Latest from the Extreme Cellists!

Day 14: Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay

2010-08-07T07:45:00.001+01:00

Wow, what a day, and what a trip overall. I don't know how to describe it really, as the mix of emotions is pretty incredible, and even though I'm writing this the following morning, we're still buzzing.

We were joined for the final 15.5 miles by three more friends - Laura, Alistair (13) and Robert (11), the third time on the walk we've been joined by kids, and each time it's given us a welcome boost. Thanks to all who've joined us along the way!

The morning comprised mainly climbing and falling, but to a much lesser degree than we've had before, and the decent weather made it very pleasant. We found a woodland natural cavern (pictured) where we played, and gave a few walkers a surprise (hopefully a nice one!).

After a lot of crossing of fields, we finally found ourselves at the cliff top, and began the three mile coastal walk to Robin Hood's Bay. As we got closer the excitement built, and as we eventually entered the town all thoughts of aching feet were expunged by a quite wonderful welcome. People were clapping and cheering us all the way down to the beach, including some fellow walkers, but others who had just heard about us from friends or people they had met. It was fantastic!

Of course we dipped our feet in the sea, to mark the cross-country route being finalised, and threw our west-coast pebbles into the North Sea too. Thereupon we found a "seat" (well, a bit of brick jetty) just by the beach to play, and gave a concert lasting the best part of an hour (joined for some pieces by Alistair on the violin). This went down very well and the cheery crowd gave generously to help boost our total.

When we finally departed (having done a brief interview and played on Radio 5Live), we went off to Whitby to celebrate with fish and chips and collapse into bed.

And so, there we are. Some stats for you about the trip:

Distance walked - 193.8 miles
Locations performed at - 38
Pieces performed - 24
Time spent walking - 74 hours 28 minutes
Average walking speed - 2.6mph
Calories consumed - ???!!!
Money raised - £4,500 and counting...

Just a final thank you to some people. Ashley, Chris, Rachel for acting as Sherpas throughout, and Mary, Helen, Paul and Jo for doing it part of the way each; Angela for driving so fantastically to ensure our overnight stuff was always where we needed it when we needed it; and of course to everyone who's donated - I know the charities really appreciate it, as do we. And also to you, the blog readers - I've even constantly surprised by the number if people who've told me they've been following us - it makes it all worthwhile, as there have been several days when typing a blog entry was the last thing I wanted to do after a long walk!

Quote of the day: "Last one there's a viola player!"

...and we're there!

2010-08-06T20:21:00.000+01:00

We have finished! All successfully! A wonderful final day, crowned by a great entrance to, and performance in, Robin Hood's Bay, was completed earlier... more details to follow later, but we need to eat now!

Day 13: Blakey to Grosmont

2010-08-05T18:20:00.001+01:00

Nearly there. Just one day (and fifteen and a half miles) to go. The end is in sight!

But, of course, we had today's walk to negotiate to get to this stage. In truth it was a relatively straightforward day - in comparison to yesterday, anyway - and the 13.5 miles were mostly along a gentle overall decline, across a mixture of roads, farm tracks and footpaths.

Aching limbs and joints following yesterday's marathon meant that speeds were varied, but an overall walking speed of around 3mph showed that we have obviously got into a good rhythm by now. The only surprise walking-wise was that we got a good rain shower at about midday - the first time our waterproofs had to come out since day seven, last Friday.

A much nicer surprise this morning was finding out that Stephen Fry had tweeted about us - and made a substantial donation himself. This led to quite a few others donating, and by early afternoon we had comfortably passed the £4,000 mark in overall donations received. At the time of writing we've not had phone reception for a few hours so we don't know if this has gone up since then... but we'll keep you informed!

After lunch in Glaisdale we played at the beautiful Beggar's Bridge, had the only (short) steep climb of the day, before a gentle descent through Egton Bridge into Grosmont. We played for a short time by the steam railway (see picture) before finishing for the day. Just one to go now... all being well we'll have finished it this time tomorrow!

Quote of the day: "Don't overdo the vibrato! xxx" (from Stephen Fry)

Blakey Ridge: The morning after the day before

2010-08-05T10:05:00.001+01:00

It's fair to say we all found yesterday rather tough. Aching feet, aching backs, sore joints and muscles, and overall exhaustion were very much the order of the day (or evening).

I thought it worth adding this extra blog this morning, though, just to say a few things. First, we're all feeling somewhat refreshed this morning, albeit with a slightly lesser spring in our step than some mornings over the last two weeks. This was due in no small part to the wonderful hospitality of the Lion Inn, where the food was delicious and plentiful, the beer wide-ranging, and the bathrooms actually had baths (hallelujah!).

Second, we discovered last night that we'd been mentioned on radio 2 on Tuesday evening. That's the kind of boost that is very welcome at this stage of the trip!

Third, Jeremy and James played cricket with a cello last night...

Day 12: Osmotherley to Blakey

2010-08-04T19:01:00.000+01:00

Well, we always knew today was going to be tough: long, lots of climbing and descending, and a real test of endurance. It is with an air of relief that I can report we all survived the 20 mile trek with no major problems.

The route started with a decent uphill, then downhill, then long uphill stretch. Fortunately the forecast rain did not materialise, and we were blessed for most of the day with "middling" (or "ideal for walking") temperatures, and virtually no rain at all (for the fifth day in a row, no waterproofs were needed!).

After another downhill stretch, we found ourselves 7 miles in at the Lord Stones Café, where we not only played, but had some industrial strength tea and incredible black pudding sandwiches to perk us up.

There followed three peaks in quick succession, each with steep 100m (or so) ascents and descents. On the third of these, we found a rather spectacular crag, where we played Mendelssohn's "Lift Thine Eyes" (pictured).

After lunch, a further climb was followed by about 9 miles of relatively flat walking, much of it along a dismantled railway track. Although this was easy in some respects, it was certainly wearing on the feet, and it was a huge relief when after about three hours, the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge came into view.

So that's the most difficult day over: 165 miles completed, just two more days and 27 miles to go. The end is getting closer...

Quote of the day: "We saw you ahead of us: it was like a ghost moving through the fields!"

Day 11: Danby Wiske to Osmotherley

2010-08-03T15:46:00.000+01:00

As expected, this was somewhat easier than yesterday: mostly very flat, with only a sharp climb at the end to give the muscles a good workout. Just 12 miles in total, and ten of those were completed before lunch. The most notable aspect of that stretch was having to dodge traffic to cross the busy A19 (all six lanes!).

The said meal was had at Ingleby Cross, where we played a couple of hymns around the war memorial (pictured). The following ascent into Osmotherley was a nice reminder of how to go up hills before the more tricky 20 miles of up and down tomorrow...

A fairly short blog entry today, then, but that reflects a fairly uneventful day's walking. Expect more tomorrow - as long as we're fit to type after that leg!

Quote of the day: (an elderly woman to James) "You may be tall and thin, but you've got great legs!"

Day 10: Richmond to Danby Wiske

2010-08-02T17:47:00.000+01:00

Ok, I have a couple of admissions to make. First, I had confused the mileages of today's and tomorrow's stages, and rather than the 12 miles I was expecting, it should have been 14 (and in fact ended up closer to 15). The fact that tomorrow's walk should now be no more than 12 is some consolation, but the psychological difference between 12 and 15 miles is quite significant.

Second, despite today's walk being remarkably flat (and, if I'm being honest, largely dull), my back is starting to ache more and more. I guess that's what carrying a cello for 10 days and 134 miles will do for you. I'm going to try to fit a waist strap tomorrow to see if that helps.

Anyway, so what of today's walk? As I already mentioned, there was not much in the way of gradient change throughout, but it was not without features. For one thing, we crossed under the A1 this morning - and decided to play Nessun Dorma to celebrate this feat of engineering and the noise it produces.

Later, we stopped in the village of Bolton-on-Swale and played at the church by the tomb of Henry Jenkins, who reportedly lived to the grand old age of 169. We celebrated this fact by playing a whole three verses of "The Day Thou Gavest".

And so we arrived in the village of Danby Wiske at about 4.30, planning to have a takeaway pizza this evening (the pub doesn't do evening meals), and play later while contemplating tomorrow's (shorter) leg of the walk!

Quote of the day: "At first I thought that was an ironing board you were carrying - turns out it's only a cello!"

Day 9: Reeth to Richmond

2010-08-01T18:29:00.005+01:00

A quite easy day today - just ten and a half miles, and the terrain not too difficult either, with just a couple of shortish steep climbs. For this reason, we set off later than we had on other days - in fact we started by playing, once again, on the village green at Reeth, with a surprisingly large audience for 9.30 on a Sunday morning!

The walk itself was straightforward enough - one of the highlights being when we met a fellow Sheffield Wednesday fan on the way so stopped to give him a rendition of "Hi Ho Sheffield Wednesday" on the cellos... which went down very well! Later on the walk we also gave our first performance of "Sheep May Safely Graze" while some, erm, cows grazed in front of us. In fact, there were some sheep only a few yards away, but we don't have anything to do with cows in our repertoire.

On arriving at Richmond we played a 30 minute or so set in the town square (pictured), joined for much of it by Donald Smith as a fourth cellist - he (and his wife Shirley) had been instrumental in our performance at Sedbergh earlier on in the summer. We were also joined by our latest co-walker, Joanne, who will be walking with us from here to the end at Robin Hood's Bay, as Clare's brother Paul departs from our company tomorrow morning.

So here we are - 119 miles in, five days to go, and it feels as if the end is in sight. Two more relatively easy days are followed by a very tough one on Wednesday, but we won't think about that quite yet...

Quote of the day: "I rushed my toast to come out and hear you this morning!"

Day 8: Keld to Reeth

2010-07-31T18:34:00.000+01:00

A much gentler day today: 12 miles along the River Swale in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. In fact, we covered a significant part of Swaledale today (and will walk though much of the rest tomorrow), and apart from a single very light shower, we had great weather to do so.

This was the alternative version of the route, one that Wainwright recommends as a change to the hill climbs of earlier in the week - and we are all very glad we did it this way. The trees that line the river complement the lush green hillsides perfectly, and the sound of running water through the stony river really added to it. As seen in the picture, we also found a place to play in the middle of the river - or at least at the mouth of Barney Beck as it departs from the Swale.

Another landmark passed today was the 100 mile mark - we have now completed just over 108 of them, and are still largely in good health (barring the occasional dodgy ankle or blistered heel) and spirit!

On arriving in Reeth (a beautiful village - the so-called "capital of Swaledale") we played outside an ice cream parlour for about half an hour and attracted a good audience - hopefully our rendition of "O Sole Mio" attracted people to the idea of ice cream, rather than leaving them disappointed that they didn't sell Cornettos!

Apologies, by the way, for the lack of updates to our location today - I have had no phone reception since the middle of yesterday (Friday), so unless I strike lucky with wi-fi thus evening you won't be reading this until a good way through Sunday anyway!

Quote of the day: "I think that cello's going to have to sit on the loo overnight" (due to lack of room in the B&B)

Day 7: Kirkby Stephen to Keld

2010-07-30T18:16:00.000+01:00

(Subtitle: A blog about a bog)

A slightly later start today - we played before we left the fabulous youth hostel in Kirkby Stephen, which is an old converted chapel (with much of the original architecture preserved), and set off with the clock approaching 10.00. We were joined for the day by Clare's old friend Kate and her three daughters, and this boosted us to get up to the Pennine ridge in good time.

After playing at the Nine Standards - a set of stone constructions on the ridge at about 650m up (the morale-boosting sudden view of Yorkshire nearly being tempered by James's attempt to let his cello be attacked by his case...), we walked through the boggiest part of the whole route, which despite being dry by its standards was still enough to get us rather wet in places.

The journey down to Keld was then rather more straightforward, the occasional shower meaning we couldn't rest on our laurels though. We did stop at the wonderful Ravenseat farm for a cup of tea & scones, and played to the owner - two of her children and the dog being particularly engaged by the performance. We would certainly recommend the food and drink there!

And so tonight we're staying in Keld, a tiny village in the western end of Swaledale. It's great to be back in Yorkshire, although the lack of phone reception means I have no idea when this blog post will appear! At the halfway point of the challenge, though, I am pleased to report that all is going to plan...

Quote of the day: "We were following you yesterday, and it was so inspirational to see the cellos in the valley ahead..." "You mean knowing there is someone madder than you around?"

Day 6: Shap to Kirkby Stephen

2010-07-29T18:42:00.000+01:00

Well, that was a different day. A long one, for sure (20 miles), but far easier terrain than previously in the walk and almost perfect walking conditions (alternating sun and cloud cover, but never getting too hot for too long and barely even the merest hint of rain - no need for waterproofs!).

We covered the 20 miles in just over 9 hours, including a stop to play some Beethoven by a wonderful railway bridge near Kirkby Stephen (pictured) - I don't know whether it added to the occasion or not that the audience was mostly cows (who, to their credit, gathered round almost as soon as we started playing!).

Tomorrow is different again - an ascent up and down the Pennines, with the promise of finding ourselves in Yorkshire by the end!

Quote of the day: "Moo!"

Shap (...ah-ah!)

2010-07-29T08:48:00.000+01:00

We're just starting day 6, and thought it would be worth blogging about the fantastic hospitality we received in Shap. The fabulous New Ing Lodge was where we stayed, and we would heartily recommend it to any Coast-to-Coasters, and indeed anyone else visiting the village.

Clare was particularly impressed that one of the owners not only bought her an ice cream on arrival, but even carried it up two flights of stairs for her! Also worthy of a mention is the Bull's Head Inn, where we performed and had a great meal last night. Let's hope it was enough to see us through today's 20 miles...

Day 5: Patterdale to Shap

2010-07-28T18:55:00.000+01:00

Are we really only 5 days and 62 miles into it? We seem to have been going for ever, and the feet and joints certainly feel as if we have.

Today was certainly the toughest day of the route so far - and may yet turn out to be the toughest of the whole lot, but I don't want to tempt fate by saying that for certain now! Although there are three which are longer in terms of mileage, it was still nearly 16 miles today, and involved the biggest climb of the route - 780m up Kidsty Pike.

We played at the top (including our debut performance of "Ain't no mountain high enough"), and James decided to get arty with his cello (pictured). This was then followed by the toughest descent I've known for a long time - bone and muscles being crunched all the way.

So, we arrived in Shap safely at about 6.30, and are going to head out to perform in a local pub soon. Tomorrow brings much easier terrain, but a whole 20 miles of it... let's see whether we feel that more or less than the same distance on day 1!

Quote of the day (to Jeremy at breakfast): "Did you hear those cellists in the pub last night?"

Day 4: Grasmere to Patterdale

2010-07-27T17:51:00.000+01:00

Something amazing happened today: it stopped raining and the sun came out. Not for vast amounts of time, granted, but long enough for us to get our cellos out at the highest point of the day's walk, just above Grisedale Tarn - about 600m up the slopes of Helvellyn (pictured).

This was one of the highlights of a good day's walking - again not the furthest in terms of mileage (about 9 miles, meaning we've now done 46 in total), but a good climb and descent, with a novelty in arriving at our destination in dry clothes!

Another highlight was meeting a group of kids on the way down, on a YHA-run adventure course (they were camping up where we had just come from), who turned out to be wonderfully polite, interested and enthusiastic to hear us play - and despite being no older than about 13, generous in their donations too. The sort of encounter that really leaves a good feeling about the whole challenge!

So we're staying in Patterdale tonight, perhaps entertaining the locals later, and preparing ourselves for a much bigger walk tomorrow - the highest climb of the whole route and 16 miles to boot (well, to Shap actually!). Fingers crossed for some dry weather...

Quote of the day: "So, are yous lads all army then?"

Day 4: raining again

2010-07-27T10:20:00.000+01:00

It's getting a bit tiresome, this rain! Still, we have a spring in our step this morning having enjoyed a fine concert last night - and thanks to the generous folk of Grasmere (and a fair few walkers we told about it on the way) our total has now surpassed £3000!

The only downside about Grasmere, I guess, was the evening meal at a local pub, where the food was ok if overpriced, and (some of) the staff were a bit rude and unhelpful - a complete contrast to the previous night in Rosthwaite, which had been absolutely great! Oh well, no great harm done... looking forward to another meal tonight after another big day's walking...

(Pictured: St Oswald's Church, Grasmere)

Day 3: Borrowdale to Grasmere

2010-07-26T17:07:00.001+01:00

Well, it may have only been 8 miles or so today, but it was a tough 8 miles. A good climb in the first part of the walk was followed by a joint-destroying equivalent descent thereafter - and all in pouring rain.

In fact, for the third day running an alternative "higher" option was ruled out because of poor weather. It's a little frustrating, but it's not preventing us from getting there. It is, however, starting to cause some damage to the cellos (see picture) - hopefully it won't rain for the whole of the two weeks!

So, three days and 37 miles in, and we're seeing the first of our personnel changes. I've not said anything about our personnel yet this year, so here is a brief introduction... as many of you will know, Jeremy, Clare and James are the cellists; we're being joined throughout the walk by our friends Ashley, Rachel and Chris, to help us carry non-cello items, as well as Angela (James's mum), who is driving from place to place to help with transporting luggage and other logistical matters. Then we're being joined by some others along the way: Simon, Mary and Helen were with us for the first three days, and Clare's brother Paul joined us from today until day 9... which seems a very long way away right now!

Anyway, we're giving a concert at St Oswald's Church, Grasmere tonight (7.30) so we better go and prepare for that!

Quote of the day: "Oh, so you're those daft ha'peths with the cellos..."

Day two complete

2010-07-25T16:51:00.000+01:00

Well, we're now two days in, and with nearly 30 miles under the belt it's feeling well underway.

I've no idea when this will appear online, as there's no phone reception where we are tonight (Borrowdale Youth Hostel), but today has been a very different one from yesterday. Much shorter mileage, but a much bigger climb - our first significant one of the challenge.

Not as significant as we'd hoped - the Red Pike-Haystacks ridge version of the route was covered in cloud, so we walked along the valley and save the climb until later on. Instead, we played outside Black Sail youth hostel - the only one in the country not accessible by road (pictured) - and later on outside the Honister slate mine.

So, hopefully a relaxing evening ahead (involving a little playing, of course) before - gulp - another 12 days of tough walking to come...

Quote of the day: "That's a funny shaped backpack you've got there..."

Onto day 2...

2010-07-25T10:07:00.000+01:00

20 miles down, 173 to go...

We did a little bit more on day 1 than we had originally planned, owing mainly to logistical difficulties if we hadn't. So 20 miles left us absolutely knackered last night, but we're feeling a bit fresher this morning and have started day 2 brightly!

More brightly in fact than the weather, which although dry at the time of writing has covered the "alternative" ridge route (including Haystacks) in cloud. So in the interests of safety we're taking the valley route to start with, and will leave the big climb until later...!

We're under way!

2010-07-24T16:28:00.000+01:00

Finally we've started the challenge proper - beginning at 9.30 this morning, by playing on the beach at St Bees, and we've since walked 14 miles to Ennerdale Bridge... a few more miles to go yet, as we're going to the Ennerdale Youth Hostel, but we're blogging now as I don't know whether we'll have any reception today or not!

High points of the day (so far) include having a cup of tea at the cottage by St Bees Head lighthouse, meeting a family from Sheffield, and getting caught speeding by a speed camera when running up hill!

Quote of the day: "What's all this about then?"!

A great start at St Bees

2010-07-23T22:02:00.000+01:00

Well, we're finally in Cumbria, and although the walking hasn't started yet we've made a fantastic start to the challenge.

After a difficult journey up from Sheffield (delayed and crowded trains upstaged by a lineside fire near Whitehaven), we gave our first performance of the tour - a concert at St Bees Priory (pictured).

We were simply bowled over by the turnout and reception, which provided the best possible way to start the challenge. Thanks to a very generous audience, we are now comfortably more than half way to our £5,000 target before we've even walked a mile!

Massive thanks to all at St Bees for making this possible. And now we're feeling ready to start the walk - come back tomorrow evening to find out whether or not this confidence is misplaced!

Coast-to-Coast challenge coming up...

2010-07-19T20:27:00.001+01:00

For anyone who's not aware yet, we're going to be starting the Coast-to-Coast challenge this Saturday. That's walking the 192-mile route from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire (as made famous by Alfred Wainwright), carrying cellos, playing three times a day.

More details are at our web site, where you can also track our progress on a map. Of course, though, we'll be blogging as we go so check back here regularly to see our progress!

Since our last challenge two years ago we've also started Facebooking and Tweeting, so if you're into either of these, then start following us that way!

2008-08-02T22:59:00.000+01:00

Saturday 2 August, and we're now all back home after a very strange but wonderful 13 days on the road! The journey back itself was quite a challenge - flash floods in South West Ireland meant that our route home was blocked, and we had to improvise another route between Killarney and Limerick (avoiding flooded roads, vehicles broken down in flooded roads, and one van whose undercarriage was on fire for some unknown reason)... fortunately, though, we had left at 5.15am and made the ferry just in time.

And so what of the challenge itself? Well, we're still taking it all in, but it seemed to be a remarkable success overall, with all four peaks accomplished on schedule, and plenty of money raised (many thanks to all - and it's still rolling in, so if you still want to make a donation you can do so here). We all agreed that the four peaks had very different characters, and that the locations were noticeably different in many ways, but the one similarity (other than the height) was the beauty of the surroundings. I know we've said this before, but we were very lucky with the weather and the views we got. There are some more photos now up at www.extremecello.com/peaksgallery.htm.

So, what next? Was this challenge extreme enough for Mr Clarkson, or do we need to go further still? Ideas on a postcard (or via the comments option on here) please. Oh don't worry, we have some of our own... we're just exploring all the options for now!

2008-07-31T09:39:00.000+01:00

Well, it's now the morning after, and we've all completed it successfully! Carrauntoohil was definitely the hardest mountain of the lot - not the tallest, but the most demanding walking (a mixture of steep climbs, bogs, and ridge walking, mostly in difficult conditions: some rain, a fair amount of wind, a lot covered in cloud).

We were completely covered in cloud on top, so the pictures aren't as spectacular as they might be... however, I've posted three below to show what it was like! We did the whole lot, including the top, in seven and a half hours - not bad, we thought. At the summit, we gave our shortest performance to date (one piece only) because the cellos were getting a bit wet, and then had lunch, with a spot of champagne to celebrate (thanks Stefan!). We were greeted on the way down with some clearing weather, and spectacular views resulted - meaning we got decent views from all four mountains in the end - quite a result!

Needless to say, we celebrated last night with a pint of Guinness or three over a meal (before James and Jeremy both got thrashed at pool by some local 12-year-old), and slept very soundly! And so, we have a spare day to contemplate future possible endeavours... keep in touch with www.extremecello.com for details as time goes on!

This is not quite the final word on the tour - there will be more pictures and reaction to come, if not later today then by the weekend for sure. But thanks for all your comments, thoughts, suggestions and donations - all very much appreciated!

2008-07-30T14:36:00.000+01:00

Hurrah! We've done Carrauntoohil! Unfortunately covered in cloud, cold, wet and windy, but we did it!

Just on the way down now - we'll say and post more when we've really finished later!

2008-07-29T20:07:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 29th July, 8pm - we've now arrived at our hostel in Ireland (with more cosy accommodation than we've had previously), and are starting to contemplate the final leg of the challenge. The weather is gradually improving - after torrential rain and very loud thunderstorms last night, and some atrociously wet driving conditions today, we have some patches of blue sky to look at. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

Today was spent mostly travelling, with a stop in Limerick for an interview on RTE Lyric - actually going into the studio, which made a nice change. We've just had a pasta meal in preparation (with James having a go at some chorizo-bobbing), and will have an early night before the final climb tomorrow... will post again after we've done it!

2008-07-28T11:38:00.000+01:00

Well, it was a great day yesterday, with Snowdon providing the largest audiences (and donations!) to date. There are a few more photos below.

The weather was fantastic - almost too hot, in fact - and we played for a good long while at the summit, along with some TA soldiers at one point (and managed to join in both English and Welsh national anthems with them); we returned to Clogwyn station (3/4 of the way up) to play for 45 minutes, and then played at the halfway cafe on the way down with a cup of tea! All in all, we took nearly 9 hours in ascent & descent, because of the performances and interest.

We finished off the day with a meal in a pub in Llanberis, and somehow managed to win joint first prize in their quiz too! So we'll be returning tonight to spend our winnings on another meal...

Next stop Ireland - we leave early tomorrow morning, have an interview at RTE radio on the way over, and should be in Killarney by late afternoon, ready to tackle Carrauntoohil on Wednesday!

Quote of the day: "You're the famous cellists!" (Random motorist at the start of our ascent - well, we're cellists anyway... not sure about the famous bit!)

2008-07-27T13:51:00.000+01:00

We've conquered Snowdon! Played for a good while at the top, and are now on the way back down to play at Clogwyn station. Ascent took just over three hours, weather great! Will post more later or tomorrow...

2008-07-25T17:19:00.000+01:00

Well, there's plenty to say now, as this is first proper blog entry for three days. We finished off in Scotland well (with a little haggis-bobbing from James), and then had a good journey down to the Lake District... to find Wastwater Youth Hostel is absolutely beautiful, but a nightmare for mobile phone reception! Normally I wouldn't mind that at all, but there were various arrangements to be made, not least with the media whose interest appeared to have picked up quite a bit.

So, we started the walk on Thursday, up England's tallest mountain, accompanied by TV cameramen from three local networks, as well as a reporter for BBC Radio 4 (and a dog!). The climb itself was as expected: hard, steep, but a lot shorter than Ben Nevis. So when we played at the top, we were slightly less exhausted than before and played for substantially longer - as well as doing plenty of TV and radio interviews.

We were really pleased by not only the media interest, but also their sensitivity in dealing with us: no requests to "just come up that bit again", which we had encountered on the Cathedral Roof Tour more than once! So many thanks to the journalists involved.

We had a good evening meal at the hostel, and then a game of French cricket with another family at the hostel! A good day all round. A couple of other photos from the day are below.

Today we did our own things - either climbing some more hills (yes, really!) or exploring Cumbria at ground level. Down to Snowdonia tomorrow!

2008-07-24T13:39:00.000+01:00

1pm Thursday, and we've made it to the top of Scafell Pike, accompanied by three TV crews, a radio reporter and various family and friends!

Will say more later or tomorrow, but need to get down now as it's pretty cold!

2008-07-22T14:16:00.000+01:00

Some more images from the top of Ben Nevis!

In the "group photo", we have: Cellists (front row) - James, Clare, Jeremy; Sherpas (back row) - Ashley, Caroline.

We're having a rest day today, mainly in Fort William - this morning we went into Nevis Radio, a wonderful small independent local radio station, to do an interview and play a couple of pieces. We were delighted to find a large picture of ourselves on the front page of the Press & Journal, which we are told is the major paper in the north of Scotland!

And so our thoughts look ahead to Scafell Pike... the weather forecast looks good (in fact, perhaps a little too hot for ideal conditions), but we're well aware that can change pretty quickly so we're not counting our chickens just yet. We travel down tomorrow - there may or may not be a blog entry on arrival in the Lake District, but there'll certainly be one (with some pictures, hopefully) on Thursday!

2008-07-21T18:59:00.001+01:00

7pm Monday, and we're back down safely. What a climb though! We were so lucky with the weather all day, and met some fantastic people on the way up, at the summit, and on the way down (including a professional cellist from Amsterdam!). Overall it took us 9 hours, including over an hour at the summit for performance, lunch and photos... 4 hrs 35 on the way up, 3 hrs 20 on the way down.

It's fair to say we're all hurting somewhat. Clare says in particular that her shoulders hurt, her back hurts, her legs hurt and her feet hurt. I doubt any of us could say honestly that we do not share the same feelings!

We'd like to say a particular thank you to our two sherpas today - Ashley and Caroline. Ashley will be with us throughout; Caroline was just here for Ben Nevis (we'll have others at the other mountains); but they both made things so easy for us. Well, I say easy - speaking relatively of course! I don't think anyone would claim climbing a 1,343m mountain was easy at any time, let alone with a cello on your back...

We'll post some more photos of the first leg tomorrow hopefully.

Quote of the day: "Are we nearly there yet?" (James, after we'd been going for about 20 minutes...)

2008-07-21T14:03:00.000+01:00

2pm on Monday - and we're at the top of Ben Nevis!

Got up here about half an hour ago, played for a while for a big audience with good weather and about to have lunch!

We'll say more when we get down later - thanks for all your support!

(N.B. You can make the picture larger by clicking on it.)

2008-07-20T21:20:00.000+01:00

Well, we've arrived in Scotland. The weather is looking pretty decent - let's hope it holds!

The journey up was largely uneventful (apart from Jeremy missing a diversion after the M1 was closed!), and we got here in time for a delicious sausage pasta meal, followed by James' attempt at flapjack bobbing...

And so, we steel ourselves for the 1343m climb tomorrow - I think it's fair to say that we're all a bit apprehensive now, especially as we can see Ben Nevis from our hostel room. All being well we'll blog again tomorrow evening to let you know how we got on - and post a picture or two!

2008-07-19T19:09:00.000+01:00

Well, we set off in the morning, so are just undergoing our final preparations. I'd like to say it's gone smoothly, but unfortunately that would be untrue...

All was fine until we went to collect the minibus yesterday. Aston Students' Guild had very kindly agreed to lend us a minibus for the duration of the challenge: this was great, until we went to fill it up with fuel. As we unlocked the bus after filling up, the key snapped in the lock (possibly from the shock of the price of diesel these days?)... fortunately we were still close to the University, and they had a spare key! Less fortunately, although the key would open the doors, it wouldn't start the engine. For a number of reasons that I'm not going to force myself to recall, we spent a couple of hours trying to get breakdown assistance but to no avail...

So, we had to abandon the minibus and have decided to take two of our own cars instead... it'll be a bit of a squash, but we should manage it! I should add that the staff both at the BP garage on Watery Lane, Birmingham, and at Aston Students' Guild were exceptionally helpful and supportive... and at least it happened there, rather than somewhere in the Highlands on Sunday afternoon!

Oh well, off to Scotland tomorrow... here's hoping the weather forecast for Monday is right, as it's looking better now! Ben Nevis here we come...

2008-07-18T13:05:00.000+01:00

Well, we've just come from an exhausting morning of media work - we were on BBC Breakfast first, and we've just done 11 radio interviews too! This follows on from Clare & Jeremy's appearances on Radio Sheffield and Look North yesterday... but now our attentions turn to the mountains themselves.

The weather forecast for Monday doesn't look too good - although we're well aware that the weather in the Highlands can often bear little resemblance to what's going on nearby, even on the next peak along! So we'll just have to see what we get.

Thanks to all for your support so far - we'll keep you updated as we go along.

Comment of the day: "We've all got big ones!" (Clare, on one of the local radio interviews...)

Welcome to the Extreme Cello blog!

2008-07-10T14:08:00.000+01:00

We’ve decided to introduce a blog to enable easier updating while we’re on the Four Peaks Challenge this summer - it may prove easier than trying to update our own web site directly, and gives people the chance to leave comments too!

If you’ve happened across this by accident, and don’t know anything about the Extreme Cellists, take a look at www.extremecello.com to discover more…

And if you see any press articles or any other media stories about us over the course of the tour, please let us know about them by posting a comment. We've found that when on tour, it's quite easy to miss these, but it's nice to know about them anyway!