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.

Helm Crag

The four of us drove the short distance from Ambleside to Grasmere and parked. We set off along a nearby lane which was slippery underfoot with frozen slush until just after a bridge crossing we turned right along another lane which gradually rose uphill.
Reaching a gate into the Green Burn valley, we followed this valley on the side of the burn again gradually rising towards the valley head between Calf Crag and Steel Fell. Near the end of the valley we then started up a steep slope in deepish snow arriving on a broad ridge below Calf Crag where we had a breather and some hot drinks. Hereabouts the snow was mainly knee deep and heavy going and I was hoping that it would not continue at that depth as this would make the going very tiring and slow. Luckily once past this section the snow was a more pleasant ankle or shin deep.

 Karen in Knee-Deep Snow

It was another cold day but also overcast and cloudy, luckily we were below the cloud level and we had views of the hills around including Grasmere, both the town and lake, below. It was a bit windy as well on some sections of the ridge but not too bad.

Approaching Helm Crag

Soon we arrived at one of the large rock formations on Helm Crag at the end of the ridge, which is variously known as The Lion and The Lamb, The Howitzer or even The Old Playing the Organ depending on from what angle you view the rocks from a distance.

 Pete clambering up The Howitzer

 The Howitzer from the side

After clambering around on the rocks with only Pete managing to get to the topmost part, we had a quick lunch break and then followed the ridge on Helm Crag past the second rock formation also know as The Lion and The Lamb, then the snowy and icy path down leading back to where we started in Grasmere.

 The Lion and the Lamb

I wore my Paramo Cascada trousers, Paramo Summit Hoodie and Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Asolo Powermatic 200 GTX boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.

Crinkle Crags from Great Langdale

After breakfast we had to clear the frost from the car windscreens as there had been a sharp frost last night. Things were looking good with clear skies and plenty of snow and no wind as we drove to Great Langdale and parked at the National Trust car park near the Old Dungeon Ghyll. We had to see get Pete's car out of its parking place due to the frozen snow so that there were no problems later. Then there was the searching for change for the £5.80 parking charge until Pete found a change machine near the toilets.

Crinkle Crags

After getting our boots on we set off through a farmyard and along a track. Since the track was hard going due to ice, I stopped to put my crampons on and Karen did the same then we continued onwards with lovely views of the snow covered peaks all around. Pete had back problems and was pretty sure that he would have to turn around early and when that time came, Karen also decided to head back early.

Pete with a New Friend

This left Keith and myself to carry on up the initial steep snow leading towards Crinkle Crags. We intended to reach the ridge above and traverse it for a distance then drop back down in a nearby valley leading back to where we had started out.

Langdale from Crinkle Crags

After a bit of a slog upwards Keith paused for a rest and I continued on plodding uphill. We gradually approached the ridge and the ground steepened and the snow became deeper. There were a set of footprints approaching upwards from our right and we joined them heading uphill. The snow was knee deep know and made the going very slow with sections being very annoying as you thought the snow would support your weight only to suddenly allow your leg to drop down again to be knee deep.

Snow and Sun

We reached a section of thin wind slab as we were on the lee of the ridge and the ground steepened as Keith again went in front to break the trail. After some more knee deep going we headed towards some rocks and clambered past these. The wind slab seemed to be getting thicker now and I was concerned over the conditions which may get worse soon as we approached the top if the ridge. I suggested to Keith we should head back down and maybe try further along but as he pointed out, time was running out due to the time we had taken to get that far and it was now after 2:00 pm leaving only a couple of hours of daylight. I received a text message form Karen saying she had gone with Pete in his car back to Ambleside to go shopping!

Keith Before We Turned Around to Descend

So, we decided to head back down the way we had come. We didn't take too long to get back to the car as we were a lot quicker going downhill. As we were changing out of our boots, a robin landed nearby and was perched on my gaiters which were on the ground a couple of feet away and seemed to be very tame as long as you didn't get too near.
We planned to go to a chip shop after a trip to the pub at around 9:00 pm but found it was closed. So we had a meal in the Indian restaurant a couple of doors away from the B&B.
I wore my Paramo Cascada trousers, Paramo Summit Hoodie and Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Asolo Powermatic 200 GTX boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.