Initially we thought the weather forecast meant a curtailed trip
into Lost John's Cave as yesterday's forecast was for a wet afternoon
but while eating breakfast in Bernies and talking to Jack Pickup he
looked up the weather radar map on his Nexus tablet and we saw that
it was very wet on the west coast of Ireland but where we were in the
Dales would be alright for a while today.
Due to both the original forecast and because it was Sunday an
most didn't want to get away too late, we had a very early (for an
Orpheus trip!) start and had been at Bernies just before 09:00 as
Steve Round had pointed out when the church clock bell was ringing
while ordering breakfast.
Some who were not planning on breakfast in Bernies had headed
straight onwards to Leck Fell and we followed after the usual session
of leaving some cars at Cowan Bridge village car park.
It was milder yesterday as we parked up at the usual car park and
started getting into caving gear. Pete Wagstaff, Charles Bailey, Boyd
Potts and Alan Hatton were with the early party and were going to rig
and descend the cave via what is called Centipede Route and we found
them still getting themselves sorted at the car park.
Karen, Keith, myself and Mark Silo were to rig and descend Dome
Route, then after meeting the other party at Battleaxe Traverse, some
would continue further down the cave at this point while the
remainder would exit the cave as they wanted a shorter trip.
Things went very smoothly and after dropping the various pitches
in Dome Route, I was at the back of our group and as I was leaving
the foot of the final pitch, I followed Karen and Keith and met Boyd
making his way out closely followed by Mark.
Meanwhile I started prusiking up the last pitch of Centipede Route
followed by Karen and Keith and we three made our way back to the
surface de-rigging Centipede Route as we went.
We reached the surface and again got changed and after saying
good-bye to Keith we joined Boyd and Mark in Bernies for a
post-caving chip butty after an excellent trip.
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Deaths Head Hole (Nearly!)
We drove up to the Dales yesterday evening as usual and arrived at
the Yorkshire Speleological Society's hut “The Old Schoolhouse”
to find Pete Wagstaff, Boyd Potts, Alan Hatton and Charles Bailey (a
very experienced caver) on his first away trip with Orpheus Caving
Club. There was also a large party from Manchester University there
and a face I recognised, Alex, who had been with a group of cavers I
had accompanied into the gated extensions in Water Icicle Close
cavern a while ago.
In the morning we had a bit of cereal and then headed for Bernies to meet up with others who were travelling up this morning: Keith, Mark Silo and Dave Phillips.
After breakfast at Bernies, we relocated to the village hall car park at Cowan Bridge and shuffled bodies and cars so that we could travel up to the car park on Leck Fell with as few cars as possible and leave the rest at Cowan Bridge.
Once parked up on Leck Fell, we got our caving gear on making as much use of the vehicles as possible to shelter from the biting cold wind and then walked to the pothole entrance which luckily wasn't too far away.
Deaths Head Hole is a large open pot surrounded by a barbed wire fence held by wooden posts. We spotted a convenient tree overhanging the pot near a stile in the fence which looked up to the job as a belay point and with Mark taking up rigging duties, we tied the rope to a sling around one fence post and to a slightly wobbly piece of rebar about 4 metres outside the fence.
It was very cold but thankfully mostly dry with the odd spot of rain as Mark set off down the pot followed by Keith and the others.
Eventually three of us were left waiting on the surface: myself, Pete and Dave. We were all feeling cold so I let Dave go first followed by Pete. By now my feet were becoming numb despite walking and running around near the pot so I decided to forgo the trip which was relatively short and make my way back to the car to get changed and warm up.
Despite a walk upslope through heather, when I got back to the car, I was still cold!
I quickly got changed out of my caving gear and got my warm Montane Extreme jacket on and sat inside to get warm.
After an hour and a bit I heard voices and it was Karen and Keith returning from their trip. Once they were also changed we were off back to Bernies for chip butties.
It was a pity we had booked Deaths Head Hole, a relatively short trip for today and Lost Johns Cave for tomorrow, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, as they say.
In the morning we had a bit of cereal and then headed for Bernies to meet up with others who were travelling up this morning: Keith, Mark Silo and Dave Phillips.
After breakfast at Bernies, we relocated to the village hall car park at Cowan Bridge and shuffled bodies and cars so that we could travel up to the car park on Leck Fell with as few cars as possible and leave the rest at Cowan Bridge.
Once parked up on Leck Fell, we got our caving gear on making as much use of the vehicles as possible to shelter from the biting cold wind and then walked to the pothole entrance which luckily wasn't too far away.
Deaths Head Hole is a large open pot surrounded by a barbed wire fence held by wooden posts. We spotted a convenient tree overhanging the pot near a stile in the fence which looked up to the job as a belay point and with Mark taking up rigging duties, we tied the rope to a sling around one fence post and to a slightly wobbly piece of rebar about 4 metres outside the fence.
It was very cold but thankfully mostly dry with the odd spot of rain as Mark set off down the pot followed by Keith and the others.
Eventually three of us were left waiting on the surface: myself, Pete and Dave. We were all feeling cold so I let Dave go first followed by Pete. By now my feet were becoming numb despite walking and running around near the pot so I decided to forgo the trip which was relatively short and make my way back to the car to get changed and warm up.
Despite a walk upslope through heather, when I got back to the car, I was still cold!
I quickly got changed out of my caving gear and got my warm Montane Extreme jacket on and sat inside to get warm.
After an hour and a bit I heard voices and it was Karen and Keith returning from their trip. Once they were also changed we were off back to Bernies for chip butties.
It was a pity we had booked Deaths Head Hole, a relatively short trip for today and Lost Johns Cave for tomorrow, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, as they say.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Wolfescote Dale, Biggin Dale and Beresford Dale from Hartington
Leaving Karen to catch up on various meeting minutes and other
paperwork, I drove to Hartington and parked in the village centre
then after getting a snack and bottle of drink in the village shop, I
followed the road out of the village passing the impressive
Hartington Hall youth hostel ten left the road through a farm gate.
After crossing part of a field and passing a squeeze stile to enter a second field I followed a route by a drystone-wall as far as a second stile leading onto a track known as Highfield Lane.
The lane led to a minor road and after a few metres, a gate entering the top of Biggin Dale. The lane had been pleasantly dry with a stony surface, but here the ground was muddy grass until arriving at a wall with a gate by a smaller dale joining Biggin Dale, there was the start of a surface stream resulting from all the recent rainfall.
The stream flowed down the remainder of Biggin Dale covering sections where the usual path is so I had to walk on one side of the dale or the other in order to avoid the water. I have never seen so much water in this dale before!
At one point near an old adit, there is a section of drystone-wall which has been repaired with a further section which has been dismantled in preparation. Recent stormy winds had knocked a large tree down and even though it was next to the section awaiting repair, it actually fell across the newly-repaired part!
Biggin Dale joins Wolfescote Dale and I turned right to follow the path leading alongside the River Dove. Except for the odd muddy section, the path wasn't too wet and the river was around normal winter level.
There is a large grassy section of meadow at the end of Wolfescote Dale which joins Beresford Dale which had large areas of very wet ground and standing water, but this is normal for wet weather.
Continuing along Beresford Dale and some sections of grassy fields brought me back to the starting point at Hartington village.
After crossing part of a field and passing a squeeze stile to enter a second field I followed a route by a drystone-wall as far as a second stile leading onto a track known as Highfield Lane.
The lane led to a minor road and after a few metres, a gate entering the top of Biggin Dale. The lane had been pleasantly dry with a stony surface, but here the ground was muddy grass until arriving at a wall with a gate by a smaller dale joining Biggin Dale, there was the start of a surface stream resulting from all the recent rainfall.
The stream flowed down the remainder of Biggin Dale covering sections where the usual path is so I had to walk on one side of the dale or the other in order to avoid the water. I have never seen so much water in this dale before!
At one point near an old adit, there is a section of drystone-wall which has been repaired with a further section which has been dismantled in preparation. Recent stormy winds had knocked a large tree down and even though it was next to the section awaiting repair, it actually fell across the newly-repaired part!
Biggin Dale joins Wolfescote Dale and I turned right to follow the path leading alongside the River Dove. Except for the odd muddy section, the path wasn't too wet and the river was around normal winter level.
There is a large grassy section of meadow at the end of Wolfescote Dale which joins Beresford Dale which had large areas of very wet ground and standing water, but this is normal for wet weather.
Continuing along Beresford Dale and some sections of grassy fields brought me back to the starting point at Hartington village.
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Three Shires Head from Wildboarclough
We parked by the bridge in Wildboarclough and followed a route we
had walked several time s before. Spring was in the air with displays
of snowdrops, quite a lot of sun, but a very cold wind.
After walking along the quiet minor road northwards below Shutingsloe hill for a kilometre or so we crossed the stream also flowing by the road on a wooden footbridge to enter a field next to the farmhouse of Clough House. The ground was soaking as are most places after the recent wet weather.
After going through a field gate into the farmyard, we followed the route of the public footpath through the farmyard and then across a road and onto the rough track which passed below a small cottage marked Cumberland Cottage on the map.
After passing through a gate with a view of a small waterfall, the track continued around to the right but we followed a narrow path along a small valley and stopped at the old ruin where we had stopped on previous walks to shelter from the cold wind and have a quick hot drink.
The valley continued for a short distance and we climbed a steep section to reach a grassy slope leading upwards to join a track which leads from the Cat and Fiddle pub towards the A54 road. We stopped for a moment while I put on a light fleece jacket before replacing my Montane Sabretooth jacket as the wind was much stronger now and very cold.
We followed the track towards the old quarry at Dane Bower and after crossing the road, made our way along an old vehicle track towards the quarry and a selection of ruined quarry buildings made of drystone-wall. We found a spot in the shelter of a large heather-covered mound which was well-sheltered from the wind but still in the sun during the minute or two it made an appearance after the cloud had built up as we walked.
We sat here and ate lunch then carried on through the remainder of the quarry and along a muddy track through a metal gate which had a small section which opened to allow you to step over the bottom of the main part of the gate and pass the gate while the main section remained closed.
After a few hundred metres, we arrived at another similar gate in the drystone-wall the track was following and we passed through this gate onto the boggy field it contained.
There was a vague path through the field leading down the slope of the field to soon arrive at a rocky track leading from a minor road to the picturesque spot of Panniers Pool at Three Shires Head.
We paused for a minute or two to let a group of five trail bike riders pass down the track and then turn off onto another track leading to Knotbury and then walked down to the old pack-horse bridge at Panniers Pool where we sat for a while finishing off our hot drinks.
As we were sitting there, the trail bikes reappeared following another track from the south also leading to Panniers Pool. The riders parked their motorbikes on the narrow bridge and had a wander around as we continued on our way after crossing the bridge and followed the track skirting around Cut-thorn Hill until it ended at another minor road.
We crossed the minor road and went through a small wooden gate by a farmhouse and then followed a route across a large field of scrubland with short raised wooden platforms at particularly boggy sections until we arrived again at the A54.
Crossing the road, we continued again on the other side of the road and the public right of way passed by an old stone-built barn which was in excellent condition and divided into two sections. Out of curiosity we had a quick look to see if there were any birds nests in the roofspace and indeed we spotted a few swallows' nests. The smaller section had traces of old plaster on on wall with graffiti including the date “1924”.
The path continued onwards towards Shuttingsloe in the distance and dropped downslope passing more wet ground to reach an old wooden gate through which was a very short rocky and wet section of track leading to the small road leading from the A54 back to our starting point in a quarter of a mile.
After walking along the quiet minor road northwards below Shutingsloe hill for a kilometre or so we crossed the stream also flowing by the road on a wooden footbridge to enter a field next to the farmhouse of Clough House. The ground was soaking as are most places after the recent wet weather.
After going through a field gate into the farmyard, we followed the route of the public footpath through the farmyard and then across a road and onto the rough track which passed below a small cottage marked Cumberland Cottage on the map.
After passing through a gate with a view of a small waterfall, the track continued around to the right but we followed a narrow path along a small valley and stopped at the old ruin where we had stopped on previous walks to shelter from the cold wind and have a quick hot drink.
The valley continued for a short distance and we climbed a steep section to reach a grassy slope leading upwards to join a track which leads from the Cat and Fiddle pub towards the A54 road. We stopped for a moment while I put on a light fleece jacket before replacing my Montane Sabretooth jacket as the wind was much stronger now and very cold.
We followed the track towards the old quarry at Dane Bower and after crossing the road, made our way along an old vehicle track towards the quarry and a selection of ruined quarry buildings made of drystone-wall. We found a spot in the shelter of a large heather-covered mound which was well-sheltered from the wind but still in the sun during the minute or two it made an appearance after the cloud had built up as we walked.
We sat here and ate lunch then carried on through the remainder of the quarry and along a muddy track through a metal gate which had a small section which opened to allow you to step over the bottom of the main part of the gate and pass the gate while the main section remained closed.
After a few hundred metres, we arrived at another similar gate in the drystone-wall the track was following and we passed through this gate onto the boggy field it contained.
There was a vague path through the field leading down the slope of the field to soon arrive at a rocky track leading from a minor road to the picturesque spot of Panniers Pool at Three Shires Head.
We paused for a minute or two to let a group of five trail bike riders pass down the track and then turn off onto another track leading to Knotbury and then walked down to the old pack-horse bridge at Panniers Pool where we sat for a while finishing off our hot drinks.
As we were sitting there, the trail bikes reappeared following another track from the south also leading to Panniers Pool. The riders parked their motorbikes on the narrow bridge and had a wander around as we continued on our way after crossing the bridge and followed the track skirting around Cut-thorn Hill until it ended at another minor road.
We crossed the minor road and went through a small wooden gate by a farmhouse and then followed a route across a large field of scrubland with short raised wooden platforms at particularly boggy sections until we arrived again at the A54.
Crossing the road, we continued again on the other side of the road and the public right of way passed by an old stone-built barn which was in excellent condition and divided into two sections. Out of curiosity we had a quick look to see if there were any birds nests in the roofspace and indeed we spotted a few swallows' nests. The smaller section had traces of old plaster on on wall with graffiti including the date “1924”.
The path continued onwards towards Shuttingsloe in the distance and dropped downslope passing more wet ground to reach an old wooden gate through which was a very short rocky and wet section of track leading to the small road leading from the A54 back to our starting point in a quarter of a mile.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
The Great Ridge, Mam Tor to Lose Hill and back
Leaving the car parked in the layby near Windy Knoll, I got
changed into walking boots sheltering from the strong and cold wind
at the rear of the car.
It was a nice day in some respects: sunny and dry, but with a very cold and strong westerly wind as I started making my way up to Mam Nick and then following the stone steps to the top of Mam Tor. I was wearing a Paramo Summit Hoodie and over that, a Paramo Fuera Ascent windproof jacket. But it was so cold to start with, I also put on my Paramo Vista jacket which I had brought in case of heavy rain showers.
It was very windy walking up the steps on the side of Mam Tor, luckily from directly behind me, and even windier on the summit. It was windy enough to make it difficult to stand still but luckily there was more shelter as I dropped down the far side of Mam Tor and far less windy.
The ridge was very busy today with lots of walkers and some mountain bikers (the path along a lot of the route is actually a bridleway).
I stopped for a moment near Hollins Cross where the path crosses from the Hope Valley in Castleton to Grindsbrook Booth in Edale to take off the Vista jacket and put it in my rucksack as I was more than warm enough now without it and then continued along the ridge to soon arrive at the short climb to Back Tor. Again this part of the ridge was exposed to the strong wind and it meant being careful placing feet on the rough stone steps on the way up.
Soon I reach the top of Lose Hill at the far end of the ridge and I dropped down to the northern side at the top to try and find a relatively-sheltered spot to sit and have a piece of flapjack and a coffee.
After this short break, I made my way back along the ridge retracing my previous route in reverse. Luckily the wind seemed to had moderated a bit.
It was a nice day in some respects: sunny and dry, but with a very cold and strong westerly wind as I started making my way up to Mam Nick and then following the stone steps to the top of Mam Tor. I was wearing a Paramo Summit Hoodie and over that, a Paramo Fuera Ascent windproof jacket. But it was so cold to start with, I also put on my Paramo Vista jacket which I had brought in case of heavy rain showers.
It was very windy walking up the steps on the side of Mam Tor, luckily from directly behind me, and even windier on the summit. It was windy enough to make it difficult to stand still but luckily there was more shelter as I dropped down the far side of Mam Tor and far less windy.
The ridge was very busy today with lots of walkers and some mountain bikers (the path along a lot of the route is actually a bridleway).
I stopped for a moment near Hollins Cross where the path crosses from the Hope Valley in Castleton to Grindsbrook Booth in Edale to take off the Vista jacket and put it in my rucksack as I was more than warm enough now without it and then continued along the ridge to soon arrive at the short climb to Back Tor. Again this part of the ridge was exposed to the strong wind and it meant being careful placing feet on the rough stone steps on the way up.
Soon I reach the top of Lose Hill at the far end of the ridge and I dropped down to the northern side at the top to try and find a relatively-sheltered spot to sit and have a piece of flapjack and a coffee.
After this short break, I made my way back along the ridge retracing my previous route in reverse. Luckily the wind seemed to had moderated a bit.
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| Looking along the Ridge towards Lose Hill from Mam Tor |
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| Looking back towards Mam Tor from near the top of Back Tor |
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| Summit of Lose Hill with Win Hill in the distance |
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| Back Tor and Mam Tor from Lose Hill |
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| Memorial plaque near summit of Lose Hill |
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| Look across to Grindslow Knoll and Kinder Scout across Edale valley |
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| Kinder Scout form near top of Back Tor |
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| The ridge between Back Tor and Mam Tor |
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| Rushup Edge from Mam Tor |
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Kinder Scout
I was supposed to be going to North Wales last night for the
annual Orpheus Caving Club weekend at the Oread Mountaineering Club's
hut in Rhyd Ddu near Beddgelert but the weather forecast was
atrocious so I stayed at home instead.
The forecast for the Peak District was not a lot different. According to the Mountain Weather Information website “Frequent to near constant precipitation throughout the day. Snow above about 600m. Rain lower slopes.” and “Walking difficult on higher areas, with considerable buffeting. Severe wind chill. Sunshine unlikely. Visibility appalling or near zero in cloud and snow.” . At least I could go walking here in similar weather without a long drive to begin with!
So, it was another return to Kinder Scout, Karen electing to remain warm and dry indoors.
I arrived at the car park in Edale to find only one other car parked there, not surprising considering the weather.
So, after getting my walking boots on, I set off for a circuit of the southern edge of the plateau by walking up Grindslow Knoll and descending below Ringing Roger. As the wind was south-westerly this meant most of the time it was coming from behind me instead of right in the face, but this didn't prevent me passing several groups of walkers walking in the opposite direction. Perhaps they like the wind in their faces, especially when mixed with large rain drops or stinging hailstones?
Anyway, I only stopped once for a quick drink of coffee while standing on the lee side of a large boulder.
There was quite a lot of patches of snow and mostly slush around after recent snow showers and when I got to the place where I usually cross the northern branch of Grinds Brook I found the water levels were too high to cross there so I had to walk a short way upstream to find a narrow enough crossing point.
It was nice to get back to the sheltered village afterwards and to have a snack in the National Trust's “Penny Pot café” near the car park.
The forecast for the Peak District was not a lot different. According to the Mountain Weather Information website “Frequent to near constant precipitation throughout the day. Snow above about 600m. Rain lower slopes.” and “Walking difficult on higher areas, with considerable buffeting. Severe wind chill. Sunshine unlikely. Visibility appalling or near zero in cloud and snow.” . At least I could go walking here in similar weather without a long drive to begin with!
So, it was another return to Kinder Scout, Karen electing to remain warm and dry indoors.
I arrived at the car park in Edale to find only one other car parked there, not surprising considering the weather.
So, after getting my walking boots on, I set off for a circuit of the southern edge of the plateau by walking up Grindslow Knoll and descending below Ringing Roger. As the wind was south-westerly this meant most of the time it was coming from behind me instead of right in the face, but this didn't prevent me passing several groups of walkers walking in the opposite direction. Perhaps they like the wind in their faces, especially when mixed with large rain drops or stinging hailstones?
Anyway, I only stopped once for a quick drink of coffee while standing on the lee side of a large boulder.
There was quite a lot of patches of snow and mostly slush around after recent snow showers and when I got to the place where I usually cross the northern branch of Grinds Brook I found the water levels were too high to cross there so I had to walk a short way upstream to find a narrow enough crossing point.
It was nice to get back to the sheltered village afterwards and to have a snack in the National Trust's “Penny Pot café” near the car park.
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| Everywhere was very wet |
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| The usual Grinds Brook crossing point was very wet! |
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| A small waterfall blowing upwards |
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Shining Tor
Leaving the car at the car park by Erwood Reservoir in the Goyt
Valley just outside Buxton we walked above Shooter's Clough to the
top of Shining Tor. It was a cold day and once on the tops, a very
strong wind was blowing, so we made use of a field wall to sit behind
for a snack and hot drink.
Continuing onwards, we followed the path paved with large slabs of stone, being pushed around by the gale force wind, up and over Cats Tor and down to the minor road at Pym Chair, again sitting behind a wall to shelter from the wind and finish off our flasks of hot drinks.
Then after following the minor road as far as a gate onto a footpath over Foxlow Edge, again being buffeted by the strong wind, we dropped down the path on the far side of Foxlow Edge to gain the welcome shelter offered by the woods near the remains of Erwood Hall.
Soon we were back at the reservoir and the starting point at the car park.
Continuing onwards, we followed the path paved with large slabs of stone, being pushed around by the gale force wind, up and over Cats Tor and down to the minor road at Pym Chair, again sitting behind a wall to shelter from the wind and finish off our flasks of hot drinks.
Then after following the minor road as far as a gate onto a footpath over Foxlow Edge, again being buffeted by the strong wind, we dropped down the path on the far side of Foxlow Edge to gain the welcome shelter offered by the woods near the remains of Erwood Hall.
Soon we were back at the reservoir and the starting point at the car park.
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