David and Jacinta's Walks- 2023

Edale We aimed for a short(ish) walk as Jacinta was doing the Manchester 10k on Sunday 21st May. After our usual pit stop at The Penny Pot, we ambled up to the plateau, taking it easy and stopping to admire the lambs and other views. Obligatory lamb Looking back to Mam Tor and Rushup Edge The day was clear and not cold- it always comes as a little surprise that we can dispense with hat, gloves and extra layers after spending the best part of five months getting equipped to withstand the weather. We walked round to Grindslow Knoll via the head of Grindsbrook Clough, looking back on the way we'd made our way up to the plateau. The path up Grindsbrook Clough (centre, foreground) and our path up to Ringing Roger. Back Tor, Lose Hill and Win Hill in the distance We made our way down from Grindslow Knoll, stopping to watch the farmer dispensing feed to his sheep and causing something fo a sheep riot as he drove through them on his quadbike. Sheep really are rather strange animals! 6.4 Mi...

Blair Castle to Glen Tilt We began the walk at the Old Bridge of Tilt car park- a lovely space with lots of trees, and the river nearby. We passed a bug hotel on the way up towards the castle. Bug Hotel We stopped to admire the statue of Hercules from the 18th century near the entrance to the eponymous Hercules Walled Garden. This statue cost £25! Hercules and his walled garden In front of the castle we saw (and heard!) the piper who presumably comes out at regular intervals to entertain (or scare away) the visitors. We went into Diana's Grove where there were some truly spectacular conifers, again largely planted in the 18th century.  The path took up to the few houses which constitute Old Blair and then we went into the woods along the high riverbank. This took us, after a sharp turn back, up to open country with lovely views. The track then went into another plantation, passing a small reservoir which was a surprise, leading to the firing range and a bridge over a small stream. ...

Schiehallion- Paul B's Last Munro The highlight of our trip to Pitlochry was, of course, to join Paul B on his walk to the summit of his last Munro, Schiehallion. The irony was that Schiehallion was Jacinta's first Munro in 2014! Nevertheless, it was a grand day out. We walked up from the Braes of Foss car park and had forgotten quite how uneven and rocky the last third of the walk was. Ascent, before the rocky section Members of the party went at their own pace, with heroic ascents by Jane and Sherry. Two possible summits, so two summit pictures of Paul On the descent we had a clear(ish) view of the hills that Tim and I had done the day before. Yesterday's hills in the distance and a less rocky path 7 miles, 780m ascent, a leisurely 5½ hours.

Four Munros with Tim G: Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Maigh and Meall nan Aighean We had driven up to Pitlochry with Tim G in anticipation of Paul B's last Munro and, as we had booked  Lilac Cottage  for a few extra days, Tim generously agreed to accompany David on a walk to summit a few more Munros of his own (there was no real need for Tim to go, as he'd already completed his Munros). The forecast wasn't good, but all in all although it was pretty misty, we didn't encounter too much rain. There was a limite photo op before we disappeared into the murk but there was an idea of what the scenery was like- if there hadn't been any clouds. Glen Lyon It was a steady, but not too difficult, plod up to the top of Carn Gorm, which we made in less than book time. We had a snack and whilst we mused that anyone with common sense would call it a day and go  back along the way they'd came in the mist, it was decided that it would be a bit of a faff to have to come back and g...

Sir William Hill from Eyam We decided to take another walk from "Day Walks in the Peak District" and, not wanting to travel too far, we chose one based from Eyam. Jacinta had already found The Village Green Café  and we stopped for an excellent cup of Dark Woods coffee and a fresh scone and croissant.  After the obligatory picture at the museum, we set off in the reverse direction to our last walk here- towards Stoney Middleton via the boundary stone. No visit complete without this photo Stoney is more than just climbing, as we found last time we passed though. The 15th century church was being used as a polling station as it was the day of the local elections. Multi-function church Main body of church rebuilt as hexagon in 1757 after a fire We had a view of Froggatt Edge with its pinnacle as we walked down towards the River Derwent. Froggatt Edge with pinnacle centre right After reaching the Derwent, it was a relatively short walk along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way un...

Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers David set out to bag a couple of "easy" Munros, Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers. Easy, because the ascent starts from an elevation of c. 420m at a National Trust for Scotland car park. The path is very clear all the way, which was in contrast to the weather- I wasn't below the cloud base for long! An early section of the path, with a view I was soon into the murk and negotiating the occasional patch of snow- generally, very soft and not too slippery. Typical conditions for the day There were plenty of frost deposits on the grasses- quite pretty. Frost on the grass As there was very little view, I took a screenshot of the OS app showing my location. As the signal was pretty poor, the screenshot was pretty fuzzy, too. I was the...

Kenmore and The Tay with Rachel and Matt It was lovely to have Rachel and Matt with us for a couple of days and we went for a walk from Kenmore (which David and Jacinta had passed through on their way back from their walk on Tuesday ). The initial section took us along the lochside and past the old orphanage, giving us a spectacular view along Loch Tay. Loch Tay from Kenmore The next section was through a former arboretum, and we think that we spotted the Giant Redwood mentioned in the guide. The giant redwood? We crossed the road and started up the path through the Drummond Hill woods, which gave us a view back to Kenmore and the bridge across the Tay. Kenmore and the Tay Bridge We walked for a few kilometers on the forest tracks, stopping for lunch at a handy and dryish spot. Matt was a perfect gentleman, offering Rachel most of his crisps after she'd dropped most of hers. After lunch, we progressed on and (thanks to David's miscalculation) overshooting the exit back to loch ...