David and Jacinta's Walks- 2023

  Edale And A Circuit To The West According to our Edale Weather Station in the kitchen, the weather looked dry on Thursday and it did not disappoint. It was one of those days when the only place to be is Edale, for a long walk. We got out early (for us!) and stopped at the Penny Pot where we talked to a guy who had been up on Mam Tor at sunrise, along with many others, to see the sun rise. It's become one of those "Things to do", and there's scope for many fantastic pictures to be taken. We walked up to Ringing Roger, passing Joy's Gate, where the adjoining fence was in need of repair, but where we could take in the views. Rushup Edge and Grindslow Knoll from Joy's Gate Grindslow Knoll and Grindsbrook Clough As ever, Ringing Roger looked forbidding but it's hardly a scramble and it's very satisfying to get to the top for a breather. The path up to Ringing Roger After the break at the top of Ringing Roger, we went left/west along the tops, really enjo...

  The Cat and Fiddle, Shining Tor and Erwood Today we set out to go to Wildboarclough but the mist was very low on the hills above Macclesfield so we drove on to Buxton for a coffee and a mooch around. The mist seemed to have lifted a bit after 12:00 so we drove back to the Cat and Fiddle and set out to stretch our legs with a walk up to Shining Tor (again). On the way, David took a photo of a "make do and mend" gate which (at time of writing) has 522 "Likes" in the Facebook Gate Appreciation Society page. Make Do and Bend When we reached the summit of Shining Tor we took the appropriate selfie to prove that we'd been there. Shining Tor summit pic The dense mist was clearing so we decided to go down to Errwood and back up via Shooter's Clough and Stake Side. As the mist cleared, the views and colours were great, and the walk back up not too bad. Mist Clearing and colours appearing At Stake Side there's a signpost and, very satisfyingly, we'd actually...

  Tintwistle, The Chew Reservoir and Laddow 45th wedding anniversaries don't come round that often, so this auspicious day called for a long walk to the Chew Reservoir and back to Crowden. We parked in the only free spot in the Crowden car park- it was a popular day- and made our way as usual to Tintwistle, passing the reservoirs with various levels of water. Feed weir and spillway at Torside Reservoir We decided to have an anniversary coffee/pit stop at the Bull's Head in Tintwistle. We'd passed the pub many times but this was the first time it had been open (most times were during lockdown or refurbishment of the pub) so, in the circumstances, there was no question about going in. We were greeted by Walter, the pub dog who would probably never make it as a guard dog! Walter making yet another friend Leaving the Bull's Head Outside the pub we met the real boss, an absolutely beautiful pedigree Siamese with amazing blue eyes. The boss- don't mess with me! The walk u...

  Edale and The Great Ridge with Ann, Julian and Nellie To Edale to meet up with Ann and Julian (and Nellie the dog). We couldn't start walking without a bracing coffee at The Penny Pot café . It was sunny and slightly cold, but the views were amazing. We walked up to Hollins Cross and then along the Great Ridge to Back Tor. Conflab on the way to Lose Hill. Nellie: "C'mon folks, let's go!" From then to Lose Hill, where we dropped down out of the wind to have a quick lunch. Lunch on Lose Hill We then decided to return to Back Tor via a lower path slightly to the south of the ridge and then down to Edale past Backtor Farm- a way that we've not gone before but was very pleasant and undulating. Looking back to Back Tor After crossing the road and going under the railway line, we were soon on more familiar ground at Ollerbrook Farm. From there, it was on to the village, past all the sheep (fewer lame ones than last time) and Julian provided some really interesting ...

  Hayfield, Sett Valley Trail and Peep-O-Day Farm As our diary was pretty full around the actual date of our 45th wedding anniversary, we decided to have a celebratory breakfast at the Sett Valley Café as we'd be saying that we should eat there for some time. On the way we passed a couple of llamas, which we'd not seen before. Llama 1 Llama 2 Breakfast was great- David had the All Day Veggie breakfast and Jacinta had the Shakshuka. We'll be using poached eggs on any shakshuka that we make in the future, rather than attempting to cook the eggs with the rest of the dish in the oven! Sett Valley Café flier After breakfast, we had a short excursion a little further along the Sett Valley Trail and then worked our way up towards Chinley Churn. It was lovely and clear, and we had a new perspective on Kinder. Mill Hill, Kinder and a cloud front Further view of Kinder, with the Downfall visible Before dropping down to Higher Hills Farm and Peep-O-Day we had a new view of Kinder Low,...

  Delph, Castleshaw and Standedge A day out for David, meeting up with friend Steve, who he'd not seen for a few years. We met at the Castleshaw Centre car park, just by the two Castleshaw reservoirs and below Standedge and the site of Peter's Pennine Way Café at Brun Clough Reservoir. The walk got going with a reversal of a section that Jacinta and I often do from Marsen and up past March Haigh Reservoir. We stopped for a photo op at the trig point between Millstone Edge and the Dinner Stone. Steve at the Millstone Edge trig point ...and David at the Millstone Edge trig point. Pule Hill in the background We left the Pennine Way, following the Oldham Way where the two diverge. After the open country, we skirted Denshaw and Wham Farm, passed through Delph and had a tea at a horsebox café before getting back to the cars. As you can see from the photos, the weather was beautifully clear for a walk of 8½ miles with ascent of 320m.

  Black Hill from Wessenden Head It was a spectacular day in terms of the weather- bright sunlight. We did the usual walk from Wessenden Head, crossing the Wessenden Reservoir dam where the ducks were enjoying the occasional slide down the spillway. Ducks having fun We had a brief break at the point at which our path rejoined the Pennine Way (marked by a water tank with a solar panel on a mast) and, by coincidence Rob Naylor and Caroline McCann came by with a group of friends out for a walk! We continued up, passing between the Black Moss and Swellands reservoirs with a great view over to Pule Hill. Swellands Reservoir with Pule Hill in the distance We crossed Dean Head Moss relatively uneventfully (this was the section of the original Pennine Way where people tended to get lost) and stopped for a relatively late lunch at the ruin just below the final walk up to Soldier's Lump with its trig point. A well-deserved lunch with a view We were in good time to get back to the car before ...

  Shining Tor Time was limited as we'd been to a concert with The Bright  Quartet and Julian Davis at St. Michael's in Macclesfield. The noticeboard at the start of Oldgate Nick was clear about direction, but prohibitions were a bit faded. What can't you do? Who knows! The wind was pretty strong but that made it a bracing, but short walk. It felt good to be out after the epic walk last week . Although it looked rainy in the distance, if any rain was falling, it missed us! Shining Tor trig point and rain in the distance 4.2 miles, 160m ascent.