You know it must be July, when it’s time to put the fleece’s and waterproof’s back on. So having parked at Curbar Gap, there was nothing about the weather that suggested we would be taking them off any time soon. Well okay it wasn’t raining exactly, but then it wasn’t exactly the height of April either (please read previous blog entries to understand that). Anyway what we did have was a very clear day, so as we made our way along Curbar Edge we could see for miles around. Not that this was of particular interest to Lab dog Molly, who had umpteen trails to follow (but sadly without Luther, as such outings are getting a bit too much for him these days).
Thus for a late Saturday morning, this neck of the woods (or Peak) was proving a popular spot with other people as well, but once we made a hard right and headed off towards White Edge we managed to shake off the masses. Not only that but the effort to climb up to the edge, had me taking my waterproof off a little too hastily, as once exposed to the biting wind it soon found its way back on again. It turned out we hadn’t shaken off humanity either as we met a group of ramblers heading towards us. One of whom had an identical black Labrador and informed us that he kept his on a lead to protect it from ticks (we however assumed our dog would be able to stand up to a tick if it happened to meet one).
Following a quick lunch stop on a stone ledge where we had frozen sandwiches and crisps, washed down with that biting wind, we then headed down towards the Grouse pub. There we had a quick mug of coffee outside, whilst Molly barked at and attempted to verbally bully a small dog that was entering with its owners (all the while keeping her back to the window where a Staffy/Rottweiller cross was looking out, who was no doubt hoping for the opportunity to bully her).
Once on the move again, the weather had warmed up, and the top layers were coming off. Thus we passed around the outskirts of Longshaw estate, as we made our way towards Froggat edge. We were somewhat surprised when two guys passing us, suddenly shouted “Helen” on the top of their voices. When a young woman passed us by a few moments later we realised both that: there is more than one of them who lives in Derbyshire, and that this one was probably rushing to thank her mates for (not) holding up the traffic whilst she was (assume) answering a call of nature.
After being shown a stone circle by the first Helen mentioned in this blog, we then speculated (me and Molly that is) as we stared over Froggat edge, whether we were looking at my old stomping ground of Grindleford. With no real definitive answer to that one forthcoming, we instead went through something of a photography moment around all the jagged stones and rocks.
Presently we made our way back to the Curbar Gap car park where we came across a wedding party having their photos taken. In fact they came into view at just the right moment as we would otherwise have had to come to blows over whether a Tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. Anyway having found some common ground on the distance being something around the 7 mile mark (no thanks to my malfunctioning GPS), we were then able to drive home happily listening to Status Quo’s ‘Leader of Sound’.
Walks since last blog entry:
2 x 7 miles – Osterley Park/Grand Union
1 x 2 miles – Lineacre Reservoir (circular) – Helen
1 x 2 miles – Hellbank (circular) – Helen
A lovely walk in an area I know well. I also find that a photograph of people looking at a spectacular view is always more interesting than them looking into the camera lens.
ReplyDeleteHi Lee
ReplyDeleteThanks for those nice words. I always try to photograph what I would loosely term 'action shots' rather than as you say "people just looking into the camera". I find it's a lot easier if I am just walking with Helen, as she co-operates. However taking pictures such pictures in a walking group is always more of a challenge, as a lot of people do not like having their picture taken (which one of course has to respect).
Incidentally there are a lot of nice pictures on your blog. What camera do you use ?