Little Hayfield

August 26, 2015.

LITTLE HAYFIELD, PARK HALL, MIDDLE MOOR, THE KNOT, MILL HILL, HOLLINWORTH HEAD FARM, KNARRS FARM, MATLEY MOOR, LITTLE MILL INN AT ROWARTH, HEXT FARM, LOWER CLIFFE FARM, CLOUGH MILL APARTMENTS AND THE LANTERN PIKE INN AT LITTLE HAYFIELD

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Drizzle for first hour, then blue skies and sunshine.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman, Matt Fairman, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Jonathan Hart, John Jones, Jock Rooney with Tips, and George Whaites.

B walkers: Terry Jowett and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Colin Davison (motor-cycling in Spain), George Dearsley (in Turkey) and Tony Job (Poynton Show duties).

Leader: Lawrie Fairman. Diarist: Alan Hart.

Starting point: Outside Lantern Pike Inn, Little Hayfield.

Starting time: 9.39am. Finishing time: 2.16pm.

What a difference a free pint can make to the Wednesday Wanderers’ attendance figures ! Throw in a free meal and there’s no stopping ‘em. What a cruel irony that two of the apologists hail from Yorkshire and were unable to join the merry band of freeloaders celebrating Lawrie’s 80th birthday.

There was a welcome return for Mickey, who braved a lumbar injury to join the party, and a second appearance by my son Jonny. He last came out when we were celebrating my birthday. The poor ladnow thinks there are free drinks and meals on every outing.

We were also pleased to see Lawrie’s son Matt playing truant from work to join us on this momentous occasion. On average Lawrie walks about 10 miles and drinks two pints, so as he enters his ninth decade he is still managing an impressive 40 miles per gallon !

Spare a thought for Tips, who is used to overseeing a smaller flock of humans, but still managed to cover enough ground to keep us on the right route. Finally, thanks to Lawrie for his generosity and to The Lantern Pike’s award-winning chef Chris Caldwell for his delicious chilli, rice and chips. In a world exclusive scoop, this diary is proud to announce that The Lantern Pike has just learned it has been awarded CAMRA’s “Pub of the Season” accolade.

From the pub entrance we turned right towards Hayfield, soon crossing the road and turning left into Park Hall Wood (1min). The track took us to the gate by which we entered Middle Moor (7mins) and turned left. As steady drizzle began to fall we began a steady trudge uphill, passing The Knot on our left and a series of grouse butts.

After reaching the cairn to mark the top of Mill Hill at 1,785 feet (63mins), and posing for a photo opportunity, we turned left along stone flags heading gently downhill. To the right of the path was the wreckage of an aircraft, where we paused for Pietime (71mins).

The plane was a brand new B24 Liberator which was on its delivery flight to Burtonwood, the US Air Base near Warrington, when it crashed on October 11, 1944. The plane had succeeded in taking off at its third attempt and was flying through cloud when navigator Sgt Najvar noticed it was close to the ground. He advised the pilot to climb and Flt Lt Haopt nodded as if he understood, but he did not change altitude and flew into the hillside. Amazingly the two airmen walked away from the crash.

Continuing our journey down the flagstones, we reached the main road (109mins), crossed it and headed uphill along a minor road signposted Charlesworth. We ignored the first footpath on our left and turned left at Knarrs Farm (114mins). The path took us to a farm where we turned right and crossed a stone step stile (121mins).

This was the first stile – a sharp contrast with last week when we crossed 16 stiles in the first hour !

After crossing the stile we turned left and crossed another stone step stile (124mins), went over a wooden stile and through a metal gate to reach a road. Here we turned left (128mins), passing King Clough Head Farm on our right (137mins). We went through a gate which led to a muddy path and crossed a stream by stepping stones.

We crossed a wooden stile(144mins) and forded a shallow stream before crossing a wooden stile on our left (150mins) which was marked with a yellow arrow. Our group emerged by a red phone box on a road where we turned left for a few yards before taking a footpath on the right (155mins). This led us downhill to emerge outside the Little Mill Inn at Rowarth (157mins).

Here the pints of Banks’ bitter at £2-80 were accompanied by three bowls of excellent chips generously provided once again by Mark, which were consumed in bright sunshine on the benches outside the pub. (I hope you are reading this, Colin).

For the return journey, we turned right from outside the pub along a lane which led to a stony track leading steeply uphill. This brought us to a road (192mins) where we turned left. We passed Hext Farm on our left, Hegginbottom Farm on our right and Lower Cliffe Farm on our right (200mins) before forking left (202mins).

This took us past Clough Mill apartments on our left (214mins) and a final climb back to our cars outside the Lantern Pike Inn (218mins). The Timothy Taylor Landlord was, as usual, in excellent form at £3-50 a pint. With the addition of two B team members to the company in the form of Geoff and Terry, the round must have taken a sizeable chunk out of Lawrie’s meagre pension. We wish him many happy returns.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30am from Brabyns Park car park at Marple Bridge. It is anticipated we will reach the Ring O’ Bells at Marple around 12.15pm for a bracer before returning to Marple Bridge for drinks in the Royal Scot about 2.15pm.

Happy wandering !

Sparrowpit

August 19, 2015.

SPARROWPIT, SLACKSDALE FARM, DOVEHOLES AND BEELOW QUARRY, THE BULL RING AT DOVEHOLES, THE QUARRYMAN AT DOVEHOLES, THE WANTED INN AT SPARROWPIT

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Bright and Sunny becoming Cloudy Later.

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart and George Whaites.

Apologies:  Peter Beal (walking in Lake District), Steve Courtney (in France), George Dearsley (in Turkey) Mark Gibby (dog-sitting in Essex).

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The Wanted Inn at Sparrowpit, Derbsyhire.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2pm.

The weather gods smiled down on us again as we enjoyed blue skies and sunshine for the first three hours of this walk. Only towards the end did the skies cloud over and we were safely back inside the pub before rain began to fall.

Prior to this we had taken in some spectacular scenery with wild flowers and weeds providing a kaleidoscope of colour – purple thistle, yellow hogweed, buttercups and dandelions, pink clover, white ladies’ lace and red berries on the rowan trees.

There were also plenty of nettles to keep one of our group who was wearing shorts on his toes.

We also saw buzzards, swallows and swifts giving aeronautical displays, and spotted a weasel scurrying across our path with a baby rabbit in its mouth.

It may be that we have also broken the world record for the number of stiles crossed in the first hour. I counted 16 and we are waiting to hear back from Norris McWhirter.

From the car park we crossed the front of the pub and turned right downhill before going right again across the gravel car park of Sparrowpit Village Hall. We went through a metal gate and crossed a stone step stile (3mins) – the first of many !

Heading left diagonally across a field we ignored a stone step stile on our left and went through a metal gate before crossing left over an electrified fence and aiming for a wood. We crossed a stone step stile and went through a wooden gate into the trees, passing shafts where lead had been mined two or three centuries ago.

We followed a footpath by the side of the rakes and shafts, emerging briefly on the left of the wood at one stage before re-entering it and exiting by a wooden stile on the right (22mins). This brought us into a second wood, which we exited by a stone step stile to reach a road (27mins).

Turning right, we passed a farm building on our right dated 1781 (33mins) and after passing Slacksdale Farm on our left we turned right over a stone step stile marked by a wooden public footpath sign (35mins). We headed diagonally left to a stone step stile (37) which brought us into another field.

We went through two wooden gates and over three stone step stiles (46mins) in quick succession before crossing a wooden stile with a drystone wall on our right (48mins). Two more stone step stiles led us to a road (50mins) where we turned right, then left over a stone step stile by the side of a wooden public footpath sign.

Our group crossed another stone step stile, turned right and then immediately left over a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (56mins). We crossed a wooden stile and went through a metal gate (58mins). We went through a second metal gate (61mins and then a wooden one (64mins) before crossing a stone step stile (65mins).

Passing to the right of a copse of trees, we then went left over a wooden stile (70mins) and climbed uphill. On the brow we crossed a stone step stile (75mins) and paused for pies and cream sherry, courtesy of our absent friend, Mickey Barrett.  (If anyone finds himself in Jerez, he could do worse than buy a bottle of Osborne’s Santa Maria cream sherry).

Continuing we headed diagonally left and went through a metal gate to reach Doveholes Quarry in front of us (80mins). We turned right and could see in the distance Mam Tor, South Head and Chinley Churn as buzzards rode the thermals above the quarry.

We reached Beelow Quarry, which appears to have joined Doveholes Quarry and turned right (98mins). We went left through a metal gate (100mins) and saw a weasel scurrying across our path with a baby rabbit in its mouth. He dropped the animal on seeing us and disappeared, no doubt intending to return for his victim later.

We turned left at a wooden stile marked with a white arrow (106mins) and crossed two wooden stiles in quick succession (108mins) hastily followed by a stone step stile (109mins). Our group went straight ahead where the paths divided (113mins) and crossed a wooden stile (120mins). We went immediately over a second wooden stile and swung left to begin a steep climb.

This brought us out ultimately at The Bull Ring (122mins), a Neolithic Henge Monument, which historians speculate was used in the Bronze Age for ceremonial services. There is a burial ground nearby. We continued past the circular mound, passing a children’s playground and reaching the A6 at Doveholes (129mins).

Our party crossed the road, turned right at traffic lights and reached The Quarryman (130mins) with commendable precision at 12 noon precisely. This pub used to be called The Wheatsheaf. It closed down about 12 months ago and re-opened in May after a makeover. The York Blonde and the Timothy Taylor Landlord were both enjoyed, although Tom predictably pronounced that the latter was superior. They cost £3-20 a pint.

Resuming our journey we crossed into Dale Road by the side of the Queens Arms and turned left at a green public footpath sign (135mins). We crossed three wooden stiles as we went through a series of fields (149mins) and turned left at a cottage (150mins) to head left down a lane.

We went right through a cattle pen and up a gravel track (153mins) where we paused for lunch. Resuming we went diagonally left through a field and through an open gate (157mins). We turned right to cross a stone step stile and through a metal gate marked with a yellow arrow (159mins).

Our route took us through a farmyard and straight on through a metal gate (162mins). We entered another farmyard, passing buildings on our left (167mins) to leave it via another metal gate (170mins).

We went straight on at another metal gate (176mins) and through two more metal gates to reach the next farmyard, where we followed a yellow arrow, kept left and exited by a metal gate (180mins). We squeezed through a gap stile (181mins), walked through an open gate (183mins), crossed a stone step stile (185mins) and headed left towards some derelict buildings.

Beyond them was the main road (186mins), where we turned left to reach The Wanted Inn at Sparrowpit (188mins). Once again, with military precision, we had reached our final destination at the appointed hour of 2pm. The Farmers Blonde and Marstons’ Pedigree were both at £3-20.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.35am from The Lantern Pike Inn at Little Hayfield, calling at The Lamb Inn at Chinley around 12.30pm before returning to The Lantern Pike at 2pm. There we shallcelebrate the 80th birthday of our friend and leader, Lawrie.

Happy wandering !

Bradwell

12 August 2015

Bradwell, Outlands Head, Green Dale, Dirtlow Rake, Cave Dale, Cow Low, Castleton, Pin Dale, Mich Low, Bradwell.

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Sunshine

Walkers: Steve Courtney, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Laurie Fairman, Peter Glover, Alan Hart, John Jones, Jock Rooney, Tips and George Whaites.

B walkers: none

Apology: Mickey Barrett (W**king)

Leader: Davison

Diarist: Davison

Start point: Roadside near Shoulder of Mutton Inn, Bradwell

Starting time: 9.50am.

Finishing time: 2.20pm.

We welcomed a new Wanderer today. Steve Courtney introduced us to his friend and now ours, Peter Glover. Peter reduces the average age of the Wednesday Wanderers substantially.

Despite Mr Cunliffe's usual disorientation, our party assembled roughly on time. We set off uphill and immediately turned sharply right for fifty yards to find a footpath on our left up steps. This leads steeply between gardens. At the fork we bore left between houses. We crossed a road. The path continued with gardens giving way to woods.

At the next road a dogleg right and left was necessary to continue along the path which brought us to the quarry at Outland's Head. Crossing the next road, the path then skirts the South side of the quarry. The gradient lessens and the view opens broadly to display the White Peak at it's best. Unfortunately, the fine August weather had also induced luxuriant growths of nettles and brambles. The leader's popularity fell.

Eventually a stile gave access to a field. We followed the Southern edge to a further stile onto the track to Hartlemoor farm. Right and then left at the road brought us to the T- junction opposite the gated entrance to Moss Rake. We turned right and followed the road for 300 yards to a crossroads on the far side of which is a walk through stile into the field on the left.

We crossed this field diagonally and in doing so passed over the course of the old Roman road (Batham Gate). Passing through a gate in the wall we followed a well defined path across Bradwell Moor and three stiles to Dirtlow Rake. Here we met the track that runs to Eldon Hill quarry at Hollandtwine Mine.

This latter is now capped and sadly impenetrable. But in your diarists youth the 400ft shaft was accessible to amateur cavers who descended it by hand winch. Those were the days before single rope technique or the compensation culture.

We turned right along Dirtlow Rake for a quarter of a mile to a point just before the track meets a tarmac road. Here a permissive path on the left took us over the ridge where pietime was called a little belatedly at 11.10am.

We descended to Cave Dale which we crossed and climbed the far bank to a track with a gate on our right into the field between Cow Low and Castleton. A well walked path follows the ridge Eastwards towards Peveral Castle. At the wall we turned left and descended steeply to the track into Castleton. We turned right and followed this to the stream. Turning left on the far side, we eventually reached the main road and our first goal of the Bull's Head Inn.

Yet again the bitter, at £3.80 per pint, was still more expensive than that at the Lantern Pike Inn. This we enjoyed in the Beer Garden (back yard).

Refreshed we crossed the road in front of the pub and followed the road opposite to the square and turned left towards Pindale. At the Y-junction we stayed left for a quarter of a mile to reach our second goal, a  concrete block which is the capping of a ginged mine shaft near Pindale farm. Whilst the rest of our band ate lunch, John Jones, ever ready with his boy scout torch, pronounced the shaft deeper than 80ft which was the extent of his beam.

Setting off again, the road turned sharply left but we continued straight ahead along the bridle path. We followed this for perhaps half a mile with the huge expanse of the cement works to our left surprisingly clean of dust or debris but this time accompanied with the sound of huge electric motors.

Eventually we rose up to Mich Low where the bridle path met a metalled track. Here we turned left and the track brought us to our original rendezvous, the Bowling Green Inn which was closed.

We followed Market Street down to the main street through Bradwell and so to our cars. Consolation pints were quaffed in the Wanted Inn at Sparrowpit where next week’s walk will start at 9.35am. We shall visit The Quarryman in Doveholes around 12.15pm and return to the Wanted Inn at approximately 2.30pm

Pictures by Tom Cunliffe

Happy wandering !

Topley Pike

August 5, 2015.

TOPLEY PIKE, MONSAL TRAIL, WYE VALLEY, CHEE DALE, BLACKWELL HILL FARM, SPINNEYS, CHURCH INN AT CHELMORTON, TOPLEY PIKE QUARRY, WETHERSPOONS (WYE BRIDGE HOTEL) AT BUXTON

Distance: Eight miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry and cloudy with outbreaks of sunshine.

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, John Jones and George Whaites.

B walkers: Tony Job, Jock Rooney and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Peter Beal (narrow-boating), George Dearsley (in Turkey).

Leader: Davison. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Unofficial lay-by on A6 next to entrance to Topley Pike Quarry.

Starting time: 10.03am. Finishing time: 2.25pm.

We start with a riddle. How can a man arrive 20 minutes early for a walk and then keep his colleagues waiting for 18 minutes ? The answer is to take only a cursory glance at the final paragraph in the diary giving the time and place of next week’s walk.

Without wishing to humiliate the culprit by naming him, this larger-than-life character arrived 20 minutes before the appointed time, then left the scene five minutes before we were due to start, believing he was in the wrong place. Ironically this is a man who frequently quotes the alternative SAS motto: Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.

The rest of us arrived in one car two minutes after he had departed. By the time we were ready to go, he was in Doveholes on the way back to Little Hayfield (oops). So we were obliged to await his return and set off at 10.03 instead of 9.45am.

The rest of the day went perfectly with the predicted rain failing to fall and the sun shining from time to time on the impressive scenery around the Wye Valley and the hills overlooking it. We also called at one of our favourite traditional village pubs before ending the day with the B walkers in one of Britain’s cheapest hostelries.

On the nature front, we saw a water vole, a heron, a wagtail, a buzzard and a large bird sunbathing on a rock in the middle of the river. It looked like a dipper but was five times larger. Could it have been a Big Dipper ? (Lawrie to advise, Ed)

From our lay-by we crossed the A6 and turned right along the Monsal Trail. We passed the cycle hire store (13mins) and crossed a wooden footbridge over the Wye. We turned right with the river on our right and proceeded along the bank through head-high vegetation. It is the first time your diarist has been stung on the ear by nettles.

We kept to the riverbank by turning right at a public bridleway sign (16mins), avoiding the first wooden bridge across the river by heading left down stone steps (19mins).  We finally crossed the Wye by a wooden footbridge (35mins) and followed a wooden public footpath sign for Millers Dale (37mins), only to re-cross the river (38mins) and continue along its left bank.

Colin, who was leading the group, perversely decided to do so from the rear – unlike the occasions when he is not leading and heads for the front. We went under towering cliffs by a series of stepping stones, climbed steeply upwards and then dropped down across a footbridge over a feeder stream until we reached a stone footbridge over the Wye (62mins).

Here we stopped for pies and port before crossing the bridge and beginning a prolonged climb up a steep hill into Chee Dale. This was, our leader pointed out, the site of a Neolithic village where artefacts such as 2,500-year-old arrowheads had been found.

We went through a gate marked with a yellow arrow (75mins) kept to the right of a field and went through a metal gate marked with a yellow arrow (82mins). Our group passed to the left of a farm(86mins), which described itself as The Farming Life Centre.

This was set up in 2005 when hill farmers from the Peak District received a DEFRA grant to convert redundant buildings at Blackwell Hall Farm into a working dairy and sheep farm. It is a registered charity run by staff, trustees and volunteers. Its aim is to promote the well-being of Peak District farmers and rural communities, and to celebrate the farming of the past, present and future.

After passing the farm buildings on our right, we passed a caravan park on our left before exiting the farm land at the end of a lane where we swung left (90mins). We then passed Crossroads farmhouse on our left before crossing a major road and following signs for Priestcliffe and Taddington.

At a wooden public footpath sign we turned right (93mins) and went through a wooden gate. We crossed the A6 (101mins) and entered Spinney copse by a stile. Keeping to the left of the trees we exited the wood into a field and headed uphill (103mins).

In the left corner of the field we crossed a stone step stile (108mins) and carried on straight uphill until we reached a stone step stile, which we crossed and turned right (111mins). This led us through a gate into a field where we went through a set of gateposts marked with a yellow arrow (115mins).

This took us through a farmyard and we went straight on at a gravel track (120mins). The track dog-legged straight on at a wooden public footpath sign marked Chelmorton (123mins). We were now heading downhill and at the end of the track it swung left into the village, where The Church Inn was on our right (132mins).

Although rain had threatened moments before, the sky cleared and we were bathed in sunshine as we sat outside drinking pints of excellent Moonshine cask bitter at £3-25. Mark bought three bowls of proper chips and despite our best efforts managed to eat some himself.

Continuing our walk we turned right downhill from the pub and right again at a wooden public footpaths sign (134mins). From here our path back was straight along a series of paths through fields which we entered and exited by a series of stiles, crossing a lane en route (145mins).

We stopped for lunch after crossing a wooden stile (156mins). As we continued there was a tricky descent down the rocky path before we levelled out and reached the right side of the quarry at Topley Pike. Here we saw some graphic illustrations to warn of the dangers of Quicksand and Electrocution before returning to our cars to de-boot (169mins).

We drove to the Wetherspoons (Wye Bridge House) in Buxton for various pints of cask bitter at prices around £2-20. The B-teamers were already in situ with their new recruit, Jock.

Next week’s walk will start from The Bowling Green pub at Bradwell, Derbyshire, at 9.50pm. It is reached by driving through Castleton and Hope until reaching the Travellers’ Rest on the left. Here you turn right towards the hamlet of Bradwell, with The Bowling Green at its heart. We intend to walk to The Bull’s Head at Castleton for a bracer around 12.15pm and finish back at The Bowling Green at about 2.40pm.

Happy wandering !