David and Jacinta's Walks- 2023

Hayfield, William Clough and Mill Hill Despite a somewhat dodgy forecast, we decided to try a slight variant on our usual walks from Hayfield to Kinder Downfall and Kinder Low- inspired by one of our new Dark Peak walking guides. We parked up at the Bowden Bridge "Trespass" car park and made our way up to the Kinder Reservoir dam, where a few sheep were grazing on its slopes. Sheep grazing on Kinder Reservoir dam As might be seen from the photo above, the cloud was down over Kinder. For a change, we stayed on the path that runs beside the reservoir- this has much more pastoral views than our usual path, White Brow, which runs further up. We joined that path at the foot of William Clough and started our way up towards Kinder. As we climbed, the drizzle turned into more persistent rain and it became much more windy. When we reached the col between Kinder and Mill Hill, we decided that walking along the western edge of the Kinder Plateau would be pretty unpleasant in the wind an...

Hayfield, Lantern Pike, Mill Hill and William Clough We decided on a relatively close walk today, and the temptation of the Sett Valley Café was just too much to resist, so we went to Hayfield and made the café our first stop. As the weather was lovely for September and we were feeling energetic, after Lantern Pike we wet down to cross the Glossop-Hayfield road just above the old Grouse Inn. Off towards Burnt Hill from The Grouse crossing At Burnt Hill, we had a snack and admired the views- we could see as far as Mount Famine and South Head, and beyond. Mount Famine and South Head from Burnt Hill Our next stop was Mill Hill, where we stopped for lunch with a view of the Kinder Plateau and Kinder Low. The Kinder Plateau and Kinder Low from Mill Hill Normally, we come up via William Clough, but this time it was our way down. Like many descents, it looked as if it was much harder coming up! The descent via William Clough From the foot of William Clough, we reversed our regular walk across...

Falls of Acharn, Rob Roy Way, Stone Circle and a Shooting Cabin We took the southern (one-track!) road beside Loch Tay and parked at Archarn. We started from the back of the village square, walking above the gorge. The stream bed was very rocky with pools carved into it, but perhaps conditions were drier than normal as there was no obvious waterfall as we passed. The (non) Falls of Acharn The route up to the next landmark was pleasant walking along a section of The Rob Roy Way, passing a small tumulus, across fields. Just to the right of the track was a rather dilapidated stone circle, but a good spot for a rest and a snack. Stone circle- snack spot with a view The views in the next section were fine although the return path looked a long way away at first. We pressed on to ford the Acharn Burn using a wide shooters' track. The journey down and then up again to the small shooters' hut where we had lunch was great as the key was in the door. Practical security... We were able to...