Thursday February 3rd

 Jacinta was in London for a few days, so I decided to do the old familiar Black Hill Stomp from Crowden. However, on the way out, the massif of Bleaklow caught my eye; I'm always saying that I'd like to do more on Bleaklow and now was a good day (only a little mist and the occasional drizzle) so I parked up at the old Woodhead station, next to the three defunct rail tunnels.

I easily had time to do a walk of a decent length so I made my way up the shooters' track beside Far Black Clough- precipitously deep for the first section but becoming flatter after a couple of kilometres. 

Far Black Clough beyond the end of the shooters' track

I was very lucky as it was a good hare day- I saw four or five, the doubt being whether one that I saw was actually the same as one that had run away from me a few minutes beforehand.


The Bleaklow Stones are spectacularly wind-sculpted with a panoramic view. They're a great place to have lunch as there's always a place to sit in the lee and admire the surroundings while you eat.

Approaching the Bleaklow Stones

This time, the wind was from the west and I had the Grinah Stones to admire in the distance. 
The Grinah Stones with the Eastern Edges in the far distance

Following the watershed and occasional stakes towards Bleaklow Head, I encountered another hare. I stopped to take a picture, moved on a little and, as it hadn't moved, took another. I was able to do this a couple more times before the hare loped off to mind its own business.

A mountain hare it its form, dressed for winter

I've never managed to approach Bleaklow Head the same way and it's always good to see the wooden stake (supported by a steel one) on top of the mound at the summit.

Bleaklow Head summit mound and stake(s)

Descent is via the Pennine Way, improved and paved in many places. The path weaves its way through groves in the landscape, most of which has now been covered with tough grasses and heather. When we first moved up to Greater Manchester, Bleaklow was still bleak and almost completely bare peat where it wasn't rock. Just occasionally, bare peat can still be seen. The photo shows the many layers that make up peat bogs- this section is 3.5 metres in depth.

Peat section on Bleaklow

The route that we've usually followed from Torside Clough doubles back beside the stream that carved out the clough. In the past, I've usually found it a bit of a struggle to get from the crossing point onto a reasonable path. This time, I was able to spot a better place to cross from the top of the clough and chose a couple of landmarks to help identify the crossing when I reached it.

The end of Torside Clough, with paths and crossing point just about visible

The high winds in recent years have caused extensive damage to woodlands and individual trees, this being a spectacular example.

Tree felled by recent winds

The last section of the walk is 3 miles/5 kilometers along the Trans Pennine Trail, which is also the Longdendale Trail for this section. The trail follows the path of the disused railway line that used to run through the Woodhead tunnels. It's not the most inspiring of plods, but more than made up by the quality of the rest of the walk- about 11.5 miles in all.
The final return to the Woodhead Station along the Trans Pennine Trail


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