Charnley Way

Where there is a recorder please contact them to log your completion. In addition, or if there isn't a recorder, you are invited to share your experience on the gofar facebook page to encourage and inspire other runners to have a go!

contacts & logs

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The Charnley Way Lakes

The Charnley Way was devised by the friends of Gerry Charnley following his death on the Helvellyn range in a tragic accident in December 1982 when he was 53. The area chosen for the route was the scene of the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (now the OMM) which he devised and organised in 1981. A commemorative map was published through Harvey Map Sevices showing the route(s) defined by 26 control points. It provided the option of either three separate circuits of Eskdale, Borrowdale and Langdale or the complete round of some 57 km and 3600m of ascent illustrated below. Each circuit started at a youth hostel and converged on Charnley Crag south of Esk Pike.

Ben Abdelnoor resurrected the route in 2007 with a time of 10-47 but believes Billy Bland completed the route in under 8 hours in the 1980's. See below for a copy of Ben's article which appeared in The Fellrunner (Autumn 2007). In 2014 as part of their 50th birthday celebrations South Ribble Fell Search and Rescue reprinted the commemorative map - see link below for contact details.

Route and Control Points

Notes:

The control points listed above are taken from an example of a complete round scheduled on the Charnley Way map. The list omits the control at Angle Tarn (245 078), which is visited on the Borrowdale and Langdale circuits, presumably to create a better overall circuit of the three valleys (illustrated in red)
Ben Abdelnoor's round included Angle Tarn and is shown as a variation on the above map by green dashes. Either route can be used subject to your preference for either visiting all 26 controls or following the complete round as scheduled on the Charnley Way map.
The round is shown starting at High Close Youth Hostel as it is probably the nearest point for most runners travelling to the Lakes, but any start point is permitted.

Schedule

Click on the icon to view/print a pdf schedule of Ben Abdelnoor’s round

Finishers

This is an informal challenge without registrations or time limits. Why not share your experience on facebook to encourage and inspire other runners to have a go!

Links and Further Information

The Charnley Way – A Grand Day Out Ben Abdelnoor (The Fellrunner, Autumn, 2007)
The Gerry Charnley Round Memorial Challenge - Background plus contact details for the 2014 edition of the map.

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SAFETY WARNING

All the routes on this site require proven mountain running experience. You undertake them entirely at your own risk. Please take full mountain safety precautions at all times. Always ensure you carry sufficient clothing, food and equipment to cope with dramatic changes in the weather conditions! Appropriate insurance cover is recommended.

HAVE A GO!

The object of this website is to provide a single, ready source of information on the ultra-distance mountain challenges which have been developed over the past three or more decades. It now offers a diverse range of long and "short", old and recent, formal and informal routes from around the UK to encourage runners of all ages and abilities to have a go, subject to proven mountain experience in all conditions.

FRA LONG DISTANCE

RECORDS and NEWS

Please send details of any record-breaking runs and the like to Martin Stone who maintains records on behalf of the Fell Runners Association. Email: martin.stone@sportident.co.uk

Please also refer to the guidelines and definitions in the FRA Handbook.

GOFAR UPDATES

Updates are generally made each winter and announced on gofar facebook. If you are not on facebook, to subscribe to future updates email Tony Wimbush: gofar99@gmail.com . Put "subscribe" in the subject line, or "delete" if you wish to unsubscribe.

HELP WANTED

If you can improve on the accuracy of this resource, offer details of other routes (old and new), spot any errors in grid references, names, heights, spelling or punctuation, or find a link which does not work please email Tony Wimbush: gofar99@gmail.com

The Charnley Way Lakes

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