David and Jacinta's Walks- 2025

The Black Hill Stomp- David Solo Jacinta was otherwise engaged but had suggested that I went out for a walk- it was a lovely day that turned out to be a glorious one. I arrived at Crowden a little before noon and set off for the classic circular route to Black Hill via Laddow Rocks. Looking back to Crowden, Bleaklow and Kinder from Laddow At the north end of Laddow, there is a view down to "The Castles". On the OS 1:500000 maps, these are marked as "Visible Earthworks", whereas there is no equivalent symbol in the 1:25000 maps. Strange! The Castles IRL, 50000:1 and 25000:1 The path up towards Black Hill has lots of sections of slabbed path but quite a few areas were awash with reddish water with big puddles at the side; at a couple of points, I saw lots of ripples. When I looked closely, I could see that there was quite a population of toads making the most of the recent rains. Sub-aqua toad I'd only met a four people on my walk. One said that he'd been to B...

 Chinley, The New Allotments and Chinley Churn Kinderlow End,  Swine's Back and Kinder in the mist The weather was due to clear by late morning, but the forecast suggested that the higher parts of The Peak District would be shrouded in cloud for most, if not all, of the day. With that in mind, we left home relatively late and stopped for a top-up coffee at The Green Lane Social. Nice coffee, and Jacinta spotted a Cadburys Snack Shortbread- for the first time in a very long time! We then went up Hollins Lane and then Over Hill Road, where we spotted and heard a couple of common buzzards, and turned up the bridleway at Throstle Bank. We stopped for a further snack above the New Allotments. As this path is usually very quiet, we were very surprised to meet lots of other walkers and the occasional mountain biker. Rather than go over the ridge and past Higher Hills Cottage, we continued to Foxholes Clough and towards Peep-O-Day, stopping just past Far Phoside to have our lunch. Whe...

Bamford Edge and High Neb After a slow journey on the A6 and a pit stop in Hathersage, we did not actually start walking until midday. We parked at Hollin Bank, below Stanage Edge and set off in bright sunshine. This lovely bright weather persisted for the whole of the walk and so we enjoyed some excellent views throughout the day. Jacinta with Stanage on the skyline The buildings at Green's House with a view of Stanage We walked across the fields to get to Bamford Road and then into the disused quarry. This path continues to Bamford Edge with breathtaking views of Ladybower and the bridge at the end of the reservoir. There were a number of people on the Edge enjoying the photographic opportunities offered by the dramatic rock formations. Ladybower, Kinder and The Great Ridge We followed the route down the hillside with a view up to The Wheel Stones. The Wheel Stones on the skyline We cut the walk a little short and head for Stanage Edge instead of going down to Cutthroat Bridge a...

Tegg's Nose and Lamaload Reservoir with Ann and Julian Which way? It had been a while since we'd been out for a walk with Ann and Julian, so we agreed to meet at the Tegg's Nose café. After a coffee and a sweet treat, we set off towards Walker Barn. From there, we set off across the fields in the reverse direction to the way we go when we do the "Three Peaks of Cheshire" walk.  We passed the Lamaload reservoir and found a nice perch, out of the wind, where we had our lunch. Lunch break! We returned to Tegg's Nose via the reservoir access road (passing a couple of farms and a less than helpful finger post) and a nice section of the Gritstone Trail. A walk of just over 7 miles with 470m ascent.

 Alport Castles and the Derwent Reservoirs The last time we visited Alport Castles via our proposed route was in January 2024, so now seemed the time to undertake it again. It is an excellent shortish route and the views, especially on a clear day, are spectacular. We had a brief commune with the ducks at Fairholmes and some sharing of parkin crumbs. Greedy ducks The walk then began with the walk up towards Lockerbrook Outdoor Centre, guided with (decorated) finger posts. Flower Power on the way up to Lockerbrook It was lovely to see the fresh growth on the fir trees. In a short time the views open out and are very impressive. The weather was cold, but not too bad and we made good progress up the hill and on to the open country. The path levels and the views it provides of the edges of the High Peak are worth seeing. The northern edge of Kinder, up to Fairbrook Naze The Great Ridge (Lose Hill and Back Tor in the gloom, Mam Tor in the sun)  Again, as in recent walks, there are ...

 Mam Tor and The Great Ridge- Jacinta Solo A rare solo outing to Edale for Jacinta on a cold and very clear day. I decided, after a coffee at our usual haunt, to go up to Mam Tor. I quite enjoy the walk up there as there are always people to meet on the way with whom to have a little, undemanding chat. I met a couple who were training for the Y3P challenge and another couple who were visiting from Norfolk and clearly enjoying themselves. At the top of Mam Tor I decided to walk down the same way and go on towards the Great Ridge which was fine, although the morning sun had disappeared, giving way to an icy chill. On the way down- Back Tor and Lose Hill in the distance I turned back and retraced my steps down into the village. Grindslow Knoll in the distance on the way down In all, a walk of about 3 hours and it was lovely to see some signs of spring in the hedgerows- but no lambs which was a disappointment. Spring buds! Sheep in the shelter of a telegraph pole- but no lambs :-( Rat...

 Edale and Around it promised to be a bright, cold, early spring day so we decided to go to Edale and do a slightly longer walk than Sunday's. After a customary coffee stop at the ever faithful Penny Pot, we strode out and up to Hollins Cross. It was a lovely clear day and the views all around the Edale skyline were magnificent. Grindslow Knoll and the Edale Plateau Back Tor (with its lonely tree) and Lose Hill We continued up the Great Ridge and then onto Lose Hill, stopping there for some lunch and a bit of shelter from the cold wind. It has to be said that this way up Lose Hill is much easier than approaching it from Hope.  We made our way down to Hope, passing many sheep who hopefully will have some lambs with them soon. It is noticeable that the ewes are beginning to lie down in the fields rather more, which one presumes is part of the preparation for the production of the lambs. The route from Hope is first up a lane which ends at the open country. The birds were in good...

 Wessenden Head and Marsden We had not been out to Wessenden Head for quite some time and we hoped that there would be parking space for us on a fair Sunday. Quite a few cars were parked on the road up to the quarry where we usually park, so we left ours opposite Carol's tea waggon. This was an excuse for a tea, coffee, and slice of Yorkshire parkin. Suitably fortified, we set off for our walk. We decided to take the waterway which runs almost level above the flight of reservoirs and is eventually labelled "Deer Hill Conduit". Wessenden Reservoir and Pule Hill Because the waterway maintained its height for its entire length with only a slight drop, we found ourselves at quite a height above the reservoirs, and eventually Marsden. Gaining (relative) height above Marsden (in the valley below) We made a steep and sometimes slightly perilous descent (probably the best part of 270m) into Marsden and stopped at Katie's Homemade Kitchen. David treated himself to the Veggie N...