Scratchings & Squeakings From An Ill-lit Corner

It’s now mid-December 2014, some two months since my last scribblings (a half-baked rant about energy and wind farms) and even longer since a proper report about walking-related matters has appeared – a short commentary on a long weekend walking bits of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path.  

Stormy skies above Grasswood from the Dales Way near Grassington

So it’s been a quiet time in this dimly-lit corner of the blogosphere, with nary a sound to be heard but for the odd scratch or squeak every once in a while.

Negotiating Conistone Dib

I must confess that time and motivation for posting to the blog has been in short supply of late, something that has been true for much of the year (and which has also affected the reading of and contributions to other blogs, as well). There have been some notable exceptions – Norfolk, the Peaks of the Balkans and the Camino posts, for example. But, by-and-large, contributions to the blog have been much reduced – around half the number of posts of previous years – and what momentum there was seems to have been lost.

Watching the Wharfe go by

However, a lack of online activity does not equate to a lack of walking or enthusiasm for it: we have been slowly racking up mileage throughout the autumn, and it looks as if we will top last year’s total and post a new best-year-ever figure come December 31^st. 

Weir near Linton Falls

But apart from a couple of weekends away (more of which in a moment) most of this mileage has been accumulated during shorter walks on familiar local circuits – a couple of hours grabbed here and there – and these haven’t really offered enough in the way of new paths, high drama, great photography or worthwhile distance to warrant individual blog entries.

Two weekend trips do stand out, though. Firstly, a budget hotel deal afforded us the opportunity for a brief trip up to the Yorkshire Dales, during which time we walked from Grassington and Bolton Abbey (and photos of which are included in the post). Over the course of the weekend we remained largely dry, inadvertently improved on an established circuit, caught some beautiful autumn colours in the sunshine, and wiped away a tear (not the result of a chill wind but from being relieved of an eye-watering £8 for parking by one of the richest men in the UK).

This information, posted on the gate accessing the path to the Valley of Desolation, did
not appear to be in evidence in the car park. I would have been more than "desolate" if
I'd paid £8 parking only to find there was no access on the moors that day 

The second was a weekend in the White Peak built around a Saturday-night gig in Youlgreave by Whalebone, an entertaining evening of “high energy acoustic music” from talented musicians Steve, Char and Sarah that draws on traditional folk, classic rock and their own compositions for inspiration. If you fancy catching them live or simply want to find out more about the band and their music, further information can be found here:

http://www.whalebone-music.com/

Descending from Simon's Seat

My plan for 2015 is to gradually get back into the swing of things, and hopefully be a bit more active on the blogging scene. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but it does seem to have been a quieter year all round, with many contributors seeming to have posted a little less frequently.

Dales Way path beside the river

Some of the biggest subjects have been controversial, too, which made for higher traffic volumes but a less harmonious online outdoor community – important principles to be defended, perhaps, for those involved (and I would probably do the same in similar circumstances) but a slightly unedifying experience for those watching-on from the outside. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation, I suspect this is, in part, a consequence of the time of year: as winter is not yet upon us and Christmas approaches, there are simply fewer interesting topics and trip reports to peruse. Hopefully, all will soon be forgotten as next year progresses and the winter walking season gathers pace.

Finally, because it was a lovely afternoon, I'll finish with a few more photos from our Yorkshire Dales weekend - beautiful autumn colours near The Strid.

Almost Groundhog Day: Cromford to Turnditch again – Approx 15.25 miles

Sunday 23rd June 2013

Map: OS Explorer OL24 – The Peak District – White Peak Area

Map: OS Explorer 259 – Derby, Uttoxeter, Ashbourne & Cheadle

Cromford Hill – Cromford Wharf – Derwent Valley Heritage Way (S) – High Peak Junction – High Peak Trail – Black Rocks – Middleton Top – Hopton – Carsington Water (East Shore) – Oldfield Lane – Kirk Ireton – Field Lane – Broad Way – Gorses – Ireton Wood – Jenny Well – Cross o’ th’ Hands – Turnditch – Cowers Lane

Arrive Turnditch at 9.00am: check. Catch bus from Cowers Lane around 9.20am: check. Alight in Cromford about quarter to ten, as the rain started in earnest, ready to walk back to Turnditch: check. This was yesterday, right?

Well, yes.

And no.

That’s because it’s today as well.

I originally thought I’d walk somewhere else today, but last evening was busy and I’d done no further preparation. Instead, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that yesterday’s excursion hadn’t quite worked out as well as I’d hoped, so I thought I’d have a go at my other Cromford to Turnditch route. If nothing else, it would provide an interesting “side-by-side” comparison of two routes that share a start and end point but vary significantly in the middle.

Looking over rainy Cromford

Once again, I picked up the Cromford Canal for the first part of the walk. And, once again, it was raining – but this time harder and with much more intent than yesterday.



High Peak Junction

Today’s route was the more high-profile western option I mentioned yesterday, taking in the High Peak Trail and Carsington Water. So, instead of continuing along the canal at High Peak Junction, I picked up the High Peak Trail and began the long, steady climb towards Black Rocks.



1 in 8 Gradient: steep for trains - and people 

For those that aren’t aware, the High Peak Trail follows the bed of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway (built to connect the Cromford Canal with the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge, and closed after the Beeching Report) and meets with the Tissington Trail at Parsley Hay. Along this stretch it climbs via a series of inclines by around 250m at a gradient of 1 in 8, quite a feat of engineering when it was built in 1831.

Middleton Top Engine House

At Middleton Top, the Engine House built to haul wagons up the Middleton Incline is still in existence, and the massive steam engine still operates on certain days for visitors to see (it’s an impressive sight!). Nowadays, it marks the beginning of the Pennine Bridleway: there is also a visitor center, snack bar, gift shop and cycle hire center for your enjoyment, if impressive relics of the Industrial Revolution don’t suffice.

A little further on, I left the High Peak Trail and stuck off across the fields towards Hopton. I must admit that at this point I was giving some thought to cutting the walk short. It had been raining quite heavily all morning, was cold, dull and gloomy, and the initial enthusiasm seemed to be waning a bit – perhaps understandable, given it was the 23rd of June and it should be summer by now!

Anyway, I decided to carry on, and picked up the path that circumnavigates Carsington Water, keeping to the eastern side of the lake. This is the quieter side, and although no Ladybower or Thirlmere or Lake Vrynwy, its a good place for birdwatching and can be walked without meeting the hordes that congeal around the car parks and hot spots on the north and west shores.



First glimpse of Carsington Water: cold, wet and windy

I stopped briefly for a bite of lunch, but it was cold and windy, so I didn’t linger. Instead, I carried on, leaving the lakeside to head across the fields towards Kirk Ireton.

Near Kirk Ireton

As villages go, Kirk Ireton is a bit of a bugger to get to. It requires careful navigation of the car through a network of narrow, winding lanes, and would be off most peoples’ radar if it weren’t for one thing: it has a great pub! As a youngster, I remember The Barley Mow being spoken of in reverential tones. It is a tiny place – more like a house, really – and one of the apocryphal stories is that back in the 1970s, shortly after decimalisation, the elderly landlady operated a system whereby you got your beer at the bar, took it to a nearby table to pay where she converted the price and the money you proffered into old money (pounds, shillings and pence) calculated your change on that basis, then converted it back before giving you your change.

The Barley Mow

The good thing is its still going, but there’s not a single hand pump in sight! Fear not, real ale fans, for things are different here: all the beers are dispensed directly from the barrel, without the need for any of those mucky pipes! My pint of Derbyshire Pale Ale came and went in no time at all.

The last few miles linked field paths with some of those narrow lanes to strike a line in a roughly southeasterly direction towards Turnditch. The land in these parts consists of a series of vales and ridges, and there were some fine views to be had from the higher reaches of this undulating route.

Waterproofs watch out: one of several unfriendly stiles

Apart from a couple of fields of thigh-high weeds (that required one to lift one’s knees to one’s armpits every step, or were flattened by the wind in such a way as to be a trip hazzard) all was going well. Until, that is, I decided to walk the penultimate mile across the fields rather than along the lane. A couple of fields shy of the road, I got into a right tangle of unmarked path, awkward routing, overgrown hedges, nettles, thistles, bog, barbed wire, impassable undergrowth and impenetrable trees whose navigational challenges defeated me. In the end I beat my own path to the road, and, having sneaked through a few gates that felt suspiciously like trespassing, rather surprised myself when I arrived at the fingerpost.

Church at Turnditch (taken yesterday)

A final stretch along the road brought me to the end of the walk. I think it safe to say that apart from the weather and the short difficult stretch near the end, today’s route had been the more enjoyable, although the easterly route did have its merits. The real problem in both cases was finding a satisfactory route across the valley of the Sherbourne Brook, which has to be crossed to get to Turnditch from either Kirk Ireton or Idridgehay (unless a lengthy diversion is made) and which is seeming full of boggy, badly marked and generally uncared for footpaths.

It may be that there is a decent route struggling to get out of the two completed this weekend, or it may be that an entirely new route needs developing – I’ll have to give it some thought. Either way, it made good use of a dodgy weekend weather forecast, and was an interesting experiment in route planning in off-the-beaten-track countryside.

Cromford to Turnditch – Approx 14.75 miles

Saturday 22nd June 2013

Map: OS Explorer OL24 – The Peak District – White Peak Area

Map: OS Explorer 259 – Derby, Uttoxeter, Ashbourne & Cheadle

Cromford Hill – Cromford Wharf – Derwent Valley Heritage Way (S) – High Peak Junction – Whatstandwell – Hankin Farm – Midshires Way (S) – Alderwasley – Typeclose Plantation – Netherpark Farm – Palerow Lane – Chequer Lane – Hilltop – Jebb’s Lane – Idridgehay Green – Idridgehay – Ecclesbourne House – Brook Farm – Holme Hurst – Turnditch – Cowers Lane

For the first time in some time, a whole weekend loomed ahead with no daytime obligations to intrude and nothing other than walking with which to fill the time. So I decided to head for the Peak District to see what she could offer.

Cromford Wharf

Long term readers might remember that a couple of years ago I undertook a series of walks roughly following the Derwent Valley, heading southwards from the Ladybower area, with the eventual idea of describing a circuit around the Peak District. I’d got as far as Cromford when time / inclination / opportunity / certainty of route rather ran out, but a continuation now seemed like an enticing prospect.

I’d been dithering over possible routes for the next section, and never really come to a satisfactory decision. As I alighted the bus in Cromford I was still in two minds about which way to go, but faced with the choice of a potentially quieter easterly option or a busier, more high-profile westerly route, I eventually plumped for the former.

Clear path by the Cromford Canal

The path beside the Cromford Canal is unambiguous. As I left Cromford Wharf light rain began to fall: in fact the weather proved something of an irritation for much of the day in a kind of jacket on / jacket off, hood up / hood down kind of way, as it flip-flopped regularly between sunshine and showers, brighter spells and rain.

Leawood Pumping Station

The Derwent Valley has long been a conduit for transport of all kinds. Here road, canal, footpath, railway and river sit so closely side by side it would almost be possible to lob a stone across them all in a single throw.

Coot: bald as a blogger

At times the canal ran clear; at others, it was overgrown: green and lush with recent growth that gave it an almost primaeval feel. Which is odd, considering the canal is a man made structure: it just goes to show how well it has subsumed into the landscape.

Crich Stand

I crossed the Derwent by the road bridge at Whatstandwell and climbed to meet the Midshires way near Alderwasley, following it in a southerly direction for the next few miles. I stopped for lunch above Shining Cliff Woods, and then took an attractive but incorrect path for a short way before spotting my mistake.

Nice wall

Back on track, I continued to follow the Midshires Way for a while before parting company with it just shy of Crowtrees Farm. A series of poorly-waymarked paths through fields tall with crops and meadow flowers followed, and indication that these ways were infrequently walked.

Looking over the Ecclesbourne Valley with Hilltop in the middle ground

From the end of Palerow Lane, the map showed an interesting-looking path curving southwards over Hilltop into the Ecclesbourne Valley towards Jebb’s Lane. I had high hopes for this part of the route, but was slightly disappointed in the end: the views were nice, but lack of traffic meant a struggle through thigh-high meadow grasses, and some sections were steep and muddy and difficult to negotiate – something that was to become more noticeable now I had left the more popular areas – a consequence, no doubt, of the fact that these quieter routes are of lesser priority when it comes to waymarking and upkeep.

Err ....... where?

Jebb’s Lane led to Idridgehay Green led to Idridgehay. The sun had finally decided to put in an appearance, so I stopped at the shop for an ice cream. Beyond Ecclesbourne House, I entered a series of paths across the fields that were little more than marshland, where a calf-deep mix of water-filled hoof prints and soft, clay-y mud awaited if you happened to misjudge the next reedy tussock, and which was especially concentrated in the vicinity of gateways and stiles.

Needless to say, what with marshes, mud and indistinct paths, it all took a fair while to negotiate. But eventually I made the road, glad of a solid surface at last, and walked down to Hillclifflane to pick up the last field paths of the day – these, thankfully, much cleaner and easier to follow – for the climb up to Turnditch.

Approaching Turnditch on cleaner paths

An easy stroll down the road to the bus stop gave the opportunity for reflection on the days’ events: events which, perhaps, hadn’t quite lived up to initial expectations. The first half of the walk had been fine; the second half slightly less so, although I think the ground conditions had as much to do with that as the scenery. Mind you, if it is this difficult to pass in June, I dread to think what it might be like February or November!

Overall, I’d enjoyed my walk, covered a bit of distance and appreciated being able to keep myself to myself for a while. But was it a worthy continuation of the round-Derbyshire route? Well, let’s just say it wasn’t an unqualified success: I think I might need to ponder things a bit more before making a decision one way or the other.