Errwood Hall

ERRWOOD HALL CAR PARK, ERRWOOD HALL, SHOOTER’S CLOUGH, CAT AND FIDDLE, DERBYSHIRE BRIDGE,  BURBAGE EDGE, WHITESTONEMOOR BROOK,  GOYTSCLOUGH QUARRY

Distance: Eleven miles. Total ascent/descent: 1896 ft.

Diificulty: Moderate to hard

Weather: Dry at first, very wet later, very warm.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Jock Rooney

B walkers: Geoff Spurrell, Mike Walton

Non-walking drinkers: Tony Job, John Eckersley, Frank Dudley.

Apologies:  Laurie Fairman (family commitments), Ken Sparrow (Butlin’s) George Dearsley (working) George Waites (holiday).

Leader: Rooney. Drivers: Beal, Davison, Rooney. Diarist: Beal.

Starting Point: Errwood Hall car park, Goyt Valley.

Starting time: 1050. Finishing time 1400.

Lesser souls would have been put off from even venturing out by the weather forecasts for the day, which included flood warnings and worse, but at the top of the Errwood reservoir at the scheduled rendezvous time all was balmy, although this was to drastically change.

Your temporary diarist had a moment of alarm early on when sitting in his car, wondering if he was in the right car park, he saw Jock and Tips career past at a rate of knots in to what is the long one-way system of the Goyt Valley- the only way out of which is a trip into Buxton and back.

Jock thankfully realised the error of his ways and, totally illegally, drove back down the valley to where he was supposed to be.

Anyone watching ITV drama The Accused the night before would have recognized the spot as that where a gruff, craggy Yorkshire transvestite played by Sean Bean decided whether to help his lover dispose of a body.

Anyway, our small party comprising your diarist, Jock and gruff, craggy Yorkshireman Colin (I will resist any cheap Sean Bean jokes here) left the car park in dry, but muggy conditions, and headed up the path towards Errwood Hall, where we met two women who appeared to be part of a party who had erected three tents on the site of this former country pile. Colin complimented them on their improvement efforts.

We followed the stream through the rhododendrons to a bridge, where instead of bearing right towards Pym Chair, we took a path taking us towards Shooter’s Brook and a more direct route to the ridge leading towards the Cat and Fiddle.

We dropped down to a rocky ford over the Clough, bore left and after a short climb came out on the ridge, with quite splendid views all round.

At the point where the path to Shining Tor enters from the west we took shelter behind the wall from the increasingly blustery winds for our 11 o’ clock port and pies stop. Sadly no port and it was only 1040.

With the wind increasing in intensity we ploughed on towards the Cat and Fiddle, arriving at the unfeasibly early time of 1115.

The pub – often the scene of heartbreak in the past, particularly on one occasion where we slogged there in the driving rain only to find it shut due to “unforeseen circumstances” – was open and bustling.

But – and this might be a first – we decided it was far too early in the day for alcohol and we pressed on down the minor road towards Derbyshire Bridge. Had it been an hour later and in the weather that was to descend it could have been a different story.

At the car park and picnic spot at Derbyshire Bridge we headed west along what was the old Buxton road, now a rutted, stony track up the moor. Jock helpfully explained that these routes were fine when the traffic was men and pack horses, but that as more refined carriages came in to fashion lesser inclines were needed.

Hence men like Thomas Telford were called on to design the new routes following the contours where today’s roads now are (well, it sounded quite logical to me anyway).

We were only a short distance up the track when the first spots of rain began to fall, bang on time with the forecast.

Initially shunning waterproofs because of the muggy conditions, the rain got steadily heavier and we were forced to dig out the Goretexs.

As the track crested the hill we bore left on a faint path towards the boundary wall, where we slanted left again to eventually reach the trig point on Burbage Edge – which your diarist for one had certainly never visited – and which has the tidy distinction of being at the round height of 500 metres.

Jock claimed his house could be seen from here, but the worsening rain and cloud was making this increasingly improbable.

We followed the ridge, with the expanse of Goyt’s Moss on our left, until it reached a rather steep descent to the headwaters of Whitestonemoor Brook.

This brought us to the sealed northern portal that carries the highest point of the defunct Cromford and High Peak Railway – more accurately a tramway – that was completed in 1831 to link the East Midlands with Manchester, via the Peak Forest canal at Whaley Bridge.

At 33 miles long, built to carry minerals and other goods, it was one of the most ambitious projects of the time, and covered higher ground than had been attempted anywhere.

We followed the disused track for only a short distance before taking a path to the left signed Goytsclough Quarry and followed the line of Whitestonemoor Brook towards the top of the Errwood reservoir.

Skirting an arm at the top of the reservoir we bore left over Wild Moor. By now the rain was persisent and we decided to forego lunch and press on.

As we dropped down towards Goyt’s Clough the path wound its way through head-high bracken which by now was dripping wet, as were we.

We crossed the River Goyt by the stone bridge and made the short climb to the road just above the Goytsclough Quarry car park, before strolling the mile or so down the road to Errwood Hall car park, arriving exactly at 2 pm – a feat which Jock claimed had been due to meticulous forward planning.

We drove to the Cock Inn at Whaley to enjoy the excellent Unicorn bitter at £2.70 a pint and meet the non-walking drinkers and B-walkers Geoff and Wally, who had walked from Whaley over Ladder Hill to Chapel, returning by bus.

We thought we had had a wet time, but while we were in the pub the heavens really opened in a stupendous downpour which made us think perhaps we had got away with it rather lightly after all.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30 am at the car park outside Five Ways Travel, and finish at the Sir Wilfred Wood VC pub in Hazel Grove around 2.30, where Laurie has declared his intention to buy beer to celebrate his 77^th birthday.

There will be a refreshment stop at the Ring o’ Bells in Marple around 12.30.

Sadly your temporary diarist offers apologies in advance as he’s walking the Sandstone Trail.