DGH and JRH Walks- 2022

  Lyme Park from Bowstonegate The clocks had gone back this morning and this, combined with the fact that we'd had a pretty long walk on the east side of The Peak on Wednesday suggested that we had a relatively short walk fairly nearby. Lyme park fitted the bill and Jacinta had hoped to see some deer. Jacinta consulted our rather battered AA guide and found a route that we'd not done which actually passed though parts of Lyme that we'd never been before. We parked up at Bowstones Farm and then walked back down the hill that we'd just driven up! Fortunately, this was the only substantial bit of tarmac that was on our walk and, when we reached Mudhurst Lane we immediately turned left to Cock Knoll Farm, where we were greeted by a gaggle of cows. Cock Knoll welcoming committee The path crossed a number of fields down towards Lyme Park's East Lodge. The weather was, for us, quite sunny but there was quite a lot of cloud and rain in some places that we could see. On the ...

Baslow, Chatsworth and Beeley Moors   We had done a slightly longer version of this walk at the end of March, but today's outing was great, especially given the autumnal colours and leaves on the ground. We parked in Baslow, grabbed a coffee from The Café on the Green and set off in the sun to tramp through the Chatsworth Park. The first section is flat but luscious and (as usual) was full of the cleanest sheep in the Peak District. Crossing Beeley Bridge leads into Beeley itself and up through the birch woods. The autumn light was lovely, adding atmosphere to the walk through the woods. The sun in Beeley Plantation Being mainly birch and because of the time of year, there were lots of Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) fruiting. A youthful Amanita muscaria We left the woods for the open moors, marked on the 1:25k OS map as "Rabbit Warren". The views from this section are great and the path leads towards the Elizabethan Hunting Tower and then Robin Hood. We took a slightly dif...

  South Head, Brwon Knoll and Rushup Edge It was a sunny Saturday so we set off for a walk. The Snake Pass was closed again so our original plans were abandoned and we set off for the layby where David had started his night navigation course back in January . We took the Pennine Bridleway towards South Head. It was far less direct and more undulating that we'd both anticipated- a very pretty and interesting path- 2-3 miles of enjoyable walking and with dramatic views. On the Pennine Bridleway at the bottom of Roych Clough At the foot of South Head we stopped for a quick snack and decided to go up to Brown Knoll. The views on this section were great, up to Kinder End and Swine's Back with Sandy Heys in the far distance. Sandy Hays, Kinder Low and Swine's Back on the skyline. The Downfall tucked out of sight. We had our lunch at Brown Knoll and then continued south-east towards Rushup Edge with a good view down the Great Ridge. The Great Ridge- Loose Hill and Back Tor in the ...

  Shining Tor, The Cat and Fiddle and Errwood The MWIS weather forecast had been a little over-optimistic and the Met Office  suggested that there'd be heavy rain shortly after 11, but we decided that it we'd have a relatively short walk somewhere close by. That would usually be one of the "old faithfuls", either Chinley or Shining Tor and we decided on the latter. On arrival at the Pym Chair car park only two other cars were parked and the mist was down fairly low. Nevertheless, we decided to have a walk, at least to the summit of Shining Tor. On arrival at the trig point, we met a young woman, her parents and her dog- her parents had come up from Bristol and had been promised great views... but even so, they had enjoyed their walk up from the Cat and Fiddle. As the weather was more or less dry, we decided to go on to The Cat for a coffee; we sat out in their outdoor seating area and ate our lunch with the coffees. As the weather was still more or less OK (a very li...

  Stanage Edge from Hathersage A nice trip out to Hathersage on a sunny, bright day in October, to do a walk from our small "Dark Peak" book that we'd first done back in August 2013. Fortified by a coffee at the pleasant café in the "Outside" shop, we walked up past the cricket ground and the Brookfield Manor estate, admiring the changing autumn colours. Autumn colours and a blue sky After crossing a minor road, we climbed up the drive that leads to North Lees Hall, apparently the inspiration for Jane Eyre. Past the hall, an ancient green track gives a view of Stanage Edge, our objective. Stanage Edge from just above North Lees Hall The walk goes through the Stanage Plantation and then to the edge itself, which we know well. We found a couple of boulders that sheltered us from the wind and had our lunch. Stanage Edge looking towards High Neb from our lunch spot We took the pleasant walk to the trig point at the south end of Stanage. Jacinta at the southern Stana...

The Black Hill Stomp It was a beautiful, clear and sunny autumn day and we'd not done Black Hill together for a long time. This seemed a perfect day to do the walk. As it's very familiar, we didn't think that it was necessary to describe it, other than saying that a very welcome bridge has been  built over the "ford" between North Grain and Grains Moss. The caravan park was still open so there was a welcome cup of tea for Jacinta and a Walls Feast (with 35% off!) for David. A great crop of  Amanita Muscaria Amazing how plants can grow wherever there's an opportunity Sun just sifting through over Crowden Crowden Great Brook and Bareholme Moss from Laddow Rocks At last- a bridge over the "ford" between North Grain and Grains Moss The Black Hill trig point at Soldier's Lump Rakes Rocks, Laddow Rocks and Bareholme Moss

  Wildboarclough and Axe Edge This was an extended variation of our familiar walk from Wildboarclough to Three Shires Head and back, made a little more interesting by the slightly convoluted navigation combined with rain making the guidebook pages stick together! From the Clough House car park we walked up beside Cumberland Brook and the river bed to the great track which took us to the Cat and Fiddle pub, where we had a coffee stop. Shutlingsloe from the walk to the Cat and Fiddle We then went on to Derbyshire Bridge and up the track to the back of the car park rather than the track to the left, where we'd walked before. Having lost some height, we walked back up to the A537 and crossed over to Axe Edge Moor. We passed a few disused coal-mining shafts, marked with notices from The Coal Authority- the last dregs, probably, of the NCB.  A relic of coal mining days Having crossed the moor, we reached a minor road and turned left on it to reach Dane Head after about 150m. We foll...

  Dove Stone and the Chew Reservoir We finally made it for a walk around Dove Stone. We pass it so many times on our way to Wessenden or Marsden, that it was nice to make a dedicated trip up this excellent high-level route. From the Binn Green car park we followed the path by the reservoirs, which were very low. Low water level at the Yeoman Hey reservoir dam A depleted Yeoman Hey reservoir We progressed up the Greenfield Brook valley to reach Birchen Clough. This is a rough scramble which can be a bit hairy at times. After crossing the stream, the walk doubles back high above Birchen Clough and Greenfield Clough to reach the dramatic Raven Stones. Raven Stones The path follows the edge fairly closely until Great Dove Stone, when the route turns into the Chew Valley and (eventually!) the Chew Reservoir dam comes into sight. We decided not to take the high-level route back (which we have not yet done and certainly should). Instead, we stopped for lunch just before the dam then walke...