Paul Lydon: A Walk Up Shining Tor

A wet start today but at least the forecast was for an improvement later with dry but colder conditions as Karen and I started with breakfast in the café in Monyash. While we were there several walkers and back-packers arrived looking very wet.

We left Monyash in light rain after there had been a heavy shower while we were eating breakfast and drove through Buxton and onwards to the Goyt Valley, parking at the car park near Errwood Reservoir.

As we were getting out of the car, the rain stopped! What perfect timing!

We got our boots on and walked a gradually-rising path on slippery grass near and to the east of Shooters Clough and after passing through a stile next to a gate, continued up a broad grassy ridge next to a drystone wall which was providing excellent shelter from the strong and cold wind.

Although we were out of the mist and cloud, it looked like the cloud base wasn't much higher and we would soon loose the views across to the reservoir and to the open moorland to the east but after we reached a junction with another drystone wall heading towards Shining Tor to the north-west, the cloud base began to rise.

After following the path to the summit of Shining Tor, we found another couple just leaving after they had stopped at the two wooden benches built at the corner of two walls which provided perfect shelter from the wind, so we took advantage of the seat and the shelter to have a short break and a bit of hot drink from our flasks.

As we were sitting there, the cloud above began to break up with bits of blue sky breaking through. I popped through a small gate in the wall next to the trig point just the other side of the wall to have a look at the view to the west and as I approached a small crag, I found the wind was even stronger there as it was diverted upwards by the rocky crag.

I returned back the few yards to the gate and then we headed off to the north towards Cats Tor. Again we had quite a bit of shelter from the wall we were following near and were grateful for the large stone slabs which formed a drier path through the damp and boggy ground,

We rose up and over the broad summit of Cats Tor ad dropped down the opposite side continuing onwards until we arrived at Pym Chair where the wall meets a wooden fence and minor road with views to Windgather Rocks in the near distance to the north and the Cheshire Plain to the west.

We made use of a hollow in the corner of the wall and fence where, although we were sheltered from the strong cold wind, we could still hear and feel it blowing through gaps between the rocks in the wall. In the bottom of this shallow dip grew a small clump of snowdrops.

After a short break and again, another hot drink, we set off again to follow the minor road dropping down to the south east until we reached a stile through the wooden fence on the south side of the road.

The stile led to a path crossing Foxlow Edge and after reaching the highest point, we dropped down the other side soon arriving at a path dropping down through the woods to arrive at Shooters Clough Bridge crossing a stream which flows into the very full Errwood Reservoir.

From here, we walked a few hundred metres back to the car park.