Peak District - Howden, Bleaklow & Alport - Video

Here is a video I recorded while on my walk today in the Peak District. It is just a quick sequence of shots I did using my old Canon A640, so it's not HD but you can get a feel of what it was like up there today on a cold wintery day. I set off from Howden Reservoir, Followed the River Derwent to its source, Headed up and over the moors to Bleaklow Stones, Down to Alport Castles and then back across Birchinlee Pasture to Howden.

I hope you enjoy it and the wind noise isn't too annoying :-)

The blog post for this walk which contains numerous images, a Social Hiking map and an AudioBoo can be found here.... Peak District – Howden, Bleaklow & Alport

Peak District - Howden, Bleaklow & Alport

After my windy walk with Andy last week ("Peak District – Ladybower & Alport Dale") I decided it was high time for another Peak District outing. There has been rather a drought when it comes to walking of late, what with one thing and another I just haven't had the time to head out. I feel as though I have made up for it today though with a good route and some fantastic views thrown in, so without further ado here is my summary of where I headed and what I got up to.

Peak District - Ladybower & Alport Dale

After a relative drought when it comes to walking I decided I would head out come rain or shine today. The forecast was for high winds and also plenty of rain but I thought what the heck, I'll just go for it. A quick call to my mate Andy and the plan was set. We would park at Ladybower, Ashopton Viaduct to be precise and then head up and over towards Rowlee Pasture to Alport Dale.

[caption id="attachment_510" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A Windy day on Rowlee Pasture in the Peak District"][/caption]

Walking, Mountains & Moors - My Personal Evolution

Hi all, I've been thinking allot recently about my evolution when it comes to walking and my general outlook on the outdoors. It may be an odd thing to focus on but i've been working night shifts this last week so I have been passing time deep in thought. It is just a general feeling about where I have come from and how my views have changed over the last 7-8 years.

I spent allot of time in the Lake District as a child, We used to holiday with friends of the family in the north western area of the Lakes around Cleater Moor. Ennerdale water and Eskdale are wedged solidly in my mind and I look back with fond memories of my time there. I always thought that I loved the mountains, I loved being outdoors in general and while growing up we were never indoors. We would be out from dawn until dusk on our bikes, playing in trees and generally enjoying the hell out of life. Then after school the need to drive kind of took over and the freedom of having a car ment that we never walked anywhere at all :-)

If I think about it I can pin point a moment in the last 10 or so years where I knew I wanted to ditch the car and go off walking. It was while watching the opening sequence in the film Braveheart... Mel Gibson is stood atop a huge hill looking out along a Glen in a North Western corner of Scotland. I was in Australia at the time visiting my father and I knew when I returned to the UK I needed to go and stand there and see that view for myself, or at least something just like that.



When I returned home I hit the internet and begun planning the trip, my friend Howie and I kitted out the car and headed north. it was to be a tour of Scotland.. Seeing the Filming locations from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Driving to John O'Groats and eventually ending it all with a climb/walk up to the top of Ben Nevis to hopefully see that view I was craving. I suppose you could say that it was my first actual "Walk". I'd never really been on a walk/hike like this before and it was that first foray into the mountains that got me hooked.

When we returned home we basically went mad buying everything we thought we needed, reading magazines and generally thinking of nothing else but when the next trip was going to happen. I kind of got it in my head that a walk wasn't a walk unless it was somewhere epic, big, high, bleak or more specifically.. in the Lake District or Scotland. I think this was down to having read a particular magazine.. it was basically geared at the folk who live in cities and get the train to the mountains at the weekend and have limitless amounts of money. We were regular guys with regular jobs and aspiring to own all the tents, jackets etc that cost way way too much.



The reason I have chosen to write this post is that I feel my opinions on walking, camping and being outdoors have changed allot in the last year or so. I think everyone goes through the process of buying things, then realising that they either aren't needed, aren't suficiant or were just a waste of money. I suppose i'm at the level where I feel I have fine tuned my gear so to speak and don't feel the need to buy any more. I have bought some bloody terrible things over the years, I wont name any brand names but I have certainly paid the price and learnt my lesson the hard way when it comes to quality. We ceratinly learned the hard way during our first West Highland Way adventure when our cheap gear let us down.

Kit aside... My general view on the outdoors has changed for the better. I live on the border of the Peak District but back in the early days I didn't feel like it was a "Proper" walking destination. As i said earlier, having took the views of a certain magazine and also a few online forums I felt like a walk wasn't a walk unless it was in the Lake District or Scotland. now days however having ventured out more and more into the great landscape of the Peak District my view couldn't be more different.



I have developed a great love of the Peak District in the last 4-5 years, I have spent allot of time tramping through bogs and enjoying the glorious heather topped moors to the point where I now feel very protective over it and despise those publications that still ignore its beauty due to its lower stature when it comes to hills.

I've come to appreciate my surroundings more, Finding the beauty of Derbyshire ever more appealing with every walk I do and new routes I discover. I suppose my main point is that although I do love Scotland, Wales & the Lakes. I now feel like a walk is a walk no matter where I choose to go. Every little wander can be an adventure in itself no matter how near or far from home it is. That... I suppose is my reason for writing this post.

I really do feel like walking has changed my life for the better and my thirst for adventure grows stronger the more time I spend outdoors. I'm just so glad I discovered walking when I did. This may be a cheesy way of ending but I can't resist it.. I will leave you with this line from The legendary Mr Tolkien.. Or more specifically Bilbo Baggins.. "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Peak District - Matlock Walkabout - Social Hiking

Peak District - Bakewell and Monsal Loop

I have just returned home from another rather impromptu walk in the glorious Peak District. This time we headed for the White Peak, Bakewell to be precise. I had been wanting to do a walk in that area for some time but the lure of the slightly more mountainous feel of the Dark Peak pulls me back every time, we only had limited time so it was the perfect choice as it's a short ride from home.



We parked the car near Bakewell Station and set off along the Monsal Trail, I haven't walked along this trail for some time so it was nice to come back and see the improvements that have been made recently. We walked North West and passed Hassop Station, This would be a nice place to stop i'm lead to believe as there is a great cafe here... We just had a quick look over the fence as we went by. We carried on passing through Great Longstone station and it wasn't long until we reached the newly opened Headstone Tunnel. This was perhaps the main reason why we had chosen to do this route, I had been wanting to check it out for some time and I wasn't at all disappointed.



The Headstone Tunnel was opened to the Public back in May 2011, It has been fitted with lights and it makes a perfect photographic venue. Sadly I didn't have my Canon DSLR with me today but I did have my old Canon A640. I set it to manual mode, adjusted a few settings and posed for another picture while wearing my Social Hiking T-shirt.

The tunnel is very impressive indeed as is the very famous Headstone Viaduct, some would call it the Monsal Dale Viaduct but I'll give it its correct name here. Looking up from below the Viaduct you really do get a sense of the engineering mastery that has been used to construct it, It reminded me of when I stood underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge... The only difference is the materials, they are both equally breathtaking.



From the Monsal trail we took a left turn and headed down off the Viaduct and along the River Wye through Monsal Dale. The place was deserted today which is the way I prefer it, It can become rather busy here in summer and at weekends. I took a quick picture at the Weir and then we kept going towards Great Shacklow Woods. We climbed up the footpath which weaves its way through the forest then drops back down towards the River.

The sun had begun to break through the clouds as we continued down the valley to Ashford-in-the-Water, this is another place that gets very busy. The ancient bridge here is another great photographic spot, There was a bus load of students doing surveys in the river so I couldn't get in to the spot I wanted for a picture. Not to worry.. We continued along the river and in no time at all we were back in Bakewell.

For more information on the Monsal Trail, visit this page on the Peak District National Park Authorities Website..
http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/cycle/monsaltrail

Peak District - Kinder Scout - Behind the Scenes

I set off from home this morning and headed through the rush hour traffic straight to Edale. It has only been a week since my last walk in the Peak District but I find the more I go.. The more I need to go. I feel thoroughly gripped by the need to explore every corner of the Peak District at the minute.

Peak District - Ladybower Loop - Small Version

We have had another fantastic Peak District wander today and once again we recorded the route using Social Hiking. We originally headed out into the Peak to drop off some Subaru parts that I had managed to get rid, we started off at Hadfield visiting some "League of Gentlemen" filming locations but it inevitably turned into another walking adventure and route plotting afternoon.

I had walked a very similar route to this a few weeks ago, you can view the route in question here on my website or here on the Social Hiking website. As we had limited time today we decided to do a shorter version and start from the same point at Ashopton Viaduct. The first port of call was Whinstone Lee Tor which today due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katia was an extremely windy little climb. The wind persisted all the way along Derwent Edge to Dovestone Tor and Back Tor. We eventually headed down to Derwent Reservoir and it was a welcome relief when descended as my ears were hurting from the constant buffeting by the wind

After the mandatory coffee stop in the cafe at the car park/cycle hire building along Ladybower... we then proceeded along the waterside public footpath to the car at Ashopton Viaduct



Apart from the blustery conditions we were treated to some fantastic weather, it was really nice for the majority of the walk. As you can see from the image below I did have to break out my new waterproof jacket, It rained for the last 20 minutes or so before we reached the car. My new jacket is a Berghaus GORE-TEX® Paclite® Shell Jacket II which I will be doing a full review on very soon.

I would highly recommend this route if you have around 3 to 4 hours to spare in the Peak District, it takes in some really fantastic places and the views from Derwent Edge are absolutely fantastic on a clear day. We will be heading out again in the near future so check back again soon for more Peak District routes recorded with Social Hiking.

Peak District - Ladybower Loop

The weather looked promising, I felt full of energy, my batteries (iPhone & Body) were charged & I had been planning this particular route in my head for months. Nothing too strenuous but it does take in some of the Peak Districts greatest sights. The start/end point for this little wander is at Ashopton Viaduct at Ladybower and the first port of call is Crook Hill, It’s a simple little walk up from the banks of Ladybower via Crook Hill Farm. You then join the path across Bridge-End Pasture which heads via a bridleway to Lockerbrook Heights.

The next part of the walk is fantastic, the route over Rowlee Pasture to the tops above Alport Dale. There are plenty of great wildcamping spots along here so I will definitely be returning with my tent at some point in the not too distant future. You then make your way along the eastern edge of Alport Dale where you come to a great view-point at SK142917 (Lat 53.42086, Long -1.78898), you can look back southward to the Alport Castle Rocks and you also have fantastic view of Kinder Scout and Win Hill in the distance. It was at this point where I decided to take a short break and eat some lunch while enjoying the view.

The next part of the walk takes you north-east and back down to Howden Reservoir. Today the heather was a magnificent shade of purple as far as the eye could see, the Grouse were running around and I hadn’t seen a soul in hours. It felt great to get up in the moors and to be away from “Civilisation”, it still amazes me that even in a small place like the Peak District you can walk for hours and not encounter another human.

The drop down to Howden through the forest is another nice part of this route, I even spotted some deer in the depths of the Pine Trees but sadly didn’t get my camera out in time before they had disappeared from view. Once you are back down to the road it is a short 30minute walk until you reach the slippery stones at Howden Bridge. This seems to be a very popular spot with cyclists who have rented bikes down at Derwent cycle hire shop. It is the very top of the 3 Reservoirs so this is the point where the main cycle track turns back and you can carry on along the opposite side of the water. I however, headed eastwards and up the footpath towards Margery Hill.

The climb out of the valley and up to Margery Hill is a nice and gentle experience, there is one part early on where you climb steeply and it Zig Zags a little but it is reassuringly short. The views once again at this point are fantastic. Northwards you have the vast expanse of moorland towards Howden Moors and Midhope Moors, then southwards along to Derwent Edge which looks fantastic from this point. As you reach the top of the climb you can see down to Sheffield in the east and up towards Leeds in the North East. On a clear day like today you can see for miles.

Margery Hill was my second rest stop where I had some more food and relaxed for a short while, it was rather windy today but the sunshine was beaming down so it was nice to relax for a while at the summit trig/cairn. The next point of call is Featherbed Moss and it was after this point where the route gets a little tricky. There is no distinct route over to Back Tor, the hills drop down between Featherbed Moss and Back Tor so you can choose your own route. As it had already been a long day I choose to head towards the east and try not to loose too much elevation. You can alternatively just got straight for it and head down the steep banks to Abbey Brook and then slog back up the hill. I chose the slightly longer but less thigh thrashing option and went off piste across the moors.

Once at Back Tor the route is very simple, Straight along Derwent Edge to Dovestone Tor via the fantastic rock formations at The Cakes of Bread and then its only a short walk to White Tor before the descent begins. I took the opportunity to take a panoramic shot of LadyBower near Whinstone Lee Tor at 53.38089, -1.70547
as this has got to be one of the best view points in the Peak District in my opinion. If you don’t fancy doing the huge route you could always walk up from Ashopton Viaduct as its only takes around 30minutes.

From Whinestone Lee Tor I headed down hill and passed what must have been a group of around 50 Japanese Tourists heading up to the view-point that I had just left, it must be very popular with tour companies but i’m not overly sure where they had parked their fleet of busses of vehicles. After a nice stroll down the hill through the forest I was back down at the at Ashopton Viaduct. It had been another fantastic day out in the Peak District Hills and this has got to be one of my favourite routes. It has everything one would need from a good walk. Some nice accent (around 1,400m), plenty of fantastic views and more than a few spots where you can experience a feeling of isolation or wilderness. In a few weeks time I will be back to plot out a slightly smaller route which will take in a few of the same spots..... You can now find the route in question here.... Peak District - Ladybower Loop - Small Version

Ashover Walkabout - Social Hiking

Peak District - Stanage Edge

I've just got home from a rather grim, grey, wet but still rather enjoyable walk along Stanage Edge in the Peak District. We had initially planned to wildcamp in the forests near Ladybower & Derwent Dam as we had been promised some nice sunny conditions by the MetOffice website, sadly they didn't materialise at all so we decided to knock it on the head and save it for another time. ]]>

Peak District - Edale Skyline - Ring of Mild Steel :-)

This is another one of those fantastic Peak District routes that I have been wanting to do for some time now, I had seen it on the map and while out walking I could see there was a clear route all the way around. I decided to name it affectionately after the “Ring of Steel” in the Mamores in Scotland.. It is the Peak District’s very own “Ring of Mild Steel”.



I set off this morning from home and headed for Hope, I parked the car and got myself suited, booted and ViewRanger running ready to record another walk on Social Hiking. I set off along the footpath towards LoseHill Farm and then headed up to the top of Lose Hill. The weather today was absolutely perfect, a nice breeze and beautiful sunshine. You can get a fantastic panoramic shot in any direction from Lose Hill as it stands alone in a perfect position at the end of the ridge.

After a short picture break on Lose Hill I made my way along the ridge to Back Tor and then via Hollins Cross to Mam Tor. A coach load of kids were on the summit of Mam Tor today so I didn’t hang around, I kept on going down to the road and then began the climb up to Lord’s Seat. A couple of guys were flying rather large scale model Airplanes/Gliders at the summit so I paused to watch them very briefly as I was amazed at the control they had as the caught the wind rising up Rushup Edge. After walking over Lord’s Seat I swung North West and headed straight for Brown Knoll. The Cotton Grass was blooming today and dancing in the breeze.

Brown Knoll was its typical boggy self today as we have had rain in the last few days which makes path finding on here a pain at times, luckily it’s a pain I’m willing to endure

The next stop Edale Cross where join the Pennine Way for a short time on your way to Kinder Low Summit, I decided to have a lunch break at Pym Chair which is a fantastic looking rock formation. After my short break I kept on going over the boulder field at Crowden Tower. This area is the perfect place for Navigation exercises in bad weather as it can be pretty disorientating at times if you get caught out, We have used the area north of here for map and compass practice many times.

Next you head over Crowden Brook and then along the top to the top of Grindsbrook Clough. I love Grindsbrook Clough in all weather as it is a nice little scramble and becomes very interesting in winter when it turns to ice. The views down in to Edale Valley become really spectacular now and some of the Rock Formations here are well worth a look and a snap with the camera.

After you leave Grindsbrook you make your way over to Crookstone Knoll and it was here I chose to stop once again for a bask in the glorious sunshine. I stayed for a good half an hour just relaxing and enjoying the sound of silence, which was only interrupted every now and then by the Grouse.

The next part of the walk takes you off the eastern flanks of the Kinder Plateau and down to Hope Cross, I took the opertunity to snap some more pictures of the nice little stone sign that keeps you on course and off the farmers track. You then swing South Eastward and are hemmed in by the fences that have been erected to keep us dirty walkers and cyclists from disturbing anything we shouldn’t. the walk from here up the hill with the forest to your left is another high point for me, the wind was whistling in the pine trees and reminded me of my nights of Bushcrafting.



Win Hill was the last summit of the day and it was the first time I had actually come to the very top too, I have skirted around numerous times but was impressed with the viewpoint you get from here. Ladybower was looking rather calm and majestic this evening and the light was perfect as the sun was fading off to the east. I recorded a short video, took some panoramic shots and then made my way off the rocky summit.

The walk down the grassy bank becomes rather steep at times on the route that I took and would be rather slippery in wet weather I can imagine. The road was upon me before I knew it and as I passed underneath the train line I was on the final stretch back to the car. What a fantastic day it had been, what a great route this is and hopefully the Social Hiking Map will look pretty good too. Those were the thoughts in my head as I drove home after what has been another day to remember in the beautiful Peak District.

Download the KML file so you can view the route in Google Earth ]]>

Peak District - Castleton and Kinder Scout - Loop Walk

I've just got back from another great walk in the Peak District, once again I recorded it using ViewRanger and Social Hiking. I'm getting rather addicted to using the Social Hiking website as you may have noticed if you were following our progress along the West Highland Way, while i'm on the subject here is a quick link for you to view our WHW Map for 2011. Right, back to today's walk. I met up with Andy at Castleton at 10:00, we got kitted up and then headed off along the road past Odin Mine and up towards Hollins Cross.

The weather was rather overcast today but I don't mind that as I'd seen the forecast earlier in the week which promised rain. After we arrived at Hollins Cross we headed back down the other side of the hill in to Edale, past the Nag's Head Inn and then up Grindsbrook Clough on to the top of Kinder Scout, we proceeded across the top to the cairn at Kinder Low.

From Kinder Low we headed down to Edale Cross and then over to Brown Knoll, It was rather boggy on this section as we have had rain recently. Great views across to Manchester and also down in to Edale Valley.

After Brown Knoll we headed across to Lord's Seat, down to Mam Tor and then back down the broken road to join the normal route back in to Castelton. We had parked the cars just up from the Devil's Arse Caves so we dropped our bags and headed in to Castleton for a quick drink.

I was using ViewRanger and I had it set to post a Beacon to Social Hiking every 2 minutes. The map at the top of this post has some great detail because of this. if you visit the routes page on the SH website you will be able to view all the details about our elevation and distance covered. here is the link to Castleton and Kinder Scout Loop on Social Hiking. Overall the route was 24km and we had approx 756m of height gain over the 5 hours we were out for.

Peak District - Edale Loop

Lake District - Geocaching - Welcome to Wasdale!

Here is a quick video I've put together while we were out Geocaching in the Lake District. The Geocache I go off to find in the movie is Welcome to Wasdale! http://bit.ly/hXRk2b

Lake District - Geocaching & Wasdale Head Inn

Peak District - Kinder Scout - Wild Camping

Wild Camping in the Peak District is something I haven't done for a while, I suppose as its so close to home its easy enough to cover lots of distance on a day walk and still be home in time for tea. I've walked up Kinder Scout more times than I can remember but decided to go for a wander and see where I ended up. I started by getting the train from Chesterfield via Sheffield to Edale, something i've never done before so enjoyed the novelty of it.

The first part of my journey took me up the never boring Grindsbrook Clough, a nice little scramble in summer or winter. Its here where I decided to have my first stop and have a quick go at some slow exposure water movement style photography, that is my technical term so is undoubtedly wrong.

The image below will give you an idea of what the upper part of Grindsbrook Clough looks like if you haven't been, it was rather misty but you get the general idea. a bit of a boulder field and allot stepper in person than it looks in the picture.

Next I pushed on along westward along the southern edge of the Kinder Plateau, It gets rather boggy at times and I had very low visibilty today. Luckily I always go prepared so had my map, compass & gps, even though I've been here many times before I never risk it as the path goes to nothing at times amidst the bog.

I stopped for lunch at the trig point at Kinder Low and took a few photos, they haven't made it onto the sight as i've probably taken the same view more times than regular viewers of my site could stand. I headed off north along the western edge towards Kinder Downfall, it was rather still there today with just a small amount of water trickling over the edge down towards Kinder Reservoir. I pushed on and it didn't take long before you reach the north western edge of Kinder. It was then that I swung east along the northern edge, an edge that is less wandered by others and have only been along a couple of times myself. The path is non existent at times and your met with knee deep bog but the plus side is you have an edge to follow.

I managed to get as far as I had planned to get today which was the eastern tip of the Kinder Plateau, It had gone dark by the time I had got there and had walked with the head torch for around half an hour before. The long days walk through the bog had taken it out of me whilst carrying my kit, I was certainly ready to pitch up and have a break for a while. I'd had no mobile signal all afternoon but luckily it re-emerged as I got to the edge so could update Lisa of my location.


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