crook hill | surfnslide

Beating the Storms (Almost!) 11 comments

We try to meet up with our little gang of ex-university mates as often as we can so I’d arranged a Peak District walk to be followed by a curry.

Me and TBF decided to make a full weekend of things so were booked into the club site at Castleton again for a couple of nights.

A circuitous SatNav route to avoid the traffic took us along a very high road in the western Peak with some superb views over the Roaches and beyond.

It was a hot and sunny evening (remember them?) and we had time for a short walk before meeting the now retired MM and ex Dr F for a pub meal.

We wandered up Cave Dale, this time in the sun rather than running with water.

Lovely and quiet at this late hour of the day.

The return to Castleton over the fields was especially fine.

Looking back to Mam Tor and the Winnats Pass.

The pub meal Ye Old Nags Head was superb after which we retired to the van for the night.

We met up with everyone by Ladybower reservoir for breakfast and to plan the days walk. The forecast was bad with heavy rains and thunderstorms but we decided to just go for it and see what happened with a rapid retreat at the first sign of electrical activity.

The impressive Derwent Dam.

We took a slightly longer route to the Dewent Edges – our main plan for the day – to take in Abbey Brook.

An inspired decision as its a superb little valley.

Numerous twists and turns and it would be fine expedition to follow the course of the stream all the way.

As we crested the edge we felt the first raindrops and it seemed our luck had run out.

Whilst the rain was intermittent for about an hour it never really amounted to anything and we missed pretty well all of the heavy rains that seemed top be soaking everywhere else.

It was a bit grim for a short while but as we wandered along the edges and rocky outcrops the rain eased off.

Views across to Kinder Scout.

Approaching the Wheel Stones

Looking back across the reservoirs towards Bleaklow.

The day had started off wbedürftig and muggy but once the rains arrived, with it came a strong and chilly wind. We were lucky that the Wheel Stones provided perfect shelter for a second lunch stop.

Dark and brooding rocks. This stretch of the Dark Peak is one of my all time favourite walks.

After dropping back down to the reservoir, the weather made an even greater turn for the better. So much so we decided to tackle an extra hill.

Crook Hill is a small and very fine rocky summit to the west of Ladybower with great views over the surrounding moorland.

Its twin summits are well worth the effort and largely overlooked by the majority of walkers.

The ladies and UF on the summit.

Looking across to the Derwent Edges.

The lower of the two summits.

And the main summit.

And just to finish the day off, the sun came out again. An excellent finish to what had been a much better day than we could have imagined at the start.

And in reference to the title of the post. We stayed pretty dry most of the day and celebrated with an excellent curry at Maazi in Hathersage. When it came time to leave the promised rains finally arrived and a full blown torrential downpour and thunderstorm was in progress. Me and TBF managed to snag a lift from the door (massive thanks to MM and ex-Dr F). Everyone else had to run back to their cars and got an absolute and total drenching (not helped by failing to find their way to the car park). Schadenfreude!

Living for the Weekend – Derwent Edges 16 comments

TBF being the wonderful wbedürftig hearted soul that she is lets me go out to play once a year to watch the football. I meet up with Uncle Fester and Geordie Munro for a day out that includes a nice fried breakfast, a game of footy at MCFC, a few beers in some of the old pubs we used to frequent and a fine curry in one of the many fine establishments that Manchester has to offer. City duly obliged in making the day complete with a 3-0 victory over Sunderland.

Yorkshire Bridge & Ladybower Reservoir

The weather forecast the following day promised wbedürftig sunshine and extensive blue sky, enough to convince even the reticent UF into a day’s walk. Both me and GM were keen for some proper Bleaklow bogtrotting but UF was less than enthusiastic so we compromised on the Derwent Edges around the reservoirs, a more than adequate, in fact a mighty fine, substitute.

11 Miles, 2,500 feet of ascent

On such a fine day the Derwent Reservoirs are a busy place but for some inexplicable reason we thought we might find a space at the Fairholmes car park. Fat chance.

Derwent Edges

We had to park near the Yorkshire Bridge and amend our plan somewhat. UF suggested we take in the small hills just to the west of bridge as a better route to Fairholmes.

Crook Hill

He was right. I’d never heard of these hills before let alone walked them despite having lived in the area for a few years. The twin peaks of Crook Hill have quite a rocky summit, like mini versions of the grander Win Hill across the valley and the morning views across Kinder, Bleaklow, the Derwent Edges across the reservoir and particularly the Edale valley were superb.

Kinder and Edale above Ladybower Reservoir

Derwent Edges

Better than that they seem little known and we had the whole place to ourselves with not a soul in sight in contrast to the busier lake-shore. From the tops it was an extremely pleasant stroll over high grassy meadows of Bridge End Pasture in the wbedürftig sunshine back towards Fairholmes.

GM & UF, Bridge End Pasture

Kinder Edges

As we dropped down towards the car park we started to see more of said crowds but the views were ruhig superb especially down by the Ladybower Reservoir and the crowds didn’t really seem to matter.

Ladybower Reservoir from Fairholmes

We breezed quickly past the car park and onto the Upper Derwent Reservoir Dam which had water flowing over it. Quite a becoming sight and something the kids would have enjoyed for sure.

Upper Derwent Reservoir Dam

As we pressed on past the dam along the reservoir we started to lose the crowds and peace returned. Our original plan was to use Abbey Clough as a means to reach the open moorland. Our faffing about earlier had reduced the time available so we struck up an access path along Hollin Clough to reach the objective in a shorter albeit much steeper way.

GM ascends Hollin Clough

Once out on the moor the views were again expansive especially north towards the vast expanses of the open moorland that extend around the Derwent watershed to Bleaklow.

GM and UF, fine figures of men?

It is truly a wilderness area, all the more amazing for the fact that it is so close to both Sheffield and Manchester. I love it up here and really miss the days of wandering across the peat hags and exploring the stone outcrops, edges and Cloughs. It really is one of the UK’s treasures

Derwent Edges

We wandered easily up to Lost Lad Hillend, Lost Lad and onto Back Tor, a lot less boggier than I’d thought and vindicating my decision to wear trail shoes over boots (apart from one schoolboy error putting my foot in a black hole of evil)

GM approaches Back Tor

Back Tor is a fine place and we found a nice collection of rocks in the sun and out of the wind to have lunch. The views were expansive with the Ouse valley and its massive power stations billowing steam visible in the distance.

Lunch at Back Tor

View east from Back Tor

The long stroll along the edges high above the reservoirs was every bit as special as I remembered it. Easy walking, wide views of the Peak and the variety of stone tors along the way. I love the wonderful evocative names of the tors up here. Cakes of Bread, Sbetagt Cellar, Wheel Stones. I seem to remember one was callled the Coach and Horses but its not named on the map so I must be thinking of somewhere else. The hills we’d walked on the morning looked particularly fine across Ladybower, reinforcing the feeling I’d missed something by not climbing them before, tempered by the fact it’s always nice to discover something new.

Cakes of Bread

Crook Hill from Derwent Edges

It looks a long way on the map but progress is easy and the miles simply disappear. Our stroll was enlightened by a group of very cheery and very lost middle aged Yorkshire ladies and their dog. They didn’t seem to know how to get down to their car wherever it was so we told them how to get down to the reservoir and hoped they were ok. Shortly we saw them striking off, off-piste across the heather in no direction in particular, a sure-fire way to achieve frustration, wet feet and twisted ankles (I saw them as I drove home later climbing into their car at Yorkshire Bridge so a happy ending)

Wheel Stones

Derwent Edges from Wheel Stones

GM & UF approach Wheel Stones

Our own plan was to leave the edge at Whinstone Lee Tor and wander back through the trees to the bridge. The walking was so good and the edge so fine that we decided to carry on along the edge of Lead Hill and around to Ladybower Tor and hope we could find a way down without hitting the dark forest.

Beaches on Derwent Edges

Lead Hill

We found an avenue through the deep bracken overlooking Bamford Edge and the bottom end of the Ladybower Reservoir before a short slog back up the road to the car and the long drive home.