David and Jacinta's Walks- 2025

 The Helicopter Walk- David Solo It had been quite a while since I'd done the Helicopter Walk and today seemed to be a great day to do it- lots of daylight hours and no chance of rain. I parked up at the Birchen Clough layby just off the Snake Pass. It was a relief to get through the devastation of the plantation that had been felled- I understand that this was because of diseased larch trees. A little compensation was that I could see Fairbrook Naze a little earlier- my eventual descent from the Kinder plateau. Fairbrook Naze above the devastated plantation I made the detour to the bothy in Oyster Clough (of course!), which was nice and tidy although there was a couple of bags of rubbish in one corner- I must take a rubble sack next time, so I can take any rubbish away. Nearing the Oyster Clough bothy As I had plenty of time, I kept high on the next section on the other side of the clough, hoping to find a better way down than I had back in 2022 . The path, faint in parts, weaves ...

 The Helicopter Walk- David Solo A beautiful day was in the offing, and I quite fancied a longer walk. Going through the Snake Pass the last few times, we'd seen that the path from Birchen Clough was open again (it had probably closed on the day that I walked it last year,  Tuesday April 16th ) although the hillside still looked pretty desolate from the clearing of diseased larches. The path had been restored to some extent but it was still a relief to get above the treeline and to have a view of Fairbrook Naze. Fairbrook Naze- a descent to come! I felt that I might as well go the whole hog, so I took the detour up to the bothy at the end of Oyster Clough. It was lovely to see that it was in really good condition- clean, with a couple of new benches. The inside of the Oyster Clough bothy The bothy in its isolated splendour As could be imagined, the views were great- on the way up to Crookstone Knoll, back to Win Hill and over to The Great Ridge. Win Hill The Great Ridge The Lo...