2 min read

Joe's Bob Graham

The weekend of the longest day of the year is always a popular time for Bob Graham attempts, and this year Joe decided to give it a go. James was supporting Leg 2 which meant we needed to be in Threlkeld for 5am. We decided to wild camp a couple of miles away in a layby in St Johns in the Vale. This would be quieter than the Threlkeld cricket club car park but close enough that we could arrive in plenty of time. We headed up late, arriving around half ten and got our heads down. When the alarm went off at 4:45, the sun was already coming up and the fog was just starting burn off.

James set off with Joe and Tom for leg 2, whilst I drove around to Dunmail Raise to await their arrival. Technically I was road support for Dunmail, so my role was to ensure hot food and cups of tea were ready for when Joe arrived. He was down in great time, and had a quick sit down before heading up Steel fell wto start Leg 3. Once we had waved Joe off, we drove Tom back to his car at Threlkeld, and had an long chatty coffee and biscuits in the car park.

Joe and friends had booked to stay Saturday night at Dalebottom Farm campsite so we drove over to check in and settle down. We had no plans for the day other than heading into Keswick in the evening to watch Joe finish. We had a lazy afternoon at the campsite, picnicking in the sun and napping. We did a walk from the campsite up High Rigg Walk and Low Rigg. These are hills that we wouldn’t have walked if we’d just come up for the day, but I’m glad we did. There was a lovely mix of fern covered paths, and open rolling hills. We had a great time exploring in the sun.

That evening, we drove into Keswick to watch Joe finish and grab a chippy tea. Joe finished in 20h 18m, a fantastic time. The next morning, we had a lazy breakfast with Joe and friends, and then headed to Rydal water for a swim. James obviously hadn’t quite had his run fix for the weekend instead decided to have a run up Fairfield.