The ‘Frog’ Graham!
The ‘Bob Graham Round’ is a bit of an ultra event – 42 peaks, 66 miles in under 24 hours. It starts here in Keswick at The Moot Hall but it is not on a specific day or at a specific time. You can turn up on any day of the year and at any time of day and, as long as you are back within 24 hours you are in the club. Generally speaking folk have runners with them to assist with eating, drinking, carrying and navigation as well as folk supporting at the various roadheads with more food and changes of clothing etc. It’s pretty hard core.
The Frog Graham Round is a completely different kettle of fish.
I’d never heard of The Frog Graham until just recently and seeing as I’ve been doing a bit of swimming and a bit of running since coming back early from Everest this Spring it has floated my boat, so to say.
It’s a run, swim, run, swim, run, swim, run, swim, run – around the Northern Lakes starting and ending at The Moot Hall. All in all it amounts to 3,380m or so of swimming combined with 56.5km of fell running.
Apart from the guy who devised the mad cap idea in the first place it has never been repeated – so he has never issued a certificate! But also it means that there is scant information available about timings etc. To that end I am struggling to come up with an itinerary anywhere near as accurate as a Bob Graham Round would be.
I’ve been in touch with the chap who first did it and the spirit of the event is to be self supportive … but he’s quite happy for me to have folk along for a blather or for safety purposes. To that end there will be no need for anyone to be carrying gear for me. Which will obviously slow me down somewhat which, again, makes the itinerary difficult to pin down.
But the way I see it at the mo is as follows:
03:00 – Start from Moot Hall – Leg 1 (up Skiddaw, down Carl Side, through Dodd Wood to Church Bay)
05:45 – Arrive Church Bay
06:00 – Enter water. Swim across Bassenthwaite
06:20 – Arrive Beck Wythop
06:40 – Set off on Leg 2 (Barf, Lords Seat, Ullister Hill, Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Sand Hill, Crag Hill, Wandope, Whiteless Pike, Low Bank to Hause Point on Crummock Water)
10:25 – Arrive Hause Point
10:45 – Enter water. Swim across Crummock Water
10:55 – Arrive Low Ling Crag.
11:15 – Set off on Leg 3 (Mellbreak (S. summit), Red Pike, High Stile to Horse Close)
12:55 – Arrive Horse Close
13:15 – Enter water. Swim across Buttermere.
13:25 – Arrive Crag Wood.
13:45 – Set off on Leg 4 (Robinson, Dale Head, High Spy, Catbells to Otterbield Bay)
16:30 – Arrive Otterbield Bay.
16:50 – Enter water and swim across Derwentwater (via Otterbield Island, St Herberts and Rampsholme)
17:30 – Arrive Calf Close Bay
17:50 – Depart Calf Close Bay
18:15 – Arrive Moot Hall
18:30 – Drinks in The Dog & Gun?
So if you see a slightly damp nutter running around the fells next weekend you’ll know who it is and what he’s up to. And if you are in Keswick on Saturday late afternoon it would be great to see you at The Moot Hall.
Happy running / swimming / walking!
Cheers – Tim
