Included this time are Buxton, Hartington, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Tideswell, Mam Tor, Robin Hoods Stride and the Roaches.

Buxton Grin Low Trees in Winter, near Solomon’s Temple, Peak District; 565807

Buxton Solomon’s Temple and Runner in snow

View from the Old Mermaid Inn near Leek across to Hen Cloud, the Roaches and Ramshaw Rocks; 565901

Hartington village in the Peak District in Winter; 566010

Mam Tor from Rushup Edge in the Summer between Edale and Castleton in the Peak District

Chapel-En-Le-Frith Church Brow, Derbyshire Peak District

Chapel-En-Le-Frith Terrace Road, Derbyshire Peak District

Tideswell Church, Cathedral of the Peak, from the church yard, Peak District; 555008

Robin Hoods Stride between Youlgreave and Elton in the Peak District; 555002

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The night before we started we stayed in the White Lion Hotel in Hebden Bridge. We only booked the accommodation for the trip about 3 weeks beforehand so not a lot of choice and the room here was very expensive, it wasn’t worth the money to us. They provided a coffee making machine but no way to make tea or any other hot drink. Very soft mattress too which didn’t help my back. The Timothy Taylor Boltmaker was okay but the Fox and Goose is still the best place for beer in Hebden Bridge. Very nice porter on hand pump when we were there.

We walked for 6 days and luckily it was dry for most of the time, just a few short showers, nothing major. A pleasant surprise for the end of October! The total distance was about 67 miles.

Our luggage was moved each day by Brigantes, we have used them a few times now and they are very reliable for moving bags in the north of England. This meant that we just carried light day sacs.

Day 1: Sunday 20th October 2019. Hebden Bridge to The Moorcock Inn, Littleborough. 10 miles

After walking through the centre of Hebden Bridge we made our way up the hillside and some woods to join the Pennine Way after a couple of miles and followed this for several miles. There was a good view to Stoodley Pike on the hill above, a bit under a mile away. I’ve been up to Stoodley Pike several times and always had poor weather, today was no exception – a very dull day, but dry. The route that followed over the boggy moors was quite easy, the path was well slabbed to avoid the bog. I remember when I did the Pennine Way in the 1970’s it was a quagmire at every stretch of peat bog (we had heavy rain every day after the first 2 days which didn’t help!). No such problem now, most of the moors that we crossed had well paved paths. We had to put waterproofs on for a few minutes while crossing the moors but took them off as we walked beside the reservoirs near the main road. We had a break at the White House pub above Littleborough, the Timothy Taylor Landlord was good. From here we headed downhill a mile or so to the Moorcock Inn on the edge of Littleborough, our hostelry for the night. Our room was a reasonable size but was more reminiscent of an alpine mountain hut than a b&b or hotel. Had to be careful of the bare floorboards, they weren’t smoothed off so splinters were a hazard. The food was okay but my pint of Theakstons Black Sheep Bitter tasted of vinegar so I sent it back and switched to wine. They obviously don’t look after their beer.

Day 2: Monday 21st October. The Moorcock Inn to Marsden. 9.8 miles

Another dull day but dry. We crossed the road from the Moorcock and were on our first footpath. We made our way to Blackstone Edge and followed the old Roman/Medieval road to join the Pennine Way coming from the White House. Then along Blackstone Edge to the trig point and down the gradual slope to cross the M62 on the footbridge. The traffic noise could be heard from quite a distance on both sides of the road. Then on past the phone masts and a burned out Land Rover on Rook Stones Hill, over White Hill and down to the A640 at Haigh Gutter. Here we left the Pennine Way and took the Pack Horse Road to the small town of Marsden. The road was narrow, well flagged and flanked by tall brown grasses. This led down to the Close Gate packhorse bridge and along to Marsden. Our first stop was the Riverhead Brewery Tap, next to the river. An interesting pint of chilli flavoured porter was followed by something a little less fiery. Then we headed to the New Inn at the top of the town, where we were staying the night. We were well looked after here with good food and beer.

Day 3: Tuesday 22nd October. Marsden to Dog and Partridge on the Woodhead Pass. 15.8 miles

After a good breakfast we headed uphill to rejoin the Pennine Way above the Reservoirs. This is the Wessenden Alternative Route of the Pennine Way, created to avoid some of the worst peat bogs on the entire route.We left the Pennine Way once again at the A635 and headed to Holmbridge and the Bridge Inn. It was several months since our last visit and it was a surprise to see it had a new name, the Pickled Pheasant. The brewery which used to be next door had been evicted and moved a few miles away. The wall separating the two properties had gone and the space was now occupied by the bar and lots of restaurant seating. It was clearly more of a restaurant than a pub. We didn’t stay long. From here we crossed the Holme Valley and made our way uphill and across to Winscar and Windleden Reservoirs at Dunsford Bridge. There were good tracks all the way from here to the Dog and Partridge Inn at the Sheffield end of the Woodhead Pass. We stayed the night here, very comfy rooms, good food and beer. 

Day 4: Wednesday 23rd October. Dog and Partridge to Ladybower Inn on the Snake Pass. 14 miles

We left after a good breakfast and headed over the moors towards the 3 big Derwent reservoirs of Howden, Derwent and Ladybower. After leaving the A628 behind we followed a good track and Swinden Lane through some woods before heading uphill onto the moors of Mickleden Edge and on to Cut Gate. From here the tracks were less well defined as we made our way over Margery Hill and along Howden Edge. Then on to Derwent Edge over Lost Lad, back Tor, past the Cakes of Bread, Dovestone Tor and Salt Cellar (photo stop). From here it was an easy stroll along the edge over White Tor and Wheel Stones to Ladybower Tor and down to the Ladybower Inn, our end of day stop.

Day 5: Thursday 24th October. Ladybower Inn to Edale. 9 miles

This was more familiar ground from here so I didn’t really need the maps or GPS to get home, but I did have the GPS handy just in case of memory lapse!

From the Ladybower Inn we walked along to the reservoir dam and crossed over and then we were quickly on the steep path up through the woods to Win Hill. Not a good day for photos of big views, the clouds were down on the tops. We followed the ridge to Crookstone Knoll and up on to Kinderscout where we followed the southern edge to Ringing Roger rocks. The clouds had lifted so we had misty views down into the Edale valley below. We soon found ourselves in the Nags Head in Edale where we stopped for refreshments before walking the last half mile, or so, to the Rambler Inn for the night.

Day 6: Friday 25th October. Edale to Tunstead Milton. 8.5 miles

Another dull day greeted us as we walked the last section of our trek home to Tunstead Milton. It was easy walking all of the way on good tracks and footpaths. From the end of Rushup Edge we picked up the Pennine Bridleway. After a few miles we headed off to Malcoff then to Bowden Head, Past Bowden Hall, across the A6 and into Chapel-en-le-Frith by the back door. In less than 2 miles we were home. 

It was a good walk on mostly good tracks and paths. Only 2 day had mileages over 10 miles, the 3rd and 4th days and the 3rd day didn’t seem too bad since we were able to have a break at Holmbridge. We were lucky to have so little rain in October but the days were mostly dull so there wouldn’t have been many good shots if I had carried my big Mamiya 7 film camera. My bad back thanked me for not carrying too much!

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The bad weather weather gave way to a crisp cold day on the 27th so we walked to Buxton on my usual route through the Goyt Valley. It was cloudy and dull when we left so I didn’t take the camera. Quite a lot of ice about underfoot.

On the edge of Buxton we diverted up through Corbar Woods, nice light but no proper camera for photos, just the phone camera. I have cropped most of the pictures to remove distractions and large areas of empty image. Yes, even blue sky had to go to concentrate the image to the main parts. No other editing was done, so it shows how easy it is to increase the impact of simple pictures without spending hours on the computer in Photoshop!

We ended up at the Cheshire Cheese for a break, I chose the Plum Porter Grand reserve and Jan had a mulled wine. Then it was onto the bus back to Chapel-en-le-Frith and into the Roebuck for a pint and a coffee before we walked the final 2 miles home. It was about 9 miles in total, similar to the distance we walked on Christmas day, but this time in good weather.

Now taking it easier for a couple of days as my bad back is playing up. Have to get it better for a lecture and 2 day workshop next week.

Old Road from Whaley Bridge to Buxton

Old road from Buxton to Whaley Bridge

Trees above the Goyt Valley

Combs Moss above Buxton

Buxton Corbar Woods

Winter in Corbar Woods, Buxton

Corbar Cross above Buxton

Corbar Woods, Buxton with snow on the Rhodedendron and fallen beech leaves

Fernilee reservoir overflow in the Goyt Valley near Whaley Bridge

Titanic Brewery Plum Porter Grand Reserve and a Mulled Wine at the Cheshire Cheese in Buxton

The post Peak District at Christmas appeared first on Dave Butcher.

Milton Lane, Tunstead Milton 8th December

Above Combs 10th December

Above Combs 10th December

Buxton Corbar Woods 10th December

Buxton Corbar Woods 10th December

Buxton Old Hall Hotel from Pavilion Gardens 10th December

Buxton Pavilion Gardens Waterfall 10th December

Holme Moss near Holmfirth 12th December

Holme Moss near Holmfirth 12th December

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The first section was across fields at the foot of Kinderscout and along the valley track from Upper Booth to the bridge at the foot of Jacobs Ladder. This is now the official route for the Pennine Way but when I did it in 1974 it went straight across the Kinderscout plateau to the Downfall.

Jacobs Ladder Bridge

Swine Back and Kinderscout from top of Jacobs Ladder

From the top of Jacobs Ladder there was a motorway path of stone slabs across what used to be a wide path across deep bog. We headed for South Head. The rain had stopped after about 90 minutes but there was a chilly wind so we had to stop and find our hats and gloves.

The last section was still trackless bog…. the slabbed path had run out. From here it was a short climb to the top of South Head, the final hill of our route.

Kinderscout from South Head, dull lighting

Kinderscout from South Head, sunny, a few minutes after the shot above

View from South Head, Mount Famine on the left

I walk South Head several times a year, it’s one of my favourite Peak District views. From South Head we headed down to Chinley and then the Old Hall Inn in neighbouring Whitehough. After a final pint we skirted around the side of Eccles Pike, across some fields and down the path to arrive home in Tunstead Milton, 5 hours or so after leaving Edale 10 miles away.

South Head and Kinderscout from Lydgate

In summary, we walked for 5 days, 56 miles, 4 dry days including 1 sunny day, 90 minutes of rain, 35 images on Ilford 400 Delta using my Mamiya 7 camera with 65mm lens and mostly yellow filter but a few with an orange filter. All the photos on this blog were taken on mobile phones.

Oh, we also visited 13 hostelries along the way and I tried to keep to the government recommended 5 a day, I assume it refers to pints of real ale. That makes it about 18 mpg beer……..

Here’s a couple of shots taken by Jan on the 4th day, both near Peak Forest en-route to Castleton.

One man and his dog cow

Dave Butcher and Sheep near Peak Forest

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I started with Tideswell church, commonly known as the Cathedral of the Peak. There was a very nice Silver Birch tree with leaves on the turn so I put the yellow filter on to brighten the yellowy leaves. Here’s the colour phone version.

Tideswell Church

Then it was up onto the moors above again. Lots of wide open spaces and big views, especially to Mam Tor and Kinderscout.

Mam Tor and Rushup Edge from near peak Forest

Rushup Edge and Kinderscout

Mam Tor and Tree

Mam Tor

Then it was time to go down into Castleton by the slopes next to the Castle. I also took a photo of Cave Dale from above with nice light and shadows.

Castleton Fields and Mam Tor

Cave Dale from Above

Then it was down to the Nag’s Head for lunch and a pint. From here we headed for Hollins Cross and down to the Nag’s Head in Edale. It was quite warm walking up to the pass but a bit of a breeze near the top helped.

Castleton and Hope Cement Works from Hollins Cross

Kinderscout and Edale from Hollins Cross

After a pleasant pint of Nag’s 1577 we headed a few hundred yards down the road to our accommodation for the night, the Ramblers Inn.

What a great day of hill walking!

Unfortunately, there was no WiFi. Fibre broadband has just been installed in Edale and they haven’t got it working properly yet. Hence this post appearing after we finished!
Tomorrow, Friday 29th September 2017, we finish by walking from Edale to Chinley to Tunstead Milton.

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Grey day in the Peak District

The gorge is very steep sided here so on a dull day like today it was too dark for pictures. A few dog walkers were out but no-one else.

We climbed out of the dale and across a plateau area, down into another part of Lathkill Dale, up the other side and along under some large vertical limestone cliffs. From here it was just a short stretch to Monyash.

Bulls Head Monyash

As luck would have it the Bulls Head pub was open so we decided to have a break, it was 12.30pm.

From here we made our way to Flagg, then to the A6 at Taddington before dropping down to Millers Dale. As luck would have it the Anglers Rest was open, at 3.15pm, so we stopped for a break.

Taddington

Millers Dale Autumn Colours

Anglers Rest Hikers Bar

Tideswell was just a couple of miles away from here, up a steep slope then across some fields and down into the village. The George Hotel was to be our hostelry for the night.

Tideswell

Our good friends Mick and Kay from Inverness were down touring around England and we arranged to meet up for the evening. It was a good night.

Tomorrow we walk to Edale.

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We were well looked after by Sarah at the Manor House Guest House, had a good breakfast, gave our case to the punctual luggage transfer man from Bakewell, then set off for Winster. Jolly nice day, bright spells and warmish. Good weather for walking!

So many quarries in this part of the Peaks. Lots of lorries to go with them too. Thankfully we were mostly off busy roads. Quite a few good views but between the quarries and power lines I didn’t see any shots worth taking on my Mamiya 7 camera.

A local just outside Brassington.

Our route took us down into Winster but the Bowling Green pub was closed on Tuesdays. We headed back up the hill where it was a relief to find the Miners Standard pub open. A jolly nice pint of Pedigree was my liquid lunch.

From here we headed towards Elton and on to Robin Hoods Stride Rocks. The grey sky was clearing so we waited a few minutes. I ran off a bit over 1 roll of Ilford 400 Delta before moving off.

From here it was on to Youlgreave. Our hostelry for the night, the Farmyard Inn, was closed when we arrived before 4pm, as was the Bulls Head, so we had a pint in the George Hotel.

Youlgreave view

Good food and a comfy room at the Farmyard Inn. What a relief after yesterday’s stutter.

Tomorrow we walk to Tideswell.

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I got the maps out and could see the Limestone Way went in roughly the right direction. That became the core of the walk for about 3 of the 5 days.

Our trip started by catching the bus to Buxton and then the bus to Ashbourne. This was a bit under 2 hours travel time. Then we will walk north for 5 days to get home. Our overnight stops are Ashbourne, Brassington, Youlgreave, Tideswell, Edale and home. A total of about 50 miles, so roughly 10 miles a day.

Looking out of the window of our room everything was wet, but it wasn’t raining at 7.30am. Unfortunately the forecast was for rain through the day. In the end the whole day was dry.

Today we started in Ashbourne having stayed at the George and Dragon Hotel. The food and beer was good as was the service.

After breakfast we left the hotel at the crack of 10am and headed north towards the Tissington Trail. We followed this for a few hundred metres, then turned onto our footpath to Thorpe village. From the approach to the village it looked like we were in limestone country with Thorpe Cloud and Bunster Hill as the backdrop. In fact we joined the Limestone Way just before Thorpe village. This long distance path goes from Rocester south of Ashbourne to Castleton.

First Limestone Way sign, Thorpe

A mix of fields and hillsides got us to Tissington and on to Parwich and as luck would have it the Sycamore Inn was open. It was 7 miles from Ashbourne so a good time for a break. Then it was just 3 more miles to Brassington. 

Thorpe Cloud

Tissington

Parwich

Brassington

We had booked in to the Miners Arms and waited outside for the 4.30pm check-in time agreed earlier (the pub was shut until the evening). Unfortunately no one turned up. Jan rang the landlord and he arranged for someone else to come to the pub and let us in, no explanation as to why he wasn’t here as agreed a few hours earlier. The room was up 2 flights of steep stairs and very old fashioned, soft mattress on the bed and the bathroom was down a flight of stairs and along the passage. Not exactly the ensuite Jan had booked! After a quick discussion we left.

Fortunately, our luggage had been delivered there.

Jan rang the only other accommodation listed in Brassington, the Manor House Guest House. They had a room and were just 200 metres down the road next to the other pub! We moved there. What a contrast. Nice welcome, excellent room.

Next door was the Olde Gate Inn. Very cosy local, excellent Pedigree beer, good food and a landlord that stopped for a conversation with his customers! Why don’t more people running pubs do that these days?

In the end we had a good evening but it was no thanks to the Miners Arms.

Tomorrow we walk to Youlgreave.

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This is a brand new show and since it’s just over a half hour from home we’re hoping it’s going to be a good one! Fantastic setting right in front of Chatsworth House. So far so good!

Our stand has lots of my big hand prints, which we seldom take to shows in Derbyshire. All the framed prints are hand prints too. Lots of small prints too. In all over 400 prints to look through. Of course we also have a selection of Jan’s colour photos too. Prints from £5 to £500. All 3 of my current books are here too for the special price of £20 instead of £45.

The first day was today. Unfortunately there’s no  3Mobile phone signal so I was unable to pick up or send any social media posts during the day. Hence the tardy posting for today.

There were lots of traffic problems and we spoke to many visitors who had been delayed by 2 or 3 hours. Ouch! That’s quite a delay. Sounds like things should be better for tomorrow but may be a good idea to leave early.

The show has sold out so if you don’t have a ticket already you won’t get in.

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