A Walk Around the Alport Mines

The two of us met with Tony Wood and five others plus the farmer at Hollow Farm for a walk starting at The George in Youlgreave taking in the old Lead Mining features in the area.
The most impressive feature was Page's Shaft near Hollow Farm which is a very large oval-shaped deep shaft with a very large flat grill covering it. You could hear and see water down below.
After going as far as the hamlet of Alport, we made our way back to The George via the churchyard opposite where some miners who were killed in the Mawstone Mine Disaster in 1932 are buried. Mawstone Mine is about half a mile from Youlgreave and there was a large explosion there in 1932.

A Busy Day

Starting the morning off, Karen and I met Keith and Pete in the Old Smithy café at Monyash along with Simon Brooks. Karen and I then went the short distance down the road to the Village Hall for a DCA Council Meeting while the other three were heading for Water Icicle Close Cavern to survey the recent progress in the dig.
After the meeting, Karen and I joined the others in Water Icicle Close Cavern. Karen replaced the Carbon Dioxide monitoring log book and also fixed a sign to the gate leading to the new extensions to explain why the gate was there. Since Keith and Pete had improved the connection point beyond Cherty-Two Choke, I was easily able to get through and soon caught up with the three of them as they were finishing the surveying work while Karen took some photos and also caught us up.
After a look at the new stuff, the two of us headed out as by now it was after 16:00 and there was a planned meeting at the OCC Hut around 17:00 to 17:30.
Karen and I got changed and drove to the OCC Hut to find a large crowd there for Jenni Hargreaves's 50th Birthday celebration. We had some of the loads of food laid on and after the meeting to discuss the arrangements for allowing cavers to visit the WICC extensions, the Club Stand at this year's Hidden Earth, whether the Club should have a Training Officer and accommodation for the caving trip to France in September.
After the meeting, the two of us went home to have a shower and feed the cat the returned to the OCC hut to join the Birthday celebrations.

A Walk Around Some Winster Mining Sites

Karen and I joined a PDHMS event led by Tony Wood on a walk around Winster looking at various old Lead Mining sites.

Afterwards we had sandwiches, chips and beer in The Miners Standard.

A Walk on High Tor

Keith and Pete arranged to be in Monyash café for 09:30 but we decided on a short walk as the weather was so good.

 High Tor with Riber Castle above

We left the car in the car park at Artists Corner car park in Matlock Bath and crossed the Derwent using a metal footbridge than mad our way up a sloping path passing a Donkey Sanctuary and making our way higher and higher, passing the gates into High Tor Gardens and the continued to reach the highest point above the huge limestone cliff of High Tor.

 Donkey Sanctuary

Making our way down the other side, we followed a path at a junction leading onto the exposed but reasonably wide Dizzy Ledge. This was sign-posted as a One-Way system as the path is narrow and it is easier if everyone walks it in the same direction. As it turned out, we met no one else on Dizzy Ledge even though there were some people about on the other paths on High Tor. The ledge is straight-forward and passes a few corners and is equipped with a solid iron hand-rail in sections.

 Dizzy Ledge

After this we started following a path leading down towards the valley bottom. On the way we had a look at a couple of limestone features, now fenced off by the council with wooden fences, which seemed to be mainly small faults in the limestone caused by a landslide some time in the distant past. In fact in case there was evidence of “slickenslides” where two faces of rock have slid by each other.

Eventually we reached the throngs and noise of motorbikes and traffic on the main road through Matlock Bath as you would expect on a sunny Sunday in June. After a quick ice cream, we started making our way up a road leading past the vehicular entrance to the Heights of Abraham, then along the footpath leading past the entrance to Devonshire Cavern and then a hot slog up a path leading through the woods above until almost at Amber Farm, we turned a corner on the path until we eventually arrived at an entrance to the Heights of Abraham.

 Matlock Bath

Passing the entrance and then following a path downhill the other side, we arrived at a vehicle track past the drive of a large house. This soon led to a footpath leading back down to Matlock Bath. We found a tea shop and had a snack then walked back to the car park and headed for home leaving the crowds and heat of Matlock Bath behind.

Water Icicle Close Cavern

While we had been away walking the Dales Way, Keith and Pete had another breakthrough in their dig in Water Icicle Close Cavern, so after breakfast in Monyash the two of us dropped down the rope rigged by Keith and Pete earlier and arrived at the choke at the end of Cherty-Two Passage.

Pete had told Karen that this was tightish and I had a look first at the low passage going off to the right. It was low and a bit narrow, solid on the left and the roof but a bit loose on the right. This led downslope for a metre or so to a tiny chamber with a few small rocks then up again over a few boulders and slabs and I could see that didn't appear to tight or awkward. The problem was that I had gone through down the slope legs first and couldn't easily turn around to pass the upward boulders and slabs. I may have got turned around with a bit of a struggle but if any of the stuff on the right was dislodged it could block us all in!

Going through head first would be easier as I could just continue and climb up the other side. The problem then would be if I couldn't continue, getting back feet-first would be bloody difficult and I would be more likely to knock against some loose stuff..

So, I told Karen to continue and have a look at the new stuff and say Hello to the diggers while I waited hoping that the connection would be improved soon and I could also pass through.

Karen managed to turn around fairly easily and popped through to see the new stuff.

She came back a short while later and reported that the continuation was quite different in character to the rest of this part of the cave and was rifty with lots of chert. There was also a pitch about 8 metres deep (currently blocked at the bottom) which had to be traversed around and a largish chamber!

Excellent! So the two of us made our way back to the surface leaving Keith and Pete to get on with their digging.

We got changed and had a revisit to Monyash café for a celebratory piece of chocolate cake!

Later in the evening Keith and Pete turned up reporting good progress before we went in search of a meal (they were planning to stay at the OCC Hut). The Miners Standard was very busy and so was the Bowling Green so it was down to the chip shop in Darley Dale for fish and chips (chip cob for me) then back to the Miners for drinks.

The Dales Way - Burneside to Bowness-on-Windermere

The last day of The Dales Way and it was cool and cloudy at breakfast time which we arranged for the earlier time of 08:00 as we had to be at Bowness-on-Windermere by 16:00 for our lift back to Ilkley.
Retracing our steps to return to the Dales Way after buying sandwiches at a supermarket on the way, we were walking along the bank of the River Kent in pastures.
Soon we were at the smaller, neighbouring village of Bowston and crossing Bowston Bridge to meet the road from Burneside. Which we followed for a short way before following a jitty between houses and passing a nice housing complex next to the river, which used to be a mill.
Again walking next to the river through fields and wooded areas, we skirted past the village of Staveley. Not far after this we crossed a bridge spanning the A591 then leaving rivers behind, we were on open country and following a minor road from New Hall Farm stopping for a quick rest near the road's highest point on a convenient flat grassy area at the side of the road with views across to some of the Lakeland Fells.
After the quick rest we were on our way again following the minor road as far as a Bridleway which we followed to the left until that came to an end and the way continued in a large field via a gate.
The path continued on open ground with lovely views passing a flowing spring whose water sunk underground again after a few feet leading us past some National Park Rangers mending a farm gate next to the farm at Crag House.
Passing the gate we followed a green track to reach a minor road near the curiously-named house “Outrun Nook” and the along the road for a short distance to reach a farm track leading to the farm at Hag End. The Dales Way wends its way between the farm buildings and the owners have taken advantage of passing walkers to set up a tea shop where we stopped to have a snack, especially as we were making good time.

After our snack we continued on our way with more views on the Lakeland Fells opening ahead with a track leading us on. We reached a junction with another track coming in sharply from the left with a signpost at the junction of the two tracks. There was a “Dales Way” disc attached to the post so that it would be seen by someone coming in the opposite direction so it appeared that we should continue straight on, which is what we did. This brought us to a gate at a bend in a metalled track with “Public Footpath” signs pointing back the way we had come nut no mention of the Dales Way. Well I suppose it was obvious to just continue onwards, which is what we did until we arrived on collection of roads in a residential area. Something was wrong!
Checking the compass I realised we were heading North when we should have been heading South! Checking the map, we realised where we had gone wrong – it was at that path junction with the last “Dales Way” marker about 2/3 of a mile back. So far on the Dales Way we had hardly gone wrong at all and now on the last day we made a mistake in navigation.

So, turning around and heading back to the junction, we could see the place where a Dales Way marker had been probably showing that we should have turned left instead of continuing straight on. Now on the correct route, we saw more Dales Way markers which confirmed our suspicions.
Now there was only a short distance to go and following grassy tracks and crossing farm tracks we arrived at the large stone seat similar to the one back at the start of the Dales Way in Ilkley which said “For Those Who Walk the Dales Way” with views down and across the town of Bowness and parts of Lake Windermere. It was 14:20.

After balancing our cameras on rucksacks and taking photos of ourselves sitting on the seat, we dropped down the slope to reach a road between houses leading down into the town centre. By now the sun was out and it was again getting hot and there were throngs of tourists so the first job was to find an ice cream followed by the walk up the road to Windermere and a lift by the “Sherpa Van” people back to Karen's car in Ilkley and home.

The Dales Way - Thwaite Farm, Howgill to Burneside (10 Miles)

 Karen in front of Thwaite Farm Farmhouse

Another sunny day and very warm. After breakfast and packing up our stuff, we left Thwaite Farm at 09:20 and dropped down through a couple of fields to a footbridge across Chapel Beck. This brought us to a path, a bit muddy in places, leading along the River Lune.

 Path by River Lune

Leaving the river bank for a track and a minor road, we arrived at Crook of Lune Bridge, another lovely old bridge, again a bit narrow for modern traffic.

 Crook of Lune Bridge

R

River Lune

After crossing the bridge, we followed the road as it passed beneath an arch of the Lowgill Viaduct, also a remnant of the Ingleton to Tebay line.

 Lowgill Viaduct

This led us to a larger road for a short distance then past a few houses and up a narrow grassy lane filled with wild flowers which led to open fields. Looking back we had views of the Howgills and to one side, the Lakeland peaks, the most prominent being Ill Bell. Also we could hear the noise of traffic on the busy M6 motorway only a half a mile away or so.

 Distant Lakeland Fells

The Howgill Hills

We soon crossed over the M6 on a narrow bridge joining two fields. After more fields and various farms, we reached a footbridge crossing a small beck at Grayrigg Foot Farm. It was just past Noon so we sat on one end of the bridge and ate our packed lunches.
Continuing onwards again on a mixture of tracks and fields we arrived at the small Black Moss Tarn where a family of swans and their cygnets were swimming in a lovely spot. We took advantage of the lovely location to sit and rest in the heat of the sun for half an hour.

 Black Moss Tarn

 Swan Family

As we neared Burnside, our stopping-over place for the night, we saw the town of Kendal in the valley ahead. All that remained was to pass the old mill on the River Sprint, walk through a field waving flies away, then a short section of minor road and again crossing another field to reach the road into Burneside, passing the impressive Buneside Manor and ruins (now a farmhouse) on the way.

 Burneside Manor

Arriving in Burneside at 15:30and after short rest on a bench in the shade to cool down, we bought some ice cream and cold drink in a shop and sat in a small park have them.
Luckily our accommodation for the night, The Jolly Anglers pub, was just around the corner. Although locked up and no answer to the doorbell or knocking, Karen rung them on her mobile form and we were let in.