A Walk on Masson Hill from Cromford

Luckily today was also a lovely sunny but cold day. Deciding on a shortish walk, Karen and I drove to Cromford and parked in Water Lane then followed a path leading uphill behind cottages and houses with views opening across the village of Cromford.

 Grass with Hoar Frost

After a while we reached a junction on the path in woods, just behind the large house called “Cromford Court” with an obvious opening described as a “cave” in the guidebook. It was obviously an old lead mine. We got head torches out from our rucksacks, left the rucksacks just inside the entrance and went to explore. It was pleasant going with fairly dry walls and floor and easy walking passageways. Not far in there was a raising in the ceiling, obviously an old stope, with an opening not too far above with daylight pouring in – obviously a shaft.

 Mine behind Cromford Court

Further in we passed a couple of junctions and the main passage reached a dead end after a 45 metres or so. The side passages did the same and were shorter.
Returning back to the surface with our rucksacks, we continued on following the path through the woods. Continuing on the footpath, passing some cottages, we arrived at a rough track. This brought us via some fields to Ember Lane which leads to Bonsall.
We ignored Ember Lane and instead followed the route signposted through the farmyard at Ember Farm to arrive at a green lane after passing through a gate.
We had a quick break, sitting on a grassy bank having some hot drinks from our flasks before continuing on along the green lane. We passed an upward bend in the lane and continued straight ahead along a narrowing path leading into a field before realising we should have followed the been in the green lane.
We managed to get back on track after crossing part of the next door field and followed the lane to reach a fence with a stile having a large stone block. We crossed the stile and then walked through scrub land now at the summit of Masson Hill and soon reached a walled wood with a squeeze stile. We realised that the way on was to remain outside the wall, so we continued ahead with views down into Matlock and across to Riber Castle. In the distance we could see Longstone Edge, some gritstone edges still with remaining snow and Kinder Scout in the far distance, again still with quite a lot of snow.

 Matlock and Riber Castle

Crossing more fields and stiles, we reached old stone buildings near a rake and a narrow concrete path leading down to a narrow walled path called Dobbs Lane. Below we could see the rooftops of Bonsall village.
We turned left along Dobbs Lane and after a short distance, popped out into Bonsall right by the old market cross. There is a small walled enclosure by the cross with a phonebox, a very interesting map of the village on the wall and a wooden bench. The good thing was that it was in the sun and very welcome on such a cold day – so we made use of the bench to have our lunch.

 Market Cross, Bonsall

Opposite is the Kings Head pub but it seems the not very long opened café next door was for sale and no longer open. A pity, since it was a very nice café with good food and reasonable prices.
Once lunch was finished we continued our walk through Bonsall heading along Church Treet past the church until we reached the end of the tarmac and passed through a gate onto a track which followed on edge of the very large Ball Eye Quarry.

 Bonsall Village Map

Following the perimeter of the quarry brought us to an old access road and after a couple of path junctions we arrived back at Chapel Lane in Cromford very near to where we had parked the car.
We changed out of our walking boots, and as we were so close to Scarthin Books bookshop, we decided to have a look around the bookshop, which is always interesting, and have some cake and a drink in the upstairs café.

 T'Owd Man of Bonsall

I wore my Icepeak X-Treme trousers, Paramo Viento jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Contour Navigator boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.

A Walk from Hartington

With Karen from Hartington. Biggin Dale, Wolfescote Dale and Beresford Dale. A repeat of the walk I've done a few times before. The snow is now mostly gone except for a few sheltered spots where some of the snowdrifts remain, such as the lane leading from near Hartington Hall.

 Lane with snowdrift near Hartington Hall

We followed down Biggin Dale with a small stream flowing most of the way due to the recent weather. We passed a man sitting near the junction of Biggin Dale with Wolfescote Dale who had a shotgun and was looking up the steep slope above. While we stopped nearby for lunch, we saw several men spread out across the dale sides, each with a dog or pair of dogs. Some sort of hunt? After lunch we heard the barking of hounds from high up above Wolfescote Dale, so it probably was a hunt.

 Biggin Dale near the junction with Wolfescote Dale

After following Wolfescote Dale, we crossed a wide, waterlogged pasture, crossed a footbridge and started along Beresford Dale. Soon we were back in fields and not very long after back at our starting point in Hartington.

 Footpath sign in Hartington

I wore my Icepeak X-Treme trousers, Paramo Summit Hoodie and Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Contour Navigator boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.

A Walk from Ashford in the Water

With Karen starting from Ashford in the Water, we followed Fennel Lane as far as Vicarage Lane, then along a footpath leading past houses to reach a large field. Crossing this large field we crossed paths with two men out shooting with shotguns and reached a stile in the far corner which brought us onto a lane.
The lane brought us to more pasture, including a dew pond which still had a large amount of ice with the sad remains of a number of toads who obviously had succumbed to the recent cold weather when the dew pond had probably become completely frozen.

  

 Sheepwash Bridge, Ahford in the Water

Leaving the pasture, we arrived at a viewpoint overlooking Monsal Dale, not very far from the pub. After a quick break to make use of a convenient wooden bench and have a quick hot drink from our flasks. We followed onwards along the path.

 Monsal Had and the Wye Valley

We soon reached a path leading down through woodland to reach a weir and the River Wye. Crossing a footbridge, we soon arrived at the A6 and crossed over into White Lodge car park. We followed the path up towards Demon Dell and found a small stream which obviously only flows in wet conditions as its bed was a small trench in the grassy hill side. We found the source of the stream to be a small cave nearby which had a fair amount of water flowing from its entrance, called Demons Dell Cave.
It was a lovely day and we stopped for a bit of lunch sitting on a couple of limestone blocks near the cave.

 Demons Dell Cave

Stream flowing from Demons Dell Cave 

We followed a small gorge called Demon's Dell, luckily being able to avoid the water by stepping on mud, rocks or bits of trees. We left the ravine where there was a small waterfall and followed the path into Deep Dale. Along the Dale we had a quick look at the Hubberdale Mine shaft which has a metal pipe and lid right next to the wall following the bottom of the Dale.

 Ravine in Demons Dell

The end of Deep Dale brought us into more walled fields with stiles and views to the old buildings of Magpie Mine in the distance and eventually the village of Sheldon. From Sheldon we dropped down pasture to arrive back at the A6 and then back into Ashford in the Water after a walk of 8 miles (12.8 km,).
I wore my Icepeak X-Treme trousers, Paramo Summit Hoodie and Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Contour Navigator boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.

A Walk Along Bradford Dale, Youlgreave

We parked in the hamlet of Alport just up the road from Youlgreave and got our walking boots on and set off along a path next to the swollen River Lathkill.

We hadn't gone far when we found the path flooded about a foot deep by the river and no easy way of getting past the flooded section as we were fenced in on the path from the field next to us and we could also see more flooded sections ahead.
So we returned back to the road and set off to follow it for the short distance to Youlgreave.

 Youlgreave Youth Hostel (the old Co-op)

We walked through the village and out the other side, then left the road to follow a section of the Limestone Way which led us down to a bridge across the River Bradford at the bottom of Bradford Dale.
We walked along the riverside path, slippery from melting ice and snow and I spotted a brightly-coloured bird, mainly blue, on a branch on the opposite bank. It turned out to be a kingfisher and I got several photos of it.

We continued on along the river passing the small limestone crag of Rheinstor and after not too far a distance arrived at a bridge next to the road at Alport with the River Lathkill just fitting underneath.

Bradford Dale

We turned the corner and after a few metres, were back where we parked the car.
I wore my Icepeak X-Treme trousers, Paramo Summit Hoodie and Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Contour Navigator boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.

Water Icicle Close Cavern

The plan for today was for Keith and Pete to have a trip in Water Icicle Close Cavern to show Robbie Shown and others the recently discovered Elevator Pitch. Karen and I went to Monyash Cafe in the morning to meet the others and Robbie along with Kev Drakeley plus Tom and Sarah arrived. Tom and Sarah were up from Mendip for Simon Brooks' 50th Birthday “Offal Chomp” in the evening.
Once Keith and Pete had also turned up and had breakfast, we set off for Derby Lane with Keith and Pete coming with me in my Nissan X-Trail as there was still plenty of snow around despite the milder weather and overnight rain. The others were in Robbie's Land Rover so they should have been OK.
Part way along the track near the last farmyard, we found a large snowdrift blocking the way. So, I reversed back to the farmyard, turned around and parked back towards Monyash where there was a widening of the track. Robbie managed to find a spot to park the other side of the farmyard on the track.
Keith and I started to get our caving gear on and Pete decided that as he was still having problems with his back, he wouldn't go caving after all. Karen decided to walk back to Monyash with Pete (where he had left his car) as she didn't fancy getting changed in the cold and snow.
After changing we started walking towards the Cavern and passed Robbie, etc. as they began to get their caving gear on. Soon we were at the shaft lid and Keith tied on the rope and abseiled down and I followed.
I wasn't planning on dropping down Elevator Pitch as it would be crowded today and it was still fairly loose so I left my SRT gear at the foot of the entrance shaft.
The two of us headed up North-West Passage and Keith unlocked the chain around the ladder and I helped him place the ladder in position, after which he climbed up and I followed. We realise the we had left the tackle bag with the rope for the pitch at the bottom of the ladder. D'oh! So Keith climbed bag down to fetch it.
We were soon at Three Way Chamber and Keith wanted to first take a look at the boulder choke at the end of Cherty-Two Passage since none of us had been in the Cavern since Christmas time and some of the boulders may have shifted in the meantime.
After a quick look, we found that there was no change since the last visit, so we returned to Three-Way Chamber and made our way to the top of Elevator Pitch. Keith rigged the pitch and abseiled down, and I heard the others arriving.
They all had a look at the choke at the end of this passage: Urchin Passage. After returning, Robbie abseiled down and joined Keith followed by Kev and Tom while Sarah waited until they returned.
Keith and Robbie had a look at the rift in the chamber below and decided it was a digging possibility.
Once they had all returned, we made our way back to the surface; Keith and I pausing on the way to re-fix the scaffold to help prevent entry and removing and locking up the ladder.
We all changed back out of caving gear and headed back to Monyash for a brew of teas at the cafe. In the meantime I received a text message from Karen say that she and Pete were just leaving Bakewell after visiting various shops!

A Walk Around Winster

Karen was still recovering from her cold and we both slept in very late until 10:00 in the morning. There was still plenty of snow around but the roads seemed OK, and although the sky was overcast, the weather forecast was for light snow showers but with strong winds.
I planned on walking from near the top of Winnats Pass down into Castleton and then back up Cave Dale but changed my plans when arriving at my planned starting point. Due to the wind, snow was drifting in places across roads and I had found a few tricky bits on the way when driving along the A623 near Tideswell with drifted snow on the road. Luckily it was shallow and not too bad. I turned off by the Wanted Inn at Sparrowpit leading towards Winnats Pass and passing the P8 lay-by I saw it was covered in deep snow as was the farm track leading to Peakshill Farm which is the usual parking place for Giants Hole.

A523 at Sparrowpit

Near Oxlow Farm there was quite a bit of drifted snow, luckily stall passable with care (I was driving a 4x4 so not too bad) and arriving at the junction with Winnats Pass, I saw some people parked making adjustments to their snowboards.

Mam Tor from the road near Oxlow Farm

 I dropped down the Pass as far as Winnats Head Farms and saw the road ahead was very slushy. The problem would be that the road narrows here and gets steeper and if I was t meet someone else coming up, I may not be able to stop in time. Plus if there were any more snow showers, I may have difficulty getting home again.
So, I turned around and retraced my route back to the A6 at Sparrowpit and then turned towards Buxton hoping the A515 was clearer than the A623. No problems at all getting to Buxton nor through Buxton but there were snowdrifts again across the road on reaching Brierlow Bar. Not far past this there were “Road Closed” signs but plenty of vehicle tracks passing by so I chanced going onwards rather than return all the way back the way I had come.
Again there snowdrifts across the road, again not deep, but now lasting several hundred yards at a time. The worst section was near the Bull I' Th' Thorn pub which was quite long and also the deepest snowdrift yet.

A515 near Parsey Hay

Past this section there were more long sections of the A515 with snowdrifts bur luckily no deeper. The track leading to the Orpheus Caving Club was covered in deep snow with evidence of a vehicle having driven along it some time before as the tracks weren't very fresh.
There was a corresponding “Road Closed” sign pointing in the opposite direction near the Newhaven junction and I passed this and the headed back towards Winster. The road linking the A5012 with the B5056 was covered in snow but not too bad.
I parked at home and had a quick lunch. After this I decided I may as well just walk locally around the village. So I followed along Main Street, turned up East Bank by the Market Hall then along the Public Footpath which leads between a couple of houses into the fields at the rear. Here there quite a few adults as well as children taking advantage of the long sloping field and were out sledging.
I followed onwards along the footpath then after passing through a stile, turned up-slope to the track which forms part of the Limestone Way.
I followed this track to the road by Mosey Mere and crossed the road by the Winster Ore House to the minor road I had driven along earlier. Turning off the minor road I followed the continuation of the Limestone Way along the Portway, crossing the Elton Road and down Dudwood Lane. Part way along the Lane, I followed a Public Footpath sign leading across a few fields to arrive at the B5056 at a stile. Following the B5056 for a short distance to the crossroads leading to Elton and Winster, I turned left heading back towards Winster then through the churchyard onto the bottom of West Bank, then into Main Street and home.

A Walk to Stanton Moor and Back

The cold and snowy weather continues. There was another light fall of snow overnight and although the forecast for today was for cold but dry weather, I decide to not risk driving due to the road conditions.
Karen was feeling under the weather due to having a cold – I have had one all week myself – and decide to stay at home.
I had a short walk from home across to Stanton Moor and walked along the edge overlooking Matlock and Darley Dale until I reached the Reform Tower.
From here I headed towards Nine Ladies Stone Circle where a group of walkers were having a break, then onwards to pass the trig. Point and then the entrance near the Cork Stone.
Following the road past Birchover Quarry, I dropped down the path leading to Birchover and passed the Druid Inn and then down a path towards Rocking Stone Farm.
Then along the valley edge leading across some fields until I arrived at the narrow lane leading from Birchover to Winster. Following the lane for some distance downhill, I passed through a stile back into more fields until I arrived near the Winster village pond passing a family out sledging and then up the path leading past the Village Shop back onto Main Street.
I only had to walk a short distance along Main Street and was back home.

Winster in the Distance

 

Icicles on a House in Main Street, Winster

 

A Field Wall and Snowdrift

Main Street, Winster

A Walk Around Winster

The last day of the break from work for Christmas and the New Year and there was quite a bit of snowfall overnight, the sun was out and there was no wind. Karen wanted to have a rest day and I couldn't stay indoors all day with the conditions as they were, so I went for a short walk around Winster.
I wore Ice Peak Extreme trousers, Paramo Velez smock. Also Polar Buff as a hat and Scarpa Fitzroy boots.

Winster Market Hall

 

 

 

 

 

Winster Church

Kinder Scout in the Snow

Karen and I want for a walk on Kinder Scout as the weather forecast was for a cold, clear day with a few snow showers. There had been some light snowfall overnight so we drove via Hathersage and parked in the Edale car park.

 View down to Edale Village

We ascended via Ringing Roger as the snow started and we stopped in the shelter of some rocks to have a snack and some hot chocolate. The snow was fairly deep and a strong wind was blowing snow.

 Snowy Ringing Roger

Once the break was over we made our way to the path which follows the edge of the plateau above Edale and found the going far from easy with some knee-deep snow and the wind blowing snow in our faces.

 Karen with part of Ringing Roger behind

Continuing onwards, we skirted around the top the Grindsbrook valley and stopped in a sheltered spot to finish our drinks and have a sandwich.

 Karen following the snowy path

Next we passed the route leading down Grindsbrook valley to follow the path leading along Grindslow Knoll. Part way along the snow had banked out the easy path and rather than risk sliding down the very steep slope below we followed the short distance up to the summit of Grindslow Knoll and then down the path on the other side leading downwards back to Edale and back to the car park,
I wore Paramo Cascada trousers, Trek Mates Merino top Paramo, Paramo Velez smock. Also Polar Buff as a neck warmer/face mask, Lowe Mountain Cap, Asolo Powermatic 200 GTX boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.

New Years Day Walk from Bakewell

Pete and Keith planned to return to Water Icicle Close Cavern while Karen and I joined a group including Mat and Nikki for a walk led by Paul Chandler from Bakewell to Ashford-in-the-Water and back via a circular route.
I wore Ice Peak Extreme trousers, Paramo Taiga jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Asolo Powermatic 200 GTX boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.