews with some of the main players in this story. For so generously agreeing to meet with me, give up their time, and share their stories I am owe a debt to the following: Adrian Belton, Steve Birkinshaw, Billy Bland, Colin Donnelly, Mark Hartell, Anne Johnson, Jim Mann, Mark McDermott, Jonny Muir, Mark Palmer, Nicky Spinks, Martin Stone, and Helene Whitaker. In most cases we may not have met before, but it is great to have met and shared memories with you. I hope I have done you all justice, and that I haven’t misrepresented any of you.

Many people have provided photos from their own collections, although by its nature trying to traverse so many peaks as fast as one is able doesn’t actually allow too many photo stops, so it wasn’t always possible to use ones from actual Bob Graham Rounds. Individual photos are credited as appropriate.

I had real trouble deciding on a title for this book. The title for the previous one – It’s a hill, get over it – just fell into my hands, and worked so well in so many ways. This time I had several ideas, which riffed on slightly different themes. I sought advice from Moira, and also from three members of my athletic club, Ed Price, Michael Martin and Jamie March, who I thought might help. We did a bit of ‘title bouncing’, and the feedback from them all was instrumental in me deciding on the result you see on the cover.

Celia Cozens was that vital critical friend that authors need to give a dispassionate view on the manuscript as it develops. Her advice on structuring the narrative around the interviews was absolutely crucial to the style adopted, and she later carried out an initial proof read for me. Alan Durant was my second critical friend and he once again offered constructive comments involving changes that I hope have improved my writing.

I would like to express my grateful thanks to all at Sandstone Press, especially Bob Davidson – who has again guided me patiently through the process of bringing my second book to press.

Prologue

Bob Graham started his Lake District round at Keswick Town Hall at 1am on Sunday 13 June 1932. Skiddaw was climbed by the standard route. He continued on to Great Calva and then to Blencathra, and so down to Threlkeld. Then began the long stretch over the Dodds to Helvellyn, and then via Fairfield and Seat Sandal to Dunmail Raise. For all of this period Graham was paced by Martin Rylands, who was a skilled and experienced mountain walker. George Abrahams was at Dunmail Raise to take photographs.

After a short break he tackled the central Lakeland fells, taking the Scafells by way of Mickledore and Broad Stand, and so down to Wasdale, where he had another short break. Graham was accompanied by Phil Davidson, from Keswick, over this tough section. Up over Yewbarrow and the peaks through the Gables to Honister with Robin Dean, from Aspatria, as pacer. Darkness was now coming in for the final section as Bill Hewitson paced Graham over Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson. They passed near Mill Dam Inn in the Newlands Valley at 11.52pm. They were re-joined by Rylands and Davidson, and the remaining run-in to Keswick was covered in good time, and at 12.39am they reached Keswick Town Hall.

Davidson had left Graham at Wasdale and gone over Sty Head to Keswick. He went home for a bath and some food, then trotted out to Newlands. Small groups of people, including companions on the fells, were gathered at several points along the road from Newlands and at the finish to cheer and congratulate him. After finishing, Bob and the pacers retired to Bob’s guest house for a meal and much needed rest. Graham was up at 6am to cook his pacers breakfast, and they all went off to their respective jobs.

Introduction

Few sports are less competitive than mountaineering and none of us would like to see the Lake District hills turned into a race track, but for a century able mountaineers have now and again accepted the challenge of so many mountains grouped closely together and used them to test out their stamina and endurance. At first there was no record as such, for men accustomed to long days in the Alps simply wanted to see how hard a day they could manage in the Lakeland hills. But gradually the walks, without ever achieving proper rules, began to be slightly regularized, and the main aim became the ascent of as many mountains as possible within the 24 hours, the walker always returning to his starting point.

One might ask why people should bother to tear their hearts out on these sorts of tests. Unlike some record breakers in other fields they achieve little or no fame – sometimes the attempts have been kept very secret indeed – and, of course, they make no money out of it, nor would wish to do so. I believe that most of these fit, and often very distinguished, mountaineers have taken part in these exceptionally strenuous feats simply in order to test themselves to the very limit. Physical fitness is as worthwhile an aim as many others and it does man good to know just what he can do. He is not so much trying to beat a record as to beat himself. Although the physical effort must be tremendous, the mental effort – the determination to carry on despite increasing bodily fatigue – is even greater, and this necessary discipline of mind and body is undoubtedly a good thing. Some people might look down their noses at record breakers, and I must confess to an abhorrence of speed records on rock climbs, but I see nothing wrong in a man trying out his strength and courage, unwatched and probably almost alone, in the Lakeland hills. In a way, that’s why they are there.

And the requirements are not merely stamina and willpower, for the fell record contender must also know the hills intimately and be a mountaineer in the broad sense of the word. The average harrier, although equipped with wonderful lungs and superb leg muscles, is not likely to be capable of ascending or descending, unroped and wearing his running shoes, the greasy slabs of Broad Stand in heavy rain or perhaps even in darkness, which, as often as not, is the lot of the would-be fell record breaker. And the traverse of the roughest ground in England at speed in darkness or mist, or a combination of the two, is the sort of test that only a mountaineer can successfully tackle. A sound knowledge of map and compass work under the most difficult conditions is, of course, essential and to have even a chance of success a contender must be more familiar with the lie of the land than the average fell walker. The whole project, too, must be most thoroughly planned with timings, feeding stations and resting points arranged in advance, tested companions carefully chosen, and food and clothing requirements catered for.

Perhaps it would be misleading to suggest that the appreciation of mountain scenery comes into the picture at all, since the contender is less concerned with the view than the more leisured walker or climber, but, at the same time, all these tough record breakers have at least noticed the beauty around them and been properly impressed by the changing glories and drama of a long, full day in the hills.

The words in those four paragraphs are not mine. They are from a chapter entitled ‘The Long Walk’ in Harry Griffin’s long out of print book, In Mountain Lakeland, and are chosen because I think they neatly sum up what the Bob Graham Round (as it became known) is about, and also give a real feel for the mores of the time. The book was published in 1963, just after Alan Heaton had been the first to repeat Bob Graham’s Lakeland feat of traversing 42 peaks, over 62 miles, with 27,000 feet of ascent, all within 24 hours. As the story of the Bob Graham Round unfolds it is an interesting yardstick against which to compare the later efforts of the highly competitive ‘athletes’ whose stories form the backbone of this book.

I come to this subject with no particular personal insights to give. I have not completed the Bob Graham Round myself. However, I have competed in fell races over much of the ground covered, and have certainly walked nearly all the peaks over the years. In fact I once set out to walk the whole round, over several days with a friend. For reasons lost in the mists of time we had a small disagreement on the approach being taken, and I lost the plot around Calf Crag, going across to Steel Fell on leg 3 (anticlockwise). The fleshpots of Grasmere were calling, and I wandered down Easedale instead of carrying on with the last two legs of the round.

This is also not a ‘how to do it’ book, although I suspect that some of the experiences of others will certainly be either motivators, or reality checks, for any Bob Graham Round (BGR) aspirant. The book tells both the story of the early endeavours that led to the round by Bob Graham in 1932, and something of Bob Graham’s life, some of which may be new in the telling – this latter being in part thanks to a chance connection to a cousin of Bob Graham, who provided some early details that I believe have not been published elsewhere. A large part of the story is told through the eyes of men and women who completed early rounds, set record times or were innovators in tackling solo, winter or unsupported attempts. The times I have spent interviewing some of the main players have been some of the most enjoyable interludes in my recent life. Their generosity of time and thought has been invaluable and I hope will give a feel for what it means to be part of this iconic event.

There has been more than one occasion recently when I have had to say to myself ‘remain calm and professional, it is just another person you are talking to’. I have had to try to ignore the fact that I might be shooting the breeze with someone whom I have admired from afar for years for their achievements. This was never more so than in the case of Billy Bland. However, the absolute bonus from talking with Billy is that I feel I am now able to throw new light on his motives, in particular for doing his record round when he did – sandwiched as it was between him winning two Lakeland Classics in one five-week spell.

I have not especially looked at extended rounds, except where they are relevant to a person’s Bob Graham Round. As in any historical work, I have relied to a considerable extent on those who have gone before me, standing on giants’ shoulders where necessary. I would like to thank all those in the fell running community with whom I have networked, and talked, for their input in to this journey in Bob Graham’s footsteps. My debt to the all these individuals is detailed in the acknowledgements section.

But first let’s consider the time before Bob Graham’s ‘long walk’ and some of the events that were precursors to it.

Chapter 1 Origins of the challenge

It has always been a human characteristic to want to challenge oneself, from exploring new territories to setting athletic records. As I noted in my more general history and discussion of fell running, It’s a hill, get over it,1 ‘the exploits of 19th century ‘pedestrians’ such as Robert Barclay Allardice, Corky Gentleman and the Flying Pieman provide some of the earliest formal endurance records’. I have tried in this book to bring together the various reports and analyses of these early events. That material also leans heavily on the work of Bob Wightman (the indented paragraphs in this chapter). Other material is based on the writing of Harry Griffin (particularly his book In Mountain Lakeland).

By the 1860s there were adventurous individuals, and sometimes groups, testing themselves in the Lake District fells and achieving ever more impressive ‘walking rounds’. Possibly the first significant round of the fells was by Rev. J. M. Elliott of Cambridge, who in 1864 (or thereabouts, sources vary) departed from Wasdale Head and returned there eight and a half hours later after going over nine of the highest mountains in the Lakes. These were Scafell, Scafell Pike, Great End, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Pillar, Steeple, Red Pike and Stirrup Crag,2 making a distance of about 15 miles which involved some 6,500 feet of ascent. This round was eventually to become the basis of the Lake District 24-hour Fell Record. Unfortunately, Elliott was killed on the Schreckhorn in the Bernese Oberland in 1869.

Six years later Thomas Watson from Darlington, together with Thomas Wilson (a Borrowdale guide) walked for 20 hours and covered 48 miles, with 10,000-plus feet of ascent. Starting from Keswick they walked to Scafell Pike and then cut across to traverse the Helvellyn range, followed by Blencathra and Skiddaw, finishing in Keswick. They did all this in nailed boots, several times losing their way in thick mist. They also had snow showers on Scafell Pike and gales that forced them to crawl to the summit of Blencathra.

An uncredited article in The Manchester Guardian3 noted another five rounds in this period that are not included in either Wightman’s or Baddeley’s list, but were later repeated in the Fell and Rock Climbing Club Journal (the details are as per the newspaper article):

1869 – Pilkington and Bennett: Keswick, Scafell, Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Keswick. Time, 20h. (The details of the exact route have not been given)

187? – An Alpine Clubman4and Mackereth: Bowfell, Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, and Skiddaw. Time, within the day. Ascent 9,000ft. Distance 41 miles; equivalent to nearly 60. (As yet full particulars of this walk have not been forthcoming)

1871 (the “Cornhill Magazine” of April,1899, gives the date of this walk as 1876). – Jenkinson: Keswick, Great Gable, Scafell Pikes, Bowfell, Langdale Combe Head, Wythburn, Helvellyn, Saddleback, Skiddaw, Keswick. Much delay caused by mist. Time, 25h. Ascent, 12,250ft. Distance, 53 miles; equivalent of more than 80. (High Raise apparently included in this round)

1871 – Pilkingtonand Bennett: Dungeon Ghyll, Bowfell, Scafell Pikes, Great Gable, Skiddaw, Saddleback, Helvellyn, Fairfield, Dungeon Ghyll. Time 21h 10min. Ascent, 12,900ft. Distance, 60 miles; equivalent to nearly 80

1878 – Thebrothers Tucker: Elterwater, Bowfell, Scafell Pikes, Skiddaw (via Borrowdale), Helvellyn, Grasmere, Elterwater (via Rydal and Ambleside, some 10 miles extra). Time, 19h 38min. Ascent, 9,000ft. Distance, 50 miles; equivalent to more than 60

Baddeley’s 1964 Lake District guidebook5 gave details of the following early ‘rounds’ (the editor doesn’t acknowledge any of the earlier rounds noted above, except Elliott’s, simply saying ‘subjoined is a list of some of the most notable fell walks’):

1883 Charles and LawrencePilkington and Matthew Barnes. Lodore – Great Gable – Scafell Pike – Great End – Bowfell – Fairfield – Helvellyn (via Dollywagon Pike) – Blencathra – Skiddaw – Lodore. 24 hours 25 minutes.

Lawrence Pilkington was a well-known mountaineer, his brother Charles was President of the Alpine Club, and Barnes was reported to be ‘the guide’. They left Lodore at 11pm, were held up by thick mist on Great Gable, and were reckoned to have climbed around 13,000 feet and covered an estimated 60 miles (although these early estimated values are notably unreliable).

Getting from Bowfell to Fairfield without including intervening tops such as the Langdale Pikes or High Raise seems odd. However the description of the 1902 round of Johnson and Strong (see below) indicates that the preferred way at the time was to ascend/descend Bowfell via The Band and Stool End Farm, follow the road down Langdale, then go via Red Bank to Grasmere, thus avoiding the tops altogether.

1893 Robinson and Gibbs. Keswick – Great Gable – Scafell Pike – Great End – Bowfell – Langdale Combe Head – Wythburn – Helvellyn – Blencathra – Skiddaw (abandoned on Skiddaw). 23 hours 25 minutes.

John Wilson Robinson was a climber from Lorton, his companion being from Sunderland. Griffin reports this October round in detail in In Mountain Lakeland:6 ‘They carried alpenstocks and found plenty of use for them in the snow and ice on Scafell, while Gibbs had to be let down the slippery ledges of Broad Stand by means of the rucksack, kicking the ice off the holds as they precariously descended.’ They later encountered storms, gales and deep darkness, but made good use of Robinson’s local knowledge, because he knew the mountains better than most and commented in a letter to a friend: ‘I am slow and should never dream of attempting a record, but have always felt that if I had any slight advantage over some others it was merely knowing the Scafell range pretty well.’ This suggests that records were already in his, and others’, thoughts.

This round is interesting in that the descent into Langdale is now avoided, hence the references to Langdale Combe and Wythburn. However getting to Wythburn from there without traversing at least one top (a guess would be High Raise) and not mentioning it is somewhat strange. This round was also unusual in that it was attempted towards the end of October.

1895 Dawson, Poole and Palmer. Elterwater – Bowfell – Scafell Pike – Skiddaw – Helvellyn – Grasmere – Elterwater (via Rydal and Ambleside). 19 hours 18 minutes.

This took place in August, but they had to struggle through thick mists which lingered over the summits all day.

Palmer apparently was the only one of the three who knew the route between the central fells and Helvellyn and he retired with an injured knee on Scafell.

1898 Broadrick Windermere – Bowfell – Great End – Scafell Pike – Scafell – Great Gable – Skiddaw – Helvellyn – Windermere. 20 hours 30 minutes (the 12 miles from Windermere to Stool End in Langdale were done on a bike).

The account of this round mentions ascending Bowfell via Hell Gill, which lies just to the south of The Band, rather than The Band itself.

1899Westmorland, Strong, Johnson and Beaty. Seathwaite – Great Gable – Pillar – Scafell – Scafell Pike – Bowfell – Wythburn (via Langdale Combe and High Raise) – Helvellyn – Blencathra – Skiddaw – Keswick. 19 hours 25 minutes.

The first round (though note the different start and finish) to include any of the fells to the west of Great Gable. The omission of Kirk Fell suggests that the trod used by the Wasdale fell race around the northern flank of Kirk Fell was taken. Also note that High Raise is now explicitly mentioned.

1899 Westmorland and Beaty same fells from Threlkeld to Threlkeld in 23 hours 30 minutes.

These two must have enjoyed the earlier attempt, because they had another go at a complete round only a month or so after their previous effort.

1901 Broadrick. Rosthwaite – Great Gable – Pillar – Scafell – Scafell Pike – Bowfell – Fairfield – Helvellyn – Blencathra – Skiddaw – Rosthwaite. 23 hours 30 minutes.

Broadrick wrote a detailed report of his efforts for the Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club Journal.7 It contains some classic understatements about how they went about this sort of activity at the time. On one occasion he went alone and his account was accused of exaggeration. His opinion was that flannel clothing was best, and that knickerbockers were inappropriate. For his big round he hoped for a ‘civilised meal about every five hours’, and noted they spent 15 minutes dining inside the Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. His companion, identified as Mr Dawson (possibly the participant in the 1895round), bathed in Grisedale Tarn, one of 5 swims he had on the round. On the section in the dark they had problems with their candle-powered lantern, the wind playing havoc with it.8

1902 Johnson and Strong. Threlkeld – Helvellyn – Fairfield – Bowfell – Great End – Scafell Pike – Scafell – Pillar – Great Gable – Skiddaw – Blencathra – Threlkeld. 22 hours 7 minutes.

Jones and Milburn noted: ‘About 1902, Mr. S. B. Johnson of Carlisle accompanied by M. Strong set off from Threlkeld at 5am. By 7.20 they were on the summit of Helvellyn, by 8.19 Fairfield. They passed through the village of Grasmere at 9.12 thence over Red Bank to Langdale, arriving at Stool End Farm at 10.15. Mr. Westmorland joined them as guide. The summit of Bowfell was reached at 12 noon. Wasdale Head at 3.20 having traversed the Scafell range. Then, via Dore Head to Pillar at 4.33. Seathwaite via Gable at 7.25. They stayed 45 minutes at Seathwaite resting and refreshing themselves. With Mr Beaty now leading they reached Keswick in under 2 hours, the summit of Skiddaw at midnight. They marked out a course by the stars to reach Blencathra at 2.10 The descent down Hall’s Ridge to the Lead Mines took some 45 minutes, Threlkeld, the starting point, was reached at 3.07, the round trip taking 22 hours 7 minutes.’9

The comment ‘Then, via Dore Head to Pillar’ indicates that Red Pike was traversed but perhaps not visited. Dore Head is the col at the northern end of Yewbarrow and for many years had a well-known scree run down to the valley floor which would be useful on an anti-clockwise round using this route.

1904Wakefield. Keswick – Great Gable – Kirk Fell – Pillar – Scafell – Scafell Pike – Bowfell – Fairfield – Helvellyn – Blencathra – Skiddaw – Keswick. 19 hours 53 minutes.

It is believed, because of their omission, that the northern Helvellyn tops were not traversed. In which case, the most likely descent would be to the public house at Thirlspot and then by road through St John’s Vale to Threlkeld.10 The roads in the district weren’t paved at that time. The surface of many country roads was probably closer to that of modern forest access roads or rougher – hardly any better than keeping to the tops. The time of the Johnson and Strong team getting from Threlkeld to Helvellyn in 2 hours 20 minutes is not too dissimilar to that of a modern round going over the tops. It is possible that certain areas of the fells or fell approaches were simply ‘off-limits’ with landowners or estates preventing access, hence the avoidance of lines of fells such as the northern Helvellyn section.

1905 Wakefield Keswick – Robinson – Hindscarth – Dale Head – Brandreth – Green Gable – Great Gable – Kirk Fell – Pillar – Steeple – Red Pike – Yewbarrow – Scafell – Scafell Pike – Great End – Hanging Knott – Bowfell – Fairfield – Dollywagon Pike – Helvellyn – Blencathra – Skiddaw – Keswick. 22 hours 7 minutes.

This was the first round to include the Dale Head group. Also Kirk Fell and the remainder of the tops around the head of Wasdale are now included. In fact, with the exception of the section between Bowfell and Fairfield, as previously noted, and the omission of the northern Helvellyn section, this is a prototype ‘Bob Graham Round’.

A report on the round in TheSedberghian (Wakefield’s old school magazine) explained in detail some of the low level alternative routes that he took between some of the peaks, for example coming down from Helvellyn to Thirlspot and using St John’s in the Vale to get to Threlkeld before tackling Blencathra. Also Bowfell to Fairfield was accomplished by coming down the Band, then going over Red Bank to Grasmere and on. Wakefield did establish the tradition of the record holder assisting the contender to break his own record, helping Eustace Thomas on his effort in 1920.

An academic paper by Jonathan Westaway in Sportin History11 includes some fascinating detail of these rounds by Wakefield et al, including a note about a record that was never accepted:

[Cecil] Dawson’s last effort on the 16 June 1916, was completely successful. His time of 22 hours 17 minutes was ten minutes longer than Wakefield’s, but he included Stybarrow Dodd and Great Dodd, which meant an extra six miles. Despite this, Dawson’s claim on the record was not accepted by many people, perhaps because of sensitivities about the appropriateness of undertaking sporting stunts during wartime.12

Westaway includes some background to the next attempt by Eustace Thomas, and expands in great detail on the reason for the vegetarian diet and other aspects of what Thomas called ‘Mountain Endurance: Notes on a System of Training’:13

1920 (29 May) Eustace Thomas. Virtually as above but in 21 hours 25 minutes.

Eustace Thomas, a member of the Manchester-based Rucksack Club, set out to beat that record. Coached by Wakefield and on a strict vegetarian diet, the 54-year-old Thomas trained for seven weeks in Borrowdale, beating the record over the Wakefield course with a time of 21 hours 25 minutes, a full 42 minutes under Wakefield’s time.

Thomas appears to have been remarkably fit and something of an outdoor polymath. He was the first Briton to climb all the 4000m peaks in the Alps and was also responsible for the route now taken by the High Peak marathon, as well as doing the first traverse of the Welsh 3000ft peaks.

Westaway’s paper also notes that an earlier book by W. T. Palmer14 had already commented on the increasingly ‘professional’ approach being employed on these attempts, including an acknowledgement of the use of pacers:

Reflecting on the previous 40 years of endeavour in mountain endurance pedestrianism in the Lake District, W. T. Palmer noted the increasingly systematic approach to the Twenty-four Hour Record: ‘pacing and prearrangement of all kinds is considered necessary, and the record-maker is relieved of all impedimenta’.

1922 Eustace Thomas. Keswick – Robinson – Hindscarth – Dale Head – Brandreth – Green Gable – Great Gable – Kirk Fell – Pillar – Steeple – Red Pike – Yewbarrow – Scafell – Scafell Pike – Bowfell – Fairfield – Helvellyn – White Side – Raise – Stybarrow Dodd – Great Dodd – Clough Head – Blencathra – Great Calva – Skiddaw – Keswick – Grisedale Pike – Grasmoor – Wandope – Eel Crag – Sail – Causey Pike – Newlands. 28 hours 5 minutes.

Not satisfied with repeating Wakefield’s route, two years later Thomas improved on it, adding Great Calva. This was also the first round to include (at least explicitly) the tops on the ridge to the north of Helvellyn, though not Watson’s Dodd. No start or finish point is given in Baddeley. In fact, Thomas started in Keswick and after completing the round went on to add the Grasmoor group. Despite this, the list of peaks (omitting the Grasmoor group) looks remarkably similar to a modern round. Add in those tops that would be traversed or passed close by – Grey Knotts, Broad Crag, Ill Crag, Great End, Esk Pike, Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn Lower Man, and Watson’s Dodd – and the only tops missing are those nine on the modern round between Bowfell and Fairfield.

There were several attempts to better Thomas’s time. Then, in 1931, Bob Graham made a first attempt, which ended in failure thanks to a navigational error. He waited a year and tried again. This meant adding another peak to the list of tops, because he had decided he wanted one top for each of his 42 years. Bob Graham took 21 minutes less than the 24 hours to complete his round in a clockwise direction. It was reported to be a distance of 130 miles with 32,000 ft of ascent, which is now recognised to be grossly exaggerated.

Baddeley reported that on June 13, 1932, Robert Graham created what is probably a world walking record. The route was: Keswick – Skiddaw – Great Calva – Saddleback – Wanthwaite Pike – Helvellyn – Dollywagon Pike – Fairfield – Seat Sandal – Steel Fell – Calf Crag – High White Stones – High Raise – Sergeant Man – Harrison Stickle – Pike o’Stickle – Rossett Pike – Hanging Knotts – Bowfell – Esk Pike – Great End – Scafell Pike – Scafell – Yewbarrow – Red Pike – Steeple – Pillar – Kirk Fell – Great and Green Gable – Brandreth – Honister Hause – Dale Head – Hindscarth –Robinson – High Snab – Keswick. The round was completed in 23 hours 39 minutes.

Bob Wightman noted the following irregularities:15

It is likely that Graham knew the details of Thomas’s round, so there is a reasonable chance that Great Calva was part of his original plans. However, Phil Davidson (one of his pacers) stated that this was the extra peak added to tally with Graham’s age.

I think that Wanthwaite Pike is the same as Clough Head – there is no summit of that name around Threlkeld. Wanthwaite Crags lie just to the west of the summit. The 1867 map of the area does not show any summit by this name.Great Dodd – Watson’s Dodd – Stybarrow Dodd – Raise – Whiteside are not listed but it is known from other sources that he traversed these.High White Stones is ‘a slightly marked elevation a little south of Greenup Edge’; this could be the prominence at 282101, but is marked on modern maps as the summit area of High Raise so it is not clear why both are listed. One consideration is that fells often have two names: one is the name of the pasture used by farmers and shepherds, the other is for the summit itself.Looking Stead, on the ridge down from Pillar to Black Sail Pass, is given as one of the original 42 but is missing from this list.Rogerson (1979)16 gives the current 42 rather than the original set. Also, High White Stones is named rather than High Raise.Thus this list only gives 34 tops (39 if the northern Helvellyn ones are added) for Bob Graham’s round, not the expected 42. He would have to have passed over Helvellyn Lower Man and would have passed over or close to Nethermost Pike, Thunacar Knott and Grey Knotts. These would take the total to 43.

The efforts noted in this chapter all happened in an era vastly different to the present day. In Westaway’s research, noted above, he rather loftily proposed that in the late 19th century the ‘normative codes of masculinity valued a “neo-Spartan virility as exemplified by stoicism, hardiness and endurance”, which was personified by figures such as the soldier-hero or the imperial explorer’, before going on to suggest that:

Divided by the Great War, Wakefield’s 1905 Lake District Twenty-four Hour Fell Record and Eustace Thomas’s 1920 and 1922 records enable us to evaluate changing cultural conceptions of values such as endurance, stamina, perseverance and stoicism and their relationship to the construction of masculinity. For roughly a decade after the Great War these endurance events took on a heightened symbolic importance, part of the wider post-War reconstruction of masculinity. In the immediate post-war period, defining the limits of human physical and psychological performance offered some kind of hope that what could not be overcome by main force could be endured, that new forms of human physical cultivation were perhaps the only possible response to mechanized wars of attrition. These mountain trials formed part of a wider phenomenon within the British outdoor movement, where enactive repertoires of strenuous rambling attempted to create a communion of shared endurance between the Home Front and the Western Front, the post-War world and what had gone before. In the period 1919 to 1932, the Lake District Twenty-four Hour Fell Records became, in both senses of the word, monumental feats of endurance.

Various attempts to extend the range of the endurance feats in the Lake District took place in the six decades after the Rev J. M. Elliott’s first recorded ‘long walk’. Bob Graham’s round in 1932 was the culmination of this series of efforts to test man’s endurance in this arena.

So, what more detail do we know about Bob Graham and his eponymous round?

Chapter 2 Bob Graham and the 1932 Round

Although the round mentioned in these pages is usually referred to as the Bob Graham Round (often shortened to BGR), it does not take in the same tops as the original. Bob Wightman notes on his Bob Graham website that:

Graham’s round did not include Helvellyn Lower Man, Ill Crag or Broad Crag despite his route passing over the first and close to the other two. In their place were Hanging Knotts, Looking Stead and High Snab.17 The first of these is on Bowfell, the second on Pillar and the last on the North Ridge of Robinson. In fact Hanging Knotts and Looking Stead are often included in attempts at a 50 at 50 or higher round.

Also on the website, Bob Wightman comments:

Griffin notes that ‘On Buttermere Red Pike it started to rain and there was mist on Robinson and Dale Head . . . but when they reached Newlands Hause they knew it was downhill all the way home and that they could not fail.’ I think that there is confusion here between the Red Pikes of Buttermere and Wasdale – the latter is most certainly traversed whereas the Buttermere fell is not on any usual round being on an outlying ridge. Also it is mentioned that they took just 39 minutes for the seven miles from Newlands Hause back to Keswick – hardly likely at that stage in a round. Both Baddeley and Smith note that High Snab, not really a summit in any sense of the word, was traversed. If this was the case, and it makes more sense, then Graham would not have visited Newlands Hause. It is possible that Griffin confused Graham’s round with that of Alan Heaton who did go via that route.

The distance has often been misrepresented as being anything up to 140 miles in the various accounts, which do however usually give a fairly accurate estimate of height climbed as around 30,000 feet (and for effect stating that is greater than the height of Everest). 42 Peaks notes that ‘the record attempt was originally planned for the previous weekend, but had been called off because of poor weather.’

Contemporary accounts suggest that they ate very little during the round. For food Graham had bread and butter, lightly boiled eggs, plenty of fruit, and sweets for energy. Further detail is provided in a contemporary report which records that:

In the early part of the day he ate fruit pastilles. At 10am he had a boiled egg, two thin slices of bread and butter and some tea. At 5pm he had two lightly boiled eggs and milk and soda. At 9.45pm he had some hot milk, and at the last 4 miles some hot strong tea.18

Graham was by no means a natural athlete. He was short and stocky, but had an excellent knowledge of the fells and was a keen, teetotal, vegetarian, non-smoking fitness enthusiast. The round was done on a very warm day, and he wore tennis shoes, shorts and a pyjama jacket. His pacers carried a pair of boots for him, but he chose not to use them. He walked the uphills, and ran the downhill sections.

The splits for Bob Graham’s 1932 round are available,19 apart from the fact that the individual times taken for legs 1 and 2 (Keswick to Threlkeld and Threlkeld to Dunmail) are given as a combined time:

Keswick – Dunmail

8 hrs 30 mins

inc 30 mins rest at Dunmail

Dunmail – Wasdale

7 hrs 45 mins

inc 30 mins rest at Wasdale

Wasdale – Honister

4 hrs 45 mins

inc 15 mins rest at Honister

Honister – Keswick

2 hrs 39 mins

No rest

In an article in the Autumn 1972 Fellrunner magazine, Des Oliver stated that Bob Graham regularly walked 50 miles over the fells whatever the weather.

As part of his ‘preparation’ for his attempt at the fell record he walked over every fell he intended to include in his BARE FEET (imagine walking over Scafell Pike in your bare feet). His reason for this was two-fold: to toughen the skin (he suffered no blisters when he eventually broke the record), and to save wear and tear on the footwear (gym shoes). His memories of the walk included picking up grouse chicks from the heather crossing Calva; meeting George Abraham for a time and foot check on Dunmail Raise (a photo taken here shows Bob and his two ‘pacers’ wearing shorts which were pulled on especially for photographs. The Skiddaw/Helvellyn section was done without wearing the heavy khaki drill shorts only available in those days – no worries about meeting maddening crowds in 1932; being given some Nestles milk by the quarrymen at Honister who lodged in the hut which is now the Youth Hostel.

Des Oliver knew Bob Graham, and had a go at the round in the 1950s. He was also a member of the original Bob Graham Club committee when it was set up in 1971. I queried some of the detail in his quote above with him, particularly the training in bare feet. Oliver expanded on some detail, although he did note that it was ‘all so long ago’.

He [Bob Graham] told me about the walking in bare feet – including Scafell Pike! When I was preparing to repeat his route I was walking bare foot above the Buttermere fells and stood on a broken fence post with resulting bad lacerations, and that was the end of that idea.

Oliver was less certain about other detail, saying he couldn’t confirm whether it was to toughen his [Graham’s] feet or to save footwear (there were no fell runners’ shoes in those days). He didn’t think they would have ‘picked up’ grouse chicks, but that they did see them as they crossed Great Calva. He confirmed that:

Nestles milk, from a tube, was taken at Honister, but from whom I don’t know. Regarding Bob ‘regularly’ walking 50 miles over the fells this may be true, but I can’t confirm. But I can confirm that Bob Graham and Phil Davidson walked from Keswick over to High Street and back the week before the record walk.

Bob Graham Round ‘guru’ Fred Rogerson, made this comment in part explanation for his starting the Bob Graham Club, pointing out that Graham was the first to go in what is now considered the ‘normal’ direction:

I wanted to get recognition for what Bob Graham did in 1932, because he never got it at the time. People wouldn’t believe what he had done. But it was the epic of this century. And it was all the more remarkable because all other previous 24-hour records, of fewer peaks, had been done anti-clockwise so he had no yardstick.

There is some doubt as to Graham’s age when he made the round in June 1932. However, Phil Davidson,20 the last survivor of Graham’s quartet of pacers, said that the 42 peaks represented one for each year of Bob’s life. He is also the source of the information that the extra peak added after the unsuccessful attempt in 1931 was Great Calva.

After completing the round, Graham claimed that ‘he felt almost as fresh at the end of his long day as he did at the beginning’, although he had apparently lost about half a stone in weight. This is remarkably similar to the thoughts of Eustace Thomas, whose training for his own endurance challenges convinced him that he had ‘approached more nearly to the condition of tirelessness than ever before.’21

Graham was not the first, or last, to have his feats doubted. In 42 Peaks there is a comment that:

Some doubts were raised, certainly in private, as to whether Bob Graham had actually covered the distance and peaks claimed. He was not that well known a fellsman compared to Eustace Thomas. Had he really done it? Such doubts seem small-minded to us today, but they were genuinely felt at the time.

Graham also told Harry Griffin after the event that ‘anybody could do it – provided they are fit enough’. Griffin also acknowledged, as noted earlier, that ‘some people turn up their noses at these fell records’. He then counters that ‘nobody ever gets injured or seriously lost, despite the pace and the conditions which often prevail. This is because these people are first and foremost mountaineers, able to traverse difficult country speedily and safely’.

What of Bob Graham himself? Harry Griffin commented in his Foreword to the 42 Peaks booklet, ‘I knew Bob Graham, and he often expressed surprise that nobody had succeeded in improving on his round’. So, what was his life like, and how did he train?