Ashover Circular - Derbyshire - 09/03/14 - 5 Miles - Helen (Molly)

Wow did Summer just creep up on us all without looking ? Well it obviously must be if I am wearing shorts. Anyway this is a walk we have done a few times before, and Helen many times (in a past life). Thus we were treated to fantastic valley scenery out of all proportion to the minimal climbing effort required for it. Molly seemed to appreciate it as well, after what was apparently a boring day for her prior to this, watching someone doing the gardening (know how she feels).

Anyway highlights were: a couple from Newark who we couldn't quite shake off (they probably said the same about us), the perfect weather, the launch of the daffodils, and Helen almost getting caught, getting caught short (work that out).

Walks since last blog entry: Linacre Reservoir 26th Feb - Helen (Molly)

Matlock Bath to Ambergate - (Derbyshire) - 16/02/14 - 7 Miles - Helen (Molly)

In this winter of wind and rain (but thankfully in these parts no floods), one had forgotten what a nice day actually looked like. So with the Sun out it seemed everyone (and their dogs) was eager to get out and stretch their legs. So having parked the car at Ambergate, we caught the train for the few stops to Matlock Bath to begin this linear walk.

Now Matlock Bath for those who don't know it, is a picture postcard biker town. This was evidenced by the impressive line up of trikes parked outside the station, but also the constant roaring along the A6, that accompanied our climb up Lovers Walk. There we could look over the cable cars on the Heights of Abraham, and look down at Gullivers World on the other.

Eventually we descended back down into Derwent Gardens, crossing the bridge over the river, and picking up the A6 (accompanied by a parade of bikers), until we reached the first of a series of Arkwright's Mills (Cromford in this case). So after a couple of false starts over where to eat, we eventually chose the café by the start of the canal. Unfortunately the four young girls in charge of it seemed a bit overwhelmed and said there would be a half hour wait for food. Also like the other nearby options, one was looking at tourist prices, so it was a case of settling for tea, coffee and cake.

From there it was a straightforward 5 mile stroll along the Cromford canal all the way back to Ambergate station (and as stated given the break in the weather we weren't the only ones with that idea). Along the way we passed High Peak Junction, whilst Molly had a game of chase and snarls with two dogs in particular, and a few others as well.

Chesterfield Trans Pennine Trail (Circular) - Derbyshire - 25/01/14 - 11 Miles

Well here I am blogging again, in this New Year of 2014. I must admit I have debated over the last few months whether it was worth continuing this blog. Also given that my last entry was September 2013, it would appear that a state of inertia has already made that decision. The reality however is that since moving full time to Chesterfield last April, walks have become less of a fortnightly 'Event' of some 10 to 12 miles duration. Instead they have become more frequent, usually involving much smaller distances, and over ground that has been covered many times before. In short I have run out of things to say. My gut feeling is that things are likely to change this year, and that walking as an event (and thus this blog) will pick up again.

Given the uncertainty of the weather, this is the time when you want to be doing the tried and tested. So with the sun out and the rain not forecast till around 3.00pm, that theory looked to hold water. Unfortunately it wasn't the only thing holding water, as the saturated ground in the woods, where I left the Trans Pennine trail in order to come out at the grounds of Ringwood Hall Hotel, was caked in slippery mud. Thus even with the aid of a stick (which was a bit silly as I had been given a walking pole for Christmas) I took three times as long to get through there. However things did look up when I reconnected with the trail on the Chesterfield Canal as Nona's coffee bar was actually open (which is very rare when I normally pass this way). So with the weather still on the acceptable side, I was able to enjoy my Victoria sponge cake and hot chocolate outside. Now earlier in the walk I had been a bit peeved when some dotty old woman let her collie dog leap up and wipe its muddy paws on my trousers, just as I was about to eat my scotch egg; I needn't have worried. Thus along the canal, I decided to climb up a small embankment off the canal to take a small call of nature. On the way down, I slipped backwards on the muddy slope, with my trousers now given the impression that it had been a much larger call of nature that had gone badly wrong (see picture); I still needn't have worried. Thus within 30 minutes the heavens opened (with full thunder and lightning accompaniment) giving my trousers a complete wash and soak. Other people were sheltering under bridges, but as the storm had been forecast (but turned up an hour early) I figured it was for the duration and carried on.

Brecon Horseshoe - (South Wales) - 25/09/13 - Nat Trust Working Holiday

With the mist taking its time to clear, my start from the Y Gryn basecamp was delayed until 10.30. So with that in mind I was thinking coldish day and therefore set off in: jeans, long top over t-shirt, body-warmer, and with only two (half litre) bottles of fluid. On all counts that proved to be a mistake, which would all cause me difficulties later. Now what looks like a reasonable path from the basecamp to the Storey Arms, is actually a long drawn out climb, which really becomes apparent when you look back on it. So by the time I had made it to the Storey Arms and the start of the ascent of Y Gryn, I had already stuffed in the rucksack the long sleeved top + body-warmer. What was worse was at this point (a mere mile and a half in), I already felt the need to consume a whole bottle of fluid.

Anyway the actual ascent of Y Gryn began well enough when the party of school-kids took an alternative path to me. However with the clouds now following me up the hill, My path just disappeared, leaving me nothing but sheep tracks and my GPS to navigate with. The ground did get rather treacherous once I stepped off track, but eventually I found my way to a pile of stones and a stick, which I assume was the summit (given peoples penchant for nicking the National Trust signs).

So back on track I made my way over to the Craig Cwm Llwch ridge and the start of the ascent of Corn Du. As my regular readers know, nothing stresses/exhausts me more than being slightly lost, which made the already challenging ascent of Corn Du, even more of a struggle. However having reached the top (with cloud accompaniment) the down and up leg to the summit of Pen Y Fan was a real doddle. As the time had already passed One o Clock, I decided to have my lunch there rather than waiting till I was at the top of Cribyn. Given that Pen Y Fan is the hit single from the Brecon's album, I was joined up there by plenty of other people, including a small detachment of young soldiers.

With lunch out of the way, I took the stony path down, which would eventually take me up to Cribyn. To my right were two wild ponies snuggling up, and way in front was a walking couple on the same route as me. My ascent up Cribyn was a bit of a stop/start affair. However with the soldiers now in hot pursuit I made sure I got to the summit ahead of them. Thankfully I had already had my lunch, as my initial designated spot was absolutely crawling with flying ants, to near horror movie proportions. I decided not to hang round there admiring the view, and began my descent towards the reservoir complex. The soldiers obviously see flying ants in a different context, as once they reached the summit (now behind me), they decided to take a break up there.

On the descent I passed the walking couple, who were themselves taking a break and swapped a few notes with them over how to get into the reservoir complex, and tried to sound alarmist by saying "the army are right behind you". The male half of which made some crack about the 'Russian Army' which I later worked out was something to do with my CCCP t-shirt. Anyway having reached level ground below I was really able to get a head of steam on, which even the posse of now marching again soldiers couldn't keep up with. However once at the approach to the reservoir I had to pause for a few minutes to work out the right path, allowing the army to reel me in. 'Fine' I thought I will follow them, however once in the complex they promptly all sat down again for another break.

As I left the reservoirs and contemplated the forthcoming climb alongside the woods (and ultimately the climb up onto the ridge) I was caught by the walking couple. Once again we swapped notes with them saying they were taking the path on the right, with me saying my instructions said 'ignore the faint path on the right'. In the event they ignored the faint idiot on their left and carried on (on what was probably a much better way up). As I started climbing I became very aware of how dehydrated I now was, and how jeans could not have been a worse thing to wear in this peak heat of the day. After finishing the last of my fluid, the climb up alongside the woods nearly finished me off, with me pausing every few yards. As I looked back I could see the army was on the move again, albeit not much quicker than me. Thus having reached the top of the wood line, it was now onto phase two, namely the even steeper climb up onto the ridge. This was a complete man-killer with me even doubting whether I would actually get up there (with no actual visible path). Ultimately I made it, but from the bottom of the reservoir complex it must have taken me around 45 minutes for something I would have done in 10 in a straight line.

The view was of course magnificent, and I decided to take a 10 minute break and wait for the soldiers to go by. However once onto the ridge they headed off in a different direction. When I got to my feet again I began to realise how unsteady I was (not a good place to be, when you are on a ledge), and how desperate for water I was. So desperate in fact that I actually drank a three year old bottle of tap water that was for cleaning wounds in my first aid kit. However I kept reminding myself to savour the view and these moments (as they don't come round too often), and that I would get a big bottle of coke once down at the Storey Arms car park.

Once I began my descent from the Corn Du/Pen Y Fan junction I knew I was on the home straight, although some way down Pen Y Fan my bag zip burst open and I lost my long sleeved shirt. I only discovered this once I heard/felt my body-warmer fall out some time later. However I did not have the strength to begin climbing again to look for it. Now down in the car park at approximately 1720, I discovered all of the snack bars had either gone or shut for the day. However I wasn't too disappointed as I was only a mile and a half from the basecamp, with the thought of buying something motivation enough to get me off the ridge.

Now I did this walk a year back and it took me around six hours, so on this occasion I arrived back in the basecamp at 1745, so allowing for lunch it took me around seven. Given that it was 14 miles and that most of it was climbing, not too bad at all. That said from the moment I began to climb out of the reservoir complex I was in trouble, which made me realise how cavalier my preparations were. So in retrospect a challenging and enjoyable day, but without doubt the toughest walk I have ever done, and comparable to my not very successful efforts at the marathon way back when I was a runner.

The Roaches - (Circular) - Staffordshire - 18/09/13 - Helen (Molly)

After a little confusion at the start over how we got onto the ridge, and after Molly found herself being harassed by a Biscuit (small dog), we eventually found ourselves on top (so to speak). This being the second time we had been around these parts, and as before there was the usual smattering of school parties and climbing sorts at the beginning.

Once we were on top of the ridge however we pretty much had it to ourselves, save for keeping an eye out for the occasional sheep, that could lead Molly astray (see this weeks episode of Countryfile). Other than that the only issue was the biting wind and the periodic threat of rain. Thus this really is my sort of walking with views that are both bleak and magnificent. Once we had found a large rock to shelter behind we had our lunch (Salmon roll being the highlight) whilst I explained to Molly how Mini Cheddars are wasted on dogs.

Having come down the other end at 'Ridge End' we then set off for our furthest point on the way out which was the Hanging Stone. Oh did I forget to mention that we were using one of those Country Walking route cut outs again, which up to this point had been easy to follow. Thus things started to get a little more confused, over which signs we were meant to follow and, on more than one occasion, whether we had actually reached the Hanging Stone or not. In the event we hadn't leaving us to debate whether we should follow a route back that we had done on the previous occasion which would have taken us past Lud's Church.

We pressed on however, eventually reaching the Hanging Stone, by the route which we were actually meant to be departing it. No matter, as of more pressing concern was Helen's somewhat rash (in me and Molly's opinion) to climb to the top of it. Whilst my first instinct was to carry on without her, lest I get dragged into some dangerous (for me anyway) rescue attempt, I eventually had to reconsider given that she had the keys to the car.

Once Helen had come back down to Earth, and after some debate about direction once more, we carried on a track that was below the ridge. Eventually conflict broke out again over which route to follow, especially given the instructions wanted us to go along the road. By some miracle I prevailed, and we retraced our steps back over the ridge, before eventually finding the stepped path down to the car. So overall a brilliant walk, with the weather just staying this side of reasonable.

Walks Since Last Blog Entry: Chesterfield (Trans-Pennine Trail) Circular - (Derbyshire) - 16/09/13 - 10.8 Miles

Hope to Edale - (Derbyshire White Peak) - 05/09/13 - Helen (Molly)

Hang about didn't you do this one a few weeks a go I hear you ask ? Well yes, but this time I took the two ladies in my life along for their approval.

So after parking at Hope station we made our ascent towards the summit of Win Hill firstly negotiating some cows (that were a bit more confined last time) and a massive swarm of gigantic flying insects, that definitely weren't here last time. When we reached the summit and parked ourselves for lunch, they thankfully decided to keep their distance.

Unfortunately for Molly the preponderance of sheep throughout most of the walk, meant that she had to be on a lead for the majority of the time.

On our descent down to and along the Roman Road we noticed in the distance (on what I believe was Lose hill) something akin to a poor mans Stonehenge (see Picture). So if anyone knows what that is, please do enlighten us. Eventually we arrived at Hope Cross for another drinks break (all the while being monitored by a beady eyed sheep).

From there we descended down to Jaggers Clough, crossing the stream and up the path below Nether Moor. Out on to the road and taking a right at a riding centre, we passed through a series of fields and gates at Nether Ollerbrook, before finding our way in to Edale to catch the train back to Hope. Having just missed the hourly train, we parked ourselves in the next door Rambler pub, where the girl overcharged me for our drinks. Fortunately some of that money was reclaimed due to the low cost of travelling the one stop on Northern Rail back to Hope station.

Luther (rip)

Sadly Luther the big chocolate Labrador, passed away this week. Although he was Helen's dog, along with his sparring partner Molly he has for some years been a regular feature of this blog. Unfortunately old age (15) did start to catch up with him over the last couple of years. This meant he has been unable to come on any long walks with us, but instead stuck to his regular haunts and sniffs at the local park.

This picture of Luther in his prime was taken in 2009, somewhere in the Lake District.