Beacon Hill and Bardon Hill

Saturday 22nd August 2020

During this year of disruption I had been unable to go away for a holiday but with restrictions starting to be lifted I planned to finally go away starting from this date, however life then intervened and I was unable to leave my house for long. Frustrated, I decided to go for a walk in Leicestershire that takes in two of the highest hills in the county. This is not a walk that I hadn’t done before, but one of many that I regularly do locally when I am unable to get further afield and when I realised this walk has never been described on this blog I thought I’d enlighten you on its delights. I parked at the small car park for the local nature reserve of Billa Barra Hill, but immediately turned my back on the hill to walk along a track that goes around the old Cliffe Hill Quarry on a path that was increasingly overgrown and eventually disappeared under a dark canopy of trees while maintaining a good path underfoot. All too soon I came out onto Cliffe Lane where a bit of roadside walking was necessary until I reached a path that passes Peak Hayes Farm to reach the noisy M1 motorway. After crossing a stream I climbed through a dense tangle of weeds to a farmer’s bridge over the motorway and beyond continued to climb until I reached Hill Lane.

There is a path on the opposite side of the road, but this would mean missing out on the delights of Hill Hole Quarry Nature Reserve. A short walk up the road brought me up to the entrance where I ignored the clear path to climb the steep banks that line the edge as I slowly made my way around the reserve passing the impressive crags that prove tempting to rock climbers and has even tempted me previously, though only on the easiest slopes. It appears to be more overgrown with vegetation than I remember so maybe ascents are not encouraged now. After passing the trig point at the highest point I descended into the village of Markfield and walked along Main Street onto a path that passes underneath the A50 dual carriageway onto the route of my go-to walk in Leicestershire. I probably do my Charnwood Round, or more recently a slightly shortened version, at least four times a year and has been described on this blog. Whenever I am desperate for a good walk that will really stretch my legs this is the one that is done and since I have done it so many times I don’t have to think about the route, and that is one of its appeals.

Later in the week, after this walk, between the heavy rain and life’s requirements, I did the shortened version, which misses out this section of the round down a narrow, enclosed path to a stream before steadily climbing up Chitterman Hill to eventually reach Lea Road. I now had a long section of road walking along the quiet Whitcroft’s Lane until I reached a gap in the wall surrounding a wood that is part of Ulverscroft Nature Reserve. Access is restricted in this part of the reserve, but with my Wildlife Trust membership acting as a permit I climbed through the woodland passing over the open heathland at the top of the hill before descending into Poultney Wood. This is a lovely area that I love to walk through and was enthralled to find scabious flowers covering the meadows as I passed from the wood to the boggy valley bottom. Leaving the reserve I climbed up the hill past Ulverscroft Lodge eventually reaching a road with views ahead of Beacon Hill, which was accessible following a short roadside walk and after passing through West Beacon Fields. With stunning views across most of north Leicestershire from the top of this 248 metre high hill I left the crowds behind and headed down the hill through the narrow Martin’s Wood to reach Dean’s Lane.

At the bottom of the road I took a path that climbs through a couple of fields up to a road where I decided I would make a diversion from my usual route that usually sees me walking beside the road for a prolonged spell. A path opposite took me through thick grass around the hill of Chattens Rough bringing me to the B591 road where opposite is a young wood, part of the National Forest, where there is open access all the way through a long chain of woods back onto the road, however in practice there is no path and the trees are becoming so overgrown it is very difficult to make your way through or know which way to go. Eventually I retraced my steps back onto the road and walked along that just as the rain started to fall passing under the motorway and onto the lane that leads to Charley Woods Nature Reserve. With the rain proving short-lived and stunning views behind me through the tall grass I climbed the hill through Burrow Hill and onto Warren Hills Road. Opposite the road is a path that took me around the various quarry workings for Bardon Hill Quarry and eventually brought me onto the wooded slopes of the hill and up to the highest point in Leicestershire.

Descending back down the hill I followed the diversions around the new granite workings that have obliterated the landscape and paths near Bardon Hill to take a route onto the A511 dual carriageway. On reaching the edge of Billa Barra Hill I was now too tired to climb all the way up to the top so I crossed the southern slopes to cut the corner and finally reach my car. I had originally intended on walking somewhere much further away on this day but at least I was able to do a good walk climbing several hills along the way. Although my frustration with other events may have marred this walk and never gave it a chance to excite, at least I was still able to get out of the house and stretch my legs. Even though I have not been able to get up a mountain this year I do have the delights of Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire to maintain my fitness and, importantly, improve my mental health at this difficult time.

Navigating across Kinder Scout

Saturday 8th August 2020

Hot, sunny weather prompted me to head back to the Peak District past the spot where I had been walking the weekend before eventually and parked at the Snake Woodland car park on the Snake Road. Taking the path into the woodland I passed down the valley to the River Ashop where I ignored the path that heads up Ashop Clough and crossing the stream I headed down the valley until I could go no further where I crawled up the peaty bank onto the clear path that follows the side of the valley to the mouth of Fair Brook. On previous visits to the area I have parked in a layby near to the, now closed, Snake Inn, but these were already full and had forced me to park further up the valley on this occasion. The landscape south of the Inn is unrecognizable as the trees have all been felled, which was very disconcerting and has left a dreary scar in its place. On reaching Fair Brook I took the path that climbs towards the Kinder plateau, which I have used on several occasions previously and has become my preferred route to the top. The weather was overcast at this point with dull views but it was still warm so I was soon quite hot as I made my way up the path that follows the northern bank of Fair Brook up the clough to the edge of the Kinder plateau.

Near the top I turned sharp right as soon as possible to cut the corner taking a faint path across the top of the clough up to the rocks of Fairbrook Naze before heading along the perimeter path beside the Edge. My goal on this walk was to reach the top of all the highest points on Kinder Scout navigating across the featureless moorland plateau. Although there is very little variation in height across the plateau, a 625 metre height is marked on Ordnance Survey maps along the northern edge, which was where I was now headed, however, when I reached that point I could hardly find anything there. Turning back towards the top of Fair Brook I saw a faint path heading in that direction so I followed it and marvelled at the change in the vegetation on Kinder Scout since I first came up there in 1998. I remember deep groughs, natural channels in the peat, with black, bare, peaty sides and sparse vegetation on top, but now the plateau is abounding in various plants and the deep groughs have gone. There are even some small trees growing here and there, the tallest being conifers, and it is really pleasing to see how green the top of Kinder Scout now looks.

The faint paths I was following into the interior of the plateau began veering away from where I wanted to go, which was Crowden Head, so I veered off studying my GPS device to ensure I was heading in the right direction across the moor. The ground was quite firm though undulating so it was not easy to walk as I passed vast displays of willowherb now growing abundantly where previously there had been just bare peat. When I reached the grid coordinates for Crowden Head I was disappointed to find hardly any rise in height and nothing but willowherb, so I turned my attention to the highest point on Kinder Scout across the vast, featureless plateau with nothing to aid my navigation except my GPS. Soon after I set off I saw some people heading in my direction and when we got near enough they asked where Kinder Scout was, which is difficult to answer as the whole plateau is Kinder Scout. I directed them west towards the Kinder Gates and the Kinder Downfall before continuing, though first I had to find a way across a wide, though shallow, boggy channel. This was very tricky and I was unable to get across without getting my feet wet. Once across I passed the faint paths of the right-of-way that crosses the plateau from the top of Crowden Clough to the Kinder Downfall and as I reached easier, flatter terrain with sunnier weather overhead I finally reached the 636 metre top of Kinder Scout.

A small cairn on a grassy mound marks the highest point on Kinder Scout, but it looks rarely visited with most people being satisfied with the trig point at Kinder Low. I was satisfied to have reached the summit for the first time so I took my shoes off to let them dry as I had my lunch while gazing across the plateau enjoying the sunshine and marvelling at the vast scenery of the Kinder plateau all around me. Putting my drier shoes back on I crossed the moorland to the trig point at Kinder Low, which was crowded with people so I didn’t stay and turning north headed along the Pennine Way. I no longer had any difficulty with navigation and my only challenge now was maintaining social distance from all the other people walking from Kinder Low to the Kinder Downfall. The weather was now fabulous with stunning views west across the Kinder valley and I was immensely enjoying the walking skipping across the rocky ground, which is always a deeply satisfying surface to walk upon even if it is Dark Peak gritstone. Passing the Kinder Downfall I eventually branched off the path to reach my final top of Kinder Scout at the north-west trig point before returning to the Pennine Way.

Descending steeply off the plateau I ignored the Snake Path and stayed on the Pennine Way climbing up Mill Hill and across Glead Hill and Featherbed Moss. This is a vast, featureless bog, which must have been horrendous before the flagstones were laid and even now is tedious in its flat terrain and monoculture of heather and bog. With hindsight it would have been better to have taken the Snake Path down Ashop Clough instead of this dreary path with the weather now deteriorating in keeping with the terrain. At the top of the Snake Pass I continued along the Pennine Way for a short distance before turning right at Old Woman down to the road again at Doctor’s Gate Culvert and then down the valley of Lady Clough to the car park. The weather was a little mixed on this walk with lovely sunshine early afternoon but rather overcast, though still warm, at other times. This was an interesting walk, although I really should have taken the Snake Path at the end, but it was fun trying to navigate across the Kinder plateau. This is never an easy place to cross so I enjoyed the challenge, though I was helped by perfect weather.

Derwent Valley and Win Hill

Saturday 1st August 2020

Once the local lockdown had lifted I took advantage of good weather to head back out into the Peak District driving up the M1 to Ladybower Reservoir which I planned to walk all the way around including the top of Win Hill. However, when I got to the village of Grindleford I found that the road to Hathersage was closed and rather than taking a diversion I parked on the outskirts of Grindleford and set off on a walk from there. The problem with this was that I had no walk planned as I was too far away from Ladybower Reservoir to walk around there so I just wandered through the village musing about my options until I reached the River Derwent where, after a moment’s thought, I turned right heading south along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way into Horse Hay Coppice. There I left the trail and climbed the hillside through the woodland towards Froggatt Edge until eventually I decided that instead my best option was actually to head north, so turning around I headed back down the hill onto the Derwent Valley Heritage Way passing the bridge where I had earlier joined the trail and continued to follow the river. My thinking was that I had a map for the northern Dark Peak, since that is where I’d planned to walk, but I didn’t have a paper map of the southern White Peak, though it was on my phone.

Although I was a little too far away from Ladybower Reservoir I thought it was still possible for me to climb Win Hill so I followed the Derwent Valley Heritage Way beside the river initially through fields, but the scenery improved as I passed through Coppice Wood, though this was a brief interlude in a dull walk. Despite hot weather the day before it had now cooled significantly and the temperatures were much more comfortable for walking with patchy cloud and some sunshine. After passing the road south of Hathersage I was now following a route that I had taken a couple of times before with the first in 1998 on what I consider to be my first backpacking walk going from the youth hostel in Hathersage to the youth hostel in Edale. This was repeated in 2011, but the first section beside the river is lacking in interest except for a brief passage through Goose Nest Wood where the path keeps to a narrow ledge above the river. Crossing the main road I passed a garden centre and kept on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way following the Thornhill Trail, which is an old railway line built to aid in the construction of Ladybower Reservoir. This is not the route that I had taken in 1998 or 2011 and gave me little to ascend until I reached the end of the Thornhill Trail at the foot of Parkin Clough.

I was now on my originally planned route for the day at the beginning of my main target of interest on that walk, which I had now been able to incorporate into this hastily invented walk from Grindleford. I wanted to do a steep, rocky ascent and thought the path beside Parkin Clough up Win Hill would satisfy that desire so eagerly I set off up the steep, stony path beside a stream in bright sunshine and under dense woodland. This was a really steep climb and very exhausting in the warm weather, but it was exactly the sort of tough climb that I had been looking for. Initially I was enjoying every moment as I slowly made my way up the hill but as I got hotter and hotter and more and more worn out the path seemed to get steeper and steeper. Finally, mercifully, the gradient eased slightly, but with still plenty more to climb I slowly dragged myself up the hillside and I didn’t really feel better until I came out of the wood onto open moorland into a cooling breeze with only a short climb left that led me up to the top of Win Hill. The path in Parkin Clough had been quite busy but that was nothing compared with how crowded was the top of Win Hill so I dropped off the ridge, out of people’s way, and took in the views across the half-empty Ladybower Reservoir.

While eating my lunch dark clouds came over so now in cooler conditions I set off down the southern side of Win Hill past gorgeous purple-flowered heather until I reached farmland where I turned left onto a bridlepath past lovely harebells and other wildflowers slowly heading towards Hope railway station. Before I reached the station it started raining, which had been forecast, so I donned my cagoule before continuing on past the station onto the main road and into the small community of Brough where I took a narrow road that heads up into the hills with the rain eventually stopping before I reached the top. I was heading up a rather indistinct hill with no real summit and although I had considered various options I decided to ignore the vast bulk of Abney Moor to my left, though I did try to reach the top of Bleak Knoll to my right, but I found nothing there. A trig point adorns the nearby Durham Edge but this is not on access land so I descended back onto the track across Abney Moor slowly descending as the weather improved and the sun came out again. The descent steepened into the delightfully wild and overgrown Bretton Clough that I had never seen before, mainly because there are no footpaths along its length, but would reward investigation.

Steeply climbing out of the valley brought me onto a ridge where a long section of road walking took me through Bretton, over Sir William Hill and down into Grindleford. This was not the walk that I’d intended and not the weather that I’d expected with very different conditions to the heatwave of the day before. Parkin Clough, though, was an exhausting, but an exhilarating climb on a rocky path in fabulous woodland surroundings to the heather-clad top of the popular Win Hill. Although the long walk at the end along the road had not helped, it was good to get out for a walk after the lockdown.