The Great Ridge between Mam Tor and Lose Hill

Saturday 17th June 2017

Six years ago I went with a group of guys from my church, Life Church Wigston, to North Wales where we climbed Snowdon. Unfortunately this was not the start of regular walks for the men of the church and instead it was not until last June that we attempted something similar. This time we stayed a little closer to home in going to the Peak District, and this time not everyone was up for a walk. After parking in Castleton half the men disappeared into the nearby caves or shops while the other half donned their walking boots and set off through the village towards Cave Dale. The temperature had been climbing throughout the previous week so that by the weekend the weather was possibly the hottest of the whole summer, or at least it felt like it. The temperature rose inexorably during the course of the day, but when we started it was still quite agreeable so that the short, sharp climb through the dramatic valley of Cave Dale was not as exhausting as it could have been. This is a stunning valley that was created when a cave collapsed revealing some stunning limestone features on the steep slopes of the valley.

I had never walked through this ravine before, which is surely a shocking omission considering how much walking I’ve done in this area over the years, so I must thank the person who decided on this walk as he astonishingly managed to take me to places that I had not previously visited. At the top of the valley where the steep gradient finally eases we all stopped for a much needed rest despite not having walked very far. When I am walking on my own I rarely stop, and only really for my lunch, but since I was now walking with guys who are not as used to walking as I am, frequent rests were to be the norm. The path continued to climb albeit gradually taking us onto Bradwell Moor where buttercups decorated the grassy floor underneath dazzling blue skies. On reaching a junction of paths we turned right onto a farmer’s track that took us round towards the north, and Mam Tor. With this imposing hill in our sights we made our way along the track past a farmer rounding up some rams and eventually reached the road at the top of Winnat’s Pass.

At this point, around lunchtime, with some clouds passing overhead, our thoughts turned to food so we stopped at what looked to me like a small, disused quarry, but which is only marked on maps as Windy Knoll. After eating we set off once more towards Mam Tor and almost immediately started climbing with the gradient soon getting very steep as we slogged up a paved path in the hot weather all the way up to the summit of Mam Tor. Despite hazy skies, the views in all directions were stunning with the high plateau of Kinder Scout spread out to our north and Castleton nestling in the valley to the south, but it was in our onward direction that my eye was attracted, east along the Great Ridge. This ridge marks an important divide between the Dark Peak in the north and the White Peak to the south, gritstone on one side and limestone on the other. After resting for a while at the top of Mam Tor we set off along this great ridge basking in the hot weather.

Slowly we made our way along the ridge gradually descending until we reached the hill pass marked by Hollins Cross where we started to climb once more above Barker Bank. By now most of us were beginning to wilt in the heat (and burn from the sun), so we did not fancy the prospect of the steep climb ahead up Back Tor. All except one person wanted to bypass Back Tor and Lose Hill by taking a path that keeps to the contours along the southern slopes of the hill. The exception was either a lot fitter or a lot stupider than the rest as I almost ran up Back Tor so by the time I reached the top the heat was pouring off me, but I paused only long enough to take a long drink of water before continuing along the ridge to climb to the top of Lose Hill where after tapping the view finder I set off down the other side of the hill. By the time I reached the first fence the rest of the guys were already passing by on the other side and I was able to join them as they began their descent.

This walk had been based on one from the www.britishwalks.org website, but not only had we done the walk in the opposite direction I had suggested that we extend the walk into the village of Hope. However, when we reached Losehill Farm everyone was feeling so tired we didn’t take the turning towards Hope, but followed the access road down to Spring House Farm. This was not actually the prescribed route which crosses a number of fields to Riding House Farm, but we were all so tired, including me, that we didn’t care. Turning right at Spring House Farm we followed the track past Losehill Hall eventually reaching Hollowford Road just after passing a Training & Conference Centre. Castleton was now just a short distance away where everyone headed for the nearest pub to take some much needed liquid refreshment. I had been talking about walking all the way back to our accommodation, at Bushy Heath Farm, on far side of Bradwell Moor, however this would have meant climbing Cave Dale again and in this heat I just didn’t have the energy.

On paper this was a easy walk for me, but during the afternoon the heat had got to unbearable levels and I had probably worn myself out by rushing up Back Tor. Despite the heat it was great to do this walk along the Great Ridge with a great bunch of guys. I have walked between Mam Tor and Lose Hill many times over the years having first done the ridge with my father while I was at University, and it was great to be back and enjoy the fabulous views in stunning weather with some of the men from my church. I hope we have the opportunity to do similar walks in the future.

Bluebells in the Charnwood Forest

Monday 1st May and Saturday 13th May 2017

I love to see bluebells in the spring when these lovely blue flowers carpet the floor of ancient woodland in Britain. Although not nationally known for its bluebells, the Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire has many splendid displays so I don’t have to go far to see these fabulous flowers and one of the best walks for seeing them is one that I do many times during the year. My Charnwood Forest Round has many ups and downs designed to keep me hill-fit, but it also passes through many woods that around May Day always put on a great display. That was why on the May Day Bank Holiday this year I made my way to Swithland Woods for my regular walk. Starting from the north car park I headed through the wood and was immediately greeted by some clumps of bluebells, but not carpets of them, although there were also quite a few wood anemones. The main reason for a lack of bluebells in this wood, and many others, is a build-up of scrub, predominantly bramble. These rob the bluebells of sunlight and prevent them achieving the carpet coverage that I love. Managed woods where the scrub has been kept under control produce better displays of bluebells.

After this taster of things to come I passed over Old John hill in Bradgate Park, which is not known for its bluebells however there were a few isolated examples peeking through the old bracken. After Bradgate Park, my walk passes through areas of new woodland created for the National Forest where bluebells are rare, however there are some small, private areas of ancient woodland where fantastic displays of bluebells can be seen. I could only look from the fence into these woods, but I think this is to its advantage as then no one is able to trample over the bluebells and ruin them, thereby ensuring a great coverage. I passed many examples of these private woods as I made my way along my round until eventually I reached the Ulverscroft nature reserve, which has restricted access although I am able to enter as a member of the local Wildlife Trust. Once again bluebells were not as abundant as I would have liked due to the scrub, but if you looked in the right places then there were large clumps of them in many places.

The weather was not great on this walk and at this point it was raining, however as I passed through the Ulverscroft marshes the sun finally came out lighting the wood anemones and bluebells that littered the woodland floor. After making my way up to Beacon Hill I joined a permissive path that passes some tremendous displays of bluebells as it makes its way down to the Wood Brook valley. I could now see some quite expensive carpets of bluebells and more was to come when I finally reached the Outwoods. I was beginning to suspect that this was not a great year for bluebells as I had not been seeing as extensive a display of bluebells as in past years. Many bluebells were still in bud, but some were already going to seed so maybe the weather conditions had not suited them. Nevertheless the best bluebells on this walk were, as always, in the Outwoods and with the sun coming out at just the right moment the bluebells were being displayed at their best.

There are many more bluebell woods in the Charnwood Forest and almost two weeks later I started another walk to take in some of them. This time, I parked at Burroughs Wood and set off out of the wood along the National Forest Way through new woodland devoid of wild flowers, however soon I entered the more established Martinshaw Wood where immediately I saw bluebells growing in isolated clumps. After crossing the M1 motorway that cuts straight through the wood I took a winding route around the edge of the wood seeking out every little sign of the flowers, but I did not find huge amounts until I came across a large group of bluebells near the north-eastern corner. Returning to the National Forest Way I crossed over the A50 dual-carriageway into Lady Hay Wood where I found a revelation. Unexpectedly this small wood was full of bluebells and although the map doesn’t indicate public access through the wood, except on the footpath around the edge, there were narrow paths through the bluebells that I took advantage of to ensure a thorough exploration of the bluebells.

The rain that was falling briefly at this point did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm and it was with reluctance that I eventually returned to the National Forest Way and continued heading to Newton Linford and up Old John. I have been to Bradgate Park many times in my life, most recently on May Day, and now although I had entered the park in a different place I retraced my steps of then into Swithland Woods and along the road into the village of Woodhouse Eaves. At that point I branched off my Charnwood Forest Round route and headed straight towards Beacon Hill via Broombriggs Farm Country Park. It was great to renew my acquaintance with old routes up Beacon Hill and when I reached the summit I was rewarded with a bit of sunshine for the first time on this walk. At this point I decided I would try to walk the Three Peaks of Leicestershire and I had already bagged two of those peaks in Old John and Beacon Hill, so now I headed west passing underneath the M1 motorway and into the Charley Woods.

There was quite a satisfying selection of bluebells in Charley Woods and I enjoined taking a circuit through Burrow Wood where there were extensive displays either side of the path. Eventually I left the Charley Woods behind and made my way towards Bardon Hill where there has been a lot of encroachment recently onto the paths from the nearby quarry. Many diversions were necessary before and after Bardon Hill due to these extensions, particularly after, but before then when I reached the established woodland that lies immediately east of the quarry I took a slender path through this woodland not really knowing where it was going to take me until eventually I emerged on the heathland within sight of the summit of Bardon Hill, my third and final peak of the day. Previously when I have done the Three Peaks I have headed back to Bradgate Park through Markfield, but this walk was quite a bit longer having started in Burroughs Wood, so instead of heading east I now followed the Ivanhoe Way south past Stanton under Bardon until eventually I reached Thornton Reservoir.

It was interesting retracing my steps along the Ivanhoe Way that I had previously walked just a year earlier and as I walked beside Thornton Reservoir the weather cleared once more revealing gorgeous evening sunshine that accompanied me as I joined the National Forest Way once again following the trail all the way into Burroughs Wood. There were fabulous displays of bluebells in this wood, but many of them were going to seed possibly as a result of the unseasonably hot weather that we had enjoyed in early May. This stressed the bluebells forcing many to bolt, going over to seed, however the bluebells in Burroughs Wood still looked great in the sunshine. I saw many bluebells on these two walks, at times seemingly everywhere and more than satisfied my love of bluebells for another year. This second walk took me over eight hours whereas my familiar round doesn’t take me more than six. I loved the chance to stretch my legs on this walk and it did wonders to lift my spirit. I love to see the bluebells in the Charnwood Forest.

The High Peak Trail and Gratton Dale

Saturday 8th April 2017

At the start of my walk through Lathkill Dale, described last week, I walked along a section of the High Peak Trail which caught my interest such that just two weeks later I returned to the Peak District during another fabulous weekend of weather. This time, I caught the train to the station of Cromford and after walking along the road for a spell I came to the Cromford Wharf where the Cromford Canal has its northern terminus. As I made my way along the canal early morning mist lay in the Derwent Valley and it was gorgeous to be out walking again at this early hour through the peaceful tree-filled landscape. Soon the railway and the River Derwent came alongside as I continued this pleasant walk beside the canal until I reached High Peak Junction where the old Cromford and High Peak Railway started beside the Cromford Canal before climbing into the Peak District. Therefore it was at this point that I came off the canal and joined the start of the High Peak Trail as it sets off up the first of several steep inclines.

The Cromford and High Peak Railway was one of the first railways to be built, in 1831, and has many characteristics that were not repeated in later lines. The gradients on the line, required to get over the plateau of the High Peak, are exceptionally steep for a railway with this initial gradient at one in eight, and also since the line was built on the canal principle of following contours, it has many tight curves that were later to create problems for train operations. The railway has long since been abandoned, but it now makes for a great walk as I toiled up the steep gradients under leafless trees and onto the open plateau of the High Peak with cloudless skies overhead. The High Peak Trail takes a route just outside the southern edge of the Peak District past terrain that is largely unexplored by me, which I felt was a shame, especially when passing Black Rocks, a popular picnic location and prominent hill that overlooks Cromford.

The views into the Derwent Valley were great, though hazy, however some of the views from this section of the trail is of quarrying, past and present, but the view at my feet was fabulous with celandines and dandelions lining the trail with many other wild flowers and the promise that many other wonderous flowers would appear later in the spring and bring further delight. Eventually I passed into the Peak District and the scenery became the usual High Peak rolling hill and drystone wall which became rather repetitive after many hours of walking, so it was a relief when I eventually reached the car park at Friden that I had used two weeks previously and finally left the High Peak Trail venturing down Long Dale. This valley seemed to be full to overflowing with celandines that covered the grassy floor making for a pleasurable walk as I passed by the bare grassy sides of the valley. Upon turning into Gratton Dale trees now filled the valley and many more wild flowers decorated the scene and while the path through the valley had clearly recently been very muddy, fortunately the warm weather had almost solidified the ground sufficiently to ease walking.

This valley was a fabulous place to walk and I was disappointed when I reached Dale End where I took a track that took me through celandine covered fields to the village of Elton. After passing through the village I joined the Limestone Way where celandines continued to accompany me as I made my way around the village of Winster and over a hill to Upper Town and Bonsall where I left the Limestone Way and took a track around Ball Eye Quarry. This track also teemed with celandines especially on the steep descent into the village of Cromford. I seemed to have been overloaded with celandines on this walk and lining this path above Cromford there must have been more than anywhere else. Unfortunately by this time I was getting concerned about getting to the station in time to catch the train, so I almost ran down the hill barely noticing all the celandines as I rushed past and through the village of Cromford, but I actually got to the station in plenty of time to catch the packed train.

I must have covered a long distance on this walk, at least twenty miles, and through maintaining a brisk pace for much of its duration I completed the whole walk in eight hours. There were some great sections of this walk, but there were also other moments like the second half of my time on the High Peak Trail where the time seemed to drag. I love walking at this time of the year if only because of the wild flowers that can be seen, and this walk was especially spectacular for wild flowers. I must have seen millions of celandines and is the defining characteristic of the walk and what I remember most about it.

Lathkill Dale

Saturday 25th March 2017

Once a week, I write this blog describing a walk that I have done recently during my holidays, however since these holidays are all concentrated in the spring and summer by the time I’m getting towards the end of the year I don’t have any walks left to put on the blog. Fortunately my holidays are not the only walking that I do as a bit of good weather on a Saturday is all the incentive I need to grab my rucksack and head out for a walk. At the start of spring this year just such conditions brought me out to a small car park in the Peak District beside the High Peak Trail, which is a trail that follows the course of the old Cromford and High Peak Railway. Heading north and passing the Friden brickworks I was striding confidently and briskly along the track eating up the miles. It was great to be walking in the Peak District again and after the long winter finally be able to really stretch my legs again with the great Peak District views before me of rolling hills, dry stone walls and blue skies. The sun was shining brightly even though at this early hour it was still rather cold. Just after passing the site of Hurdlow station I finally came off the old railway line and headed across a couple of fields, over the Buxton Road and along the Hutmoor Butts track towards the village of Monyash.

Passing just to the north of the village I entered Bagshaw Dale at the western tip of Lathkill Dale. I have walked through Lathkill Dale many times going back many years and it has held special memories for me over all those years. I felt that I hadn’t been through Lathkill Dale for quite a while so I was eager to renew my acquaintance with this extra special valley by walking the entire length from start to finish. I don’t think I’ve ever done the western tip before as I usually turn off before reaching the end, which is a shame as it is an amazing place. The limestone walls close in spectacularly, which this early in the year created a dark and very cold environment with ice in amongst the boulders that littered the bottom of the valley. There was an eerie and claustrophobic feeling between the narrow rocks walls, but the valley soon opened up again though still with a rough, rocky surface underfoot as I slowly made my way down the valley until I eventually reached the point where the river comes out of the rock face on the side of the valley.

At this time of the year the water was overflowing the sides and flooding the bottom of the valley pouring over the grassy floor and often encroaching onto the footpath, but I did not find this much of a problem for me. Celandines decorated the grasslands adding a delightful sparkle to the surroundings that are dominated by limestone. On reaching the junction with Cales Dale the number of people increased significantly and taking advantage of this attractive location I stopped to have my lunch. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful in the sunny weather and brought to mind many previous visits to this location since I was a child. Beyond this point the valley plunges into woodland and the path improves so that I was now able to simply enjoy the surroundings under leafless trees and with many delicious wild flowers at my feet. I had a wonderful walk through the woods at the bottom of this spectacular narrow valley beside crystal clear waters in lovely sunshine. Many other people were also walking through the valley and justifiably so as Lathkill Dale is one of the best limestone valleys in the country.

After passing the Over Haddon road the valley opens out with a series of weirs created to aid with fishing and there were many people to be seen engaged in this activity. My walking was now even more sedate as the river slowly turns to the south until it reaches Conskbury Bridge where the delights sadly end. The valley has now broadened with relatively gentle gradients on the western slopes of the river and this is where the footpath now passes until it reaches the road at Alport. Now I turned away from the River Lathkill and changed my plans as my progress through Lathkill Dale had been so slow I didn’t have time for my planned, though possibly overoptimistic, excursion onto Stanton Moor. Whenever I have done a walk through Lathkill Dale in the past I have almost always also included a walk through the neighbouring smaller valley of Bradford Dale and I could not resist the temptation to once again pass through this stunning valley that is enclosed by trees with several old weirs along its length that add to the beauty of the surroundings.

Turning off the main path at the western end of the valley I followed the stream through open farmland and into a narrow wooded ravine, signposted as Rusden Wood, which was covered in celandines and wood anemones with the slender stream winding a course through the idyllic scene. This was a gorgeous, spellbinding place, but I didn’t know how I had got there, even though it was totally enthralling. I had been trying to head towards the end of Gratton Dale, but eventually I realised that I had turned west when I had intended on going east and so I was now nowhere near Dale End. Rather than going out of my way to head towards Gratton Dale I decided to leave that valley for another day and took a track over Gratton Moor and down into Long Dale not far from my car. The weather by this time was really warm and it had been sunny all day which made for excellent conditions to walk and I had made the most of them with an excellent walk in the fabulous Peak District.

Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay

Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st August 2017

I woke at the start of this day, on the Isle of Eriskay, to blue skies, but it wasn’t long before it started raining and so once again I had to pack up a wet tent. Therefore I was in full waterproofs when I walked from the end of the causeway into the town, Am Baile, on Eriskay, past the Am Politician Inn, named after the ship that wrecked just off this island laden with whisky galore, and onto Coilleag a’ Phrionnsa, the Prince’s Strand, where Bonnie Prince Charlie first set foot on British soil. By the time I reached this small beach the rain had stopped and the sun came out affording me with glorious views across the sea that reminded me of the excellent weather I had enjoyed when I was last on Eriskay two years ago. That day I had spent all afternoon on the island, but this time I didn’t linger and instead caught the ferry across to Barra while several rain showers passed overhead. One last shower came and went while I walked along the road from the ferry terminal to Barra Airport, which is actually just a beach: the only airfield where scheduled flights use a beach as the runway. There was a plane waiting to take off so I deliberately hung around to see it do so, while looking for the route of the Hebridean Way.

This was nowhere to be seen and to add to my annoyance I did not have the GPS waypoints for this section. For the rest of the trail I had used waypoints gathered from the visitouterhebrides.co.uk website, but was lacking this point. I picked what I thought was the best place to start and soon after the tiny aeroplane taxied along the beach to the water’s edge, turned around, headed into the wind and was soon in the air on its way to Glasgow. I turned around and continued to climb the boggy hillside where I was soon rewarded by the sight of a Hebridean Way signpost that directed me over the hill, around the eastern slopes of Beinn Eireabhal and down the other side. These posts were relatively clear, nicely spaced apart and with a faint path in between took me on an interesting route in the improving weather and with great views over the hills of Barra I was happy to be walking in amongst hills again. This was an enjoyable walk that was reminiscent of walks in the Lake District, and it is a pity that elsewhere on the Hebridean Way, except for in Harris, there isn’t scenery like this. I was enjoying the good weather as I crossed a road and followed a muddy track past Loch an Dùin and Loch na Cartach before coming off the track I headed uphill.

The posts took me up the grassy slopes until I came to the top of the pass between Beinn Bhirisig and Grianan where I had walked two years ago heading north. Now I went through the pass and turned south onto a well-constructed path that keeps to the western edge of Grianan. This path was severely eroded by the heavy rains of the previous week and required some precarious footwork from me to negotiate the severe damage to the Hebridean Way. Eventually the problems were all passed and the path slowly descended into the valley of Borve where I joined a track that took me to the main road near the west coast of Barra. A walk along this road beside the stunning coastline brought me to the beautiful beach of Bàgh Halamain where a signposted path took me up onto a craggy landscape decorated with magnificently crafted cairns. I don’t know the reason for these cairns, but the posts took me past them eventually leading me to the site of an ancient fort, Dùn Bàn, though just before reaching there a Hebridean Way post directed me away from the fort and up the steep hillside inland. With hindsight I should have camped at that point near to the fort, but instead I started the steep climb that soon wore me out and prompted me to stop as soon as the terrain levelled slightly and make camp.

The weather during the evening was stunning with amazing views out to sea, as I had enjoyed for most of the day on the fabulous islands of Eriskay and Barra, and I had really enjoyed the hill walking. The following morning I had a tortuous time as midges plagued me under overcast skies with no wind while I broke camp and throughout my climb up, so that it was a relief when I finally reached the top of the pass and blessedly get some fresh air. I had now reached the highest point on the whole Hebridean Way and a faint path linked by the familiar posts took me steeply down saturated ground all the way to the sea. The road at the bottom of the path took me over the causeway onto the final island of my Hebridean trek, Vatersay, and a frustratingly prolonged walk along this road brought me to the Vatersay village hall where the Hebridean Way ends at a metal memorial. It is a pity that the Hebridean Way could not come up with a better way to end, or more usually start the trail, as I had tried to do two years ago when I did my own Hebridean walk.

From the end of the Hebridean Way I started the Vatersay Circular Walk that I did two years ago, then as a prelude to my trek, but now as a sort of victory lap. From the west beach, poorly sighted posts took me over an ancient fort and through tricky terrain until I reached the delightful south beach. Two years ago I had tried to reach the southernmost point on the island, but there was no such silliness this time and after a quiet lunch on the tranquil beach I made my way through Vatersay township, along the stunning east beach and back to the start (or finish as in my case) of the Hebridean Way. Slowly I made my way along the road all the way onto Barra until finally I reached Castlebay where a ferry the following morning would take me back to the mainland. I found the Hebridean Way surprisingly physically demanding leaving me with aches from head to toe having gained loads of insect bites and blisters, and with a rucksack that never seemed to be comfortable. I had expected well-made footpaths so I was frustrated to discover long sections of the Hebridean Way has no path whatsoever and West Harris was the worst offender.

It takes a lot more effort when there is no path and you are wading through knee deep heather on unstable ground. However I’m sure that the Hebridean Way will mature into a very good trail once everything is bedded in and established with clear paths beaten underfoot, but until then it is a strenuous trail that will try the stamina of any walker who attempts it. I was unfortunate to do the trail just as it received tremendous amounts of rain and to be wild camping in midge-loving weather. At a drier and colder time of the year I may have found the Hebridean Way easier, and especially if I had done the walk in the opposite direction with the prevailing wind behind me.