Thursday February 24th

 The weather forecast was dire but we all really wanted to get to a summit of some kind. It made sense to have a modest objective that was not too far away and where we could reach a sensible starting point by car. A few hills close by Glen Roy were scoped out and all five of us piled into Paul’s Freelander which had four-wheel drive and a snow setting as well. Although we’d planned to park at the viewpoint car park, it seemed inadvisable to be the first to break the snow on a twisty, turny hilly no-through-road. We parked up near a dumped Nissan Micra on the basis that if we parked in front of it, we wouldn’t be blocking any access that wasn’t already blocked. 

We then plodded on to the viewpoint car park. 

The car park was well marked an there was even a plaque telling us what the views were. On a day with views. 

The chosen objective was Bienn a` Mhonicag and, during the ascent, we were treated to an occasional view. 
However, by the time we reached the first of three “summit cairns” it was blowing a hooly and getting pretty chilly. 
Discussion at first “summit cairn”
On the basis that we wanted to avoid having to come back to bag the “proper” summit, it was decided that we better visit all three, after which we beat a hasty retreat. 
Just for a few minutes, the snow and even the clouds cleared and we were treated to the views that we’d actually earned. 

Paul, Julian and I took advantage of the break to have our lunch whilst Tim and Andrew (the king of the descenders) carried on down to the road and took advantage of the fresh snow. 

Once again, honour was satisfied and we had a pleasant 4.5 mile stroll. 






Popular posts from this blog

Saturday December 31st

Image
 Lyme Park- Bowstonegate, Dale Top and Cluse Hay Our last walk of the year; less ambitious as it was not that clear what the rain would do. In the end, we enjoyed a dry and slightly different walk of a bit under four miles around Lyme Park. We parked at the top by Bowstones Farm and followed the path more or less south outside the wall of the park. Clear division between Lyme Park (right) and agricultural land The track looped around to the south west, giving us a view of the dreaming spires of Manchester. Dreaming Spires of Manchester Further on, we had a nicer view, the dovecote on Cluse Hay, one of the key buildings in the park. The dovecote on Cluse Hay After the dovecote we headed across and through the woods of Knights Low to reach the usual uphill route to Bowstonegate and the car. A pleasant walk and a satisfying end to our bumper year for getting about in the countryside- at home and abroad. 3.7 Miles, 250m ascent.
Read more

Friday December 2nd

Image
  Western Edale Circuit The forecast was for low-level cloud/mist and possibly clear tops so we abandoned our original plan to do the "Frisky Cows" walk from Castleton. We'll definitely save that for another day. An obvious alternative was to walk from Mam Tor and over Rushup Edge, and then see where we went to from there. On further reflection, starting from the Mam Tor car park would mean that the final stretch of the walk would be uphill so we took the sensible option of starting from Edale and having a coffee in The Penny Pot . As with our walk last Friday, we walked up to Hollins Cross. Although the mist was blowing in and out, we still managed to have some typical views. On the way up to Hollins Cross- Grindslow Knoll in the background At Hollins Cross we turned right rather than left as we had last week. As we made our way up towards Mam Tor it became more and more misty. Into the mist on Mam Tor Having walked over Rushup Edge we stopped at the junction of the path...
Read more

Friday November 25th

Image
 The Great Ridge, Lose Hill and Kinder The forecast was for a dry and sunny day and it certainly didn't disappoint. There was lovely sunshine all day and this only changed as the sun went down, just before 4pm and we were virtually back at the car. We made an early start- stopping for a coffee and a warm-up at the Penny Pot. Warmth at the Penny Pot We walked up, a pleasant walk under Cold Side (the landslipped side of Mam Tor) and up to Hollins Cross on The Great Ridge. Walking past Cold Side. Back Tor and Lose Hill in the sun ahead Arriving at Hollins Cross. Edale, Kinder and Grindslow Knoll in the background We had brilliant views all around, including back to Edale, across to Kinder and Grindslow Knoll, and to Mam Tor. Mam Tor, with the closed road below We then made our way to Lose Hill which is a great landmark. It felt easier going up this side than the other and it was a pleasant walk. We stopped for a snack at Lose Hill and made our way down to the outskirts of Hope an...
Read more