Of Grouse and Of Mars

22898 and only 11 minutes early leaving

I am off to Glasgow - but via Skipton - two reasons - to visit N054 W002 and to buy a pair of boots -UltimateOutdoors being my nearest stockist of the Inov8 Roclite 400 GTX Boot

Morrisons in Skipton - certainly a very mature demographic at 10:30 on a Friday

Skipton Highstreet on Market Day - if you are travelling from the M65 - ignore signs to the A56 and take the un-numbered road that passes over Elslack Moor - less traffic, quicker and much more fun.

N054 W002 is up there somewhere

Time to christen the new boots

what is this - not salt and not food in the normal sense - being hard little rocks (quartz?)

But I know what sort of animal makes this

And here is more evidence - this contained food for young birds

Conclusive proof - a Grouse Butt - in good condition with a freshly painted "Number 3"

Barden Moor - on which the confluence was located has been (reasonably) open access land for many years now - a pre-emptive strike by the Duke of Devonshire to prevent the land becoming another mass-trepass flashpoint - but it is still an actively managed grouse moorland and therefore may be closed during the shooting season. There certainly are a LOT of Red Grouse on the moorland this year.

GPS - never ceases to be a wonder - I am only 0.79m out

The verdict?  To early to tell - light and comfortable - grip is unbelievable - combination of roclite sole with sticky rubber - but the forefoot is very high and wide - my foot feels loose and how long will the leather+Goretex remain un-punctured?  Ideal boot however for this sort of soft and wet bramble/gorse free moorland.

I plan to see John Carter (Of Mars) this evening - and the nearest cinema showing it (heading north) is in Hamilton, near Glasgow.  Starts at 16:45 and my Garmin has predicted arrival 16:35 - and there is a lot of very slow traffic on the A65 (which refuses to pull over and let folks past - resulting in some maniacal overtaking and at least one offside-wing to offside-wing smash during the afternoon)

Hamilton Vue - it and the surrounding facilities occupied by characters from "Trainspotting: The Next Generation".  Really quite a shock and not a little intimidating.  Not a good advert for Glasgow (but see tomorrow's blog).  The cinema was good - top class seats and friendly staff, big screens and excellent sound.

My first £100+ fill up.  I remember my Dad pointing out 5 star petrol at 6/- a gallon (Liphook ~1969) and 37.5p (Chester ~1973).  I paid 680p per gallon today.

Premier Inn - Camberslang - so much nicer than a Travelodge, only £29.99 for the night and a very friendly and helpful receptionist/manager, a good nights sleep before tomorrow's racing