David and Jacinta's Walks- 2023

Marsden and Standedge The weather forecast looked O.K. although the day was very misty in fact and, on the tops, dense enough to block out the view. We skipped our regular coffee in The Arcade but, instead, visited the delightful Wateredge Café for the first time. This is an eighteenth century lock keeper's house at the mouth of the Standedge Tunnel and largely untouched since this time. Inside the Wateredge Café- lots of reading and historic photo of the cottage Standedge Tunnel decked out for halloween As usual, we made our way up to the March Haigh reservoir, admiring the changing colours of the foliages- not that we could see a great deal! It's beginning to feel a lot like autumn There were few people about, save for a group of Chinese students who were having an adventure in the mist and having a break from their doctorial studies at Manchester University. Up March Hill in the mist, with a lonely cow lurking in the background. Company on the hill We stopped for lunch on St...

 Chinley Churn Circuit A short walk was in order for this beautiful, clear late-October day. We had not been to Chinley for a while and decided to do something a little different. From our usual parking spot near the station, we treated ourselves to a coffee at The Green Lane Social and then started up Stubbins Lane and continued up Oven Hill Road (a great name!), past the track that leads to the east of Chinley Churn and up to a place with another great name, Throstle Bank. As we approached the bridleway to the west of Chinley Churn we were treated to a view of The Dreaming Spires of Manchester. The Dreaming Spires of Manchester (and sheep) More special, though, was the sight of three Common Buzzards wheeling above us. David was only able to capture the flight of one of them, though. We followed the bridleway north through the New Allotments and stopped for a break, with a different view of the familiar features of Kinder- Mill Hill, the Shooting Cabin, William Clough and Sandy Ha...

 Pendle Hill: David and Paul For one of their occasional walks, David met with Paul at  Whalley Warm and Dry  where Paul was buying a new pair of boots (after his old pair had trashed his feet on our last walk.). As time was therefore a little restricted and the weather forecast was not encouraging- Scotland was being lashed by Storm Babet- we chose a walk on Pendle Hill, a couple of miles from Whalley. David chose Walk 10 from  the Freedom to Roam guide to The Forest of Bowland , which Jacinta and he had used during their January stay . The walk started in the picturesque village of Worston with a three-kilometer walk across fields. Initially, the view of Pendle Hill wasn't encouraging: Pendle Hill- mostly in the clouds By the time that we reached the very distinct start of the hill (the ground steepened considerably), the clouds had lifted to above the summit level and we were able to enjoy the views. After a pretty steep climb on a relatively unused path, we reach...

 The Southern Gritstone Edges After a rather wet week, the weather forecast for Sunday was excellent, so we headed out early to Baslow. After a coffee at the pretty Café on the Green, we walked up the road and track, towards Wellington’s Monument. We have already seen its delights, so we struck out along Baslow Edge, towards Curbar. On a sunny Sunday, the place was crowded, with masses of dog walkers. As we approached Curbar Gap we came across the Curbar Highland Cattle. They're very used to humans and a lot of people were mingling with them but, in the past, there've been some nasty incidents with them so we passed by as quickly as we could. Curbar Cows We then walked onto Froggatt Edge which is always great; the views are brilliant and the sense of space is superb. We had a break and a snack above the edge. A break above Froggatt Edge Eventually, the walk comes down from Froggatt and across to the Grouse Inn (which we had visited on a previous walk back in April ). It takes ...

 Around Chatsworth A lovely, sunny day and really warm for the beginning of October. Described in the guidebook as a walk though an "incredible mix of man-made and natural landscape"- this was a walk that we had wanted to do for quite a while. Leaving Calton Lees in the Chatsworth Park, the first section of the walk goes up the hillside and across to a wooded knoll, passing many estate houses on the way. Then, all the height is lost as the walk descends to Edenor- a sort of model village almost, owned by the Devonshires. It was noteworthy because of the size of its church and the delicious cake that we were able to buy from a stall outside a house- it was the best ginger and apricot parkin that we'd ever had. Edensor church with hunting tower just visible in distance (no picture of parkin available...) The next section took us through the grounds of Chatsworth itself- always an imposing sight and we worked our way past the farmyard towards the woods. Obligatory picture of...

 Hathersage Moor We set off from Hathersage following a slightly convoluted route to the start of Coppice Wood and through this and over a field path to pass Padley Chapel (a fine building) and an old mill. So far- so good, but then the instructions became less clear/or we were confused/or, as it turned out, we went round in a couple of big circles and ended back at the old mill. The first route that we took actually corresponded with the written description up to the point where we missed the "major footpath" and, having reached the start of the section, we followed the route shown on the guidebook's map (which didn't match the description!). Oh Dear... We eventually joined the "major footpath" which was, admittedly, quite big and eventually escaped Padley Woods with some relief. They were really ancient woods and, as such, rather dramatic but after an hour of somewhat erratic route-finding they had begun to slightly lose their appeal. Just where are we? It...

The Cross-Bay Walk with Dave and Helen We did the Cross-Bay Walk with Dave and Helen on a rather damp August day. The Cross-Bay Ramblers  It was well organised and there must have been several hundred people doing it. The pictures are the best illustration of what's involved in the walk and show some of the highlights. The way is marked with twigs- if they've been swept away, retreat! Fortification prior to wading through a section up to our knees- Helen's excellent polenta cake Tracks of the support vehicles (Tractors!) Looking back at the crowds following us It was an interesting experience but I guess that we prefer doing a walk on terra firma!

 Chinley- Jacinta with Anna Jacinta went for a short ("only" five miles) but pleasant walk with Anna. Nothing dramatic, just the usual Chinley circuit and had great weather and great views of Kinder and Whiterakes. Kinder from above Chinley with The Downfall catching the sun Whiterakes from the Pennine Bridleway