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.