Sunday March 13th

 The forecast was mixed but, as it turned out, the day was more or less dry and there was even a bit of brightness towards the end. It was beginning to feel a bit like spring. We chose a walk from "Adventures in the Western Peak" which was a mix of new and old, familiar ground.

From the Trentabank car park (familiar as the first refueling spot on the Frances House "Three Peaks of Cheshire" walk) we walked past the Ridgegate Reservoir and wound our way up to a ruin in the forest at the junction of four footpaths.



Our route took us down to Forest Chapel with its picturesque Old Schoolhouse- we'd walked past a while ago with Ann and Julian. We stopped and had lunch on the benches in the porch of the chapel.
Forest Chapel- the guidebook suggested that the porch was a good place to have lunch

Our objective, The Cat and Fiddle, was visible from the skyline from the start of the long walk down a steep track, through Bottom-of-the-Oven and across fields until what the book calls "The embrace of Chest Hollow". 
The Cat and Fiddle- just visible on the skyline

The climb up to the A537 and the Cat and Fiddle was steady and quite sustained. It really merited a quick drink before we continued, although David loitered outside to try to get a self-portrait from the "Cat Cam" webcam.
David's Alibi- he was there and at that time! (click for live picture)

We then walked down to Clough House Farm. It was unusual to reverse this section that we are so used to climbing up. It seemed as if the farm was deserted (the barking but chained up dogs that the guidebook warned of were absent) which was quite sad to see.
The deserted Clough House Farm with Shutlingsloe on the horizon

The final section up to the summit of Shutlingsloe was something of a sting in the tail at the end of the walk and there was a chilly wind with a little drizzle at the summit, but those both eased as we descended. We stopped at a bench with an inspirational inscription and a great view where we had a break before the pleasant amble downhill back to Trentabank.

A good day out- 10.7 miles and 728m of ascent.



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