Barber Booth

September 30, 2015.

BARBER BOOTH, UPPER BOOTH, CROWDEN BROOK, CROWDEN TOWER, GRINDSLOW KNOLL, PENNINE WAY,GRINDSBROOK BOOTH, THE OLD NAG’S HEAD AT EDALE, COOPER’S COTTAGE, THE OLD DAIRY, HOPE VALLEY RAILWAY, BARBER BOOTH AND THE ROEBUCK AT CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH

Distance: Seven miles.

Difficulty: Moderate with strenuous climb and steep descent.

Weather: Sunny with blue skies and some cloud.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett*, Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Mark Gibby and Alan Hart.

Leader: Beal. Diarist: Hart.

Apologies: Steve Courtney (in France), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Jock Rooney (in Isle of Man), George Whaites (dental appointment).

Starting point: Lay-by car park at Barber Booth, near Edale, Derbyshire.

Starting time: 10.11am. Finishing time: 2.05pm.

The Indian summer we have enjoyed throughout September continued as warm sunshine beamed down from blue skies dotted with mainly fluffy white clouds and the odd grey one. Visibility was excellent as we were led by Peter along what we believe to be pastures new for the Wednesday Wanderers.

*Although Mickey is included in the team of walkers, it should be pointed out that he only accompanied the group for the last section of the walk. He spent much of the morning sitting in his car, eating his sandwiches and listening to Woman’s Hour on his radio.

As previously recorded, Mickey had been abandoned on two previous occasions this summer along with your diarist. On this occasion it was traffic congestion and his inability to follow directions to the starting point which caused him to go astray. This would have been resolved with the use of mobile phones but, unhappily, Edale is a notorious blackspot for satellite signals.

Consequently despite two lengthy waits – one en route and another at the start – we were unable to guide him towards us and were obliged to leave without him 26 minutes behind schedule.

It is a shame he missed the excellent views from the Kinder plateau across the Hope Valley. Like the rest of us he did, however, catch sight of TV presenter Julia Bradbury, who fronts various programmes about the joys of countryside walking. Any thoughts that this attractive brunette might be a shrinking violet off screen were dispelled when she arrived outside The Old Nag’s Head in a large van with the name “Bradders’ Bus” and her photo on its side.

Having parked on the lay-by at the left of a country road leading to Upper Booth, we continued in that direction following signs for Jacob’s Ladder. We crossed a bridge over Crowden Brook (12mins) and immediately turned right through a wooden gate. With the brook now on our right we followed a path which took us past several fine examples of “magic mushrooms.”

Amanita muscaria are large red mushrooms, with white spots and white gills, that are commonly known as fly agaric or fly amanita mushrooms. They are classified as poisonous, although death is extremely rare. They are noted for their hallucinogenic properties and, as every schoolboy knows, are used as intoxicants by the people of Siberia.

We crossed a wooden stile (20mins), went through a wooden gate and crossed to the far side of the brook by a wooden plank (27mins). After crossing a wooden stile (29mins) we could see the outline of Crowden Tower on the skyline above us. This was the start of a long and increasingly steep climb uphill, during which we paused for pies and Cuban rum (51mins).

When we were about 100 feet below its 2,031 feet summit, our leader decided to turn right (79mins) instead of striking for the peak. The “tower” is a collection of large boulders which create a rocky redoubt which would have been an ideal look-out point in days of yore.

Our route brought us to another collection of rocks (98mins), from where we could see nearby the rocks known alternatively as Wool Packs or Whipsnade Zoo (because, depending on the vividness of one’s imagination, they are said to resemble either sacks of wool or exotic wild animals).

We were at a crossroads of footpaths and we took the right fork which brought us to Grindlow Knoll (110mins) before we began the long descent towards Edale. When we reached a sign for The Pennine Way (136mins) we turned left and continued downhill. This brought us to The Old Nag’s Head (which has, shockingly, been deprived of its apostrophe) and were reunited with Mickey (139mins).

The beer was in good form, although at £3-75 a pint, it was somewhat hard to swallow. Mark “Mr Chips” Gibby once again generously provided two bowls as communal tapas. As we were leaving, a group of people headed by Julia Bradbury entered the pub. She failed to recognise us.

We turned right out of the pub, immediately left and immediately right to pass Cooper’s Cottage on our right (141mins). We turned left at a wooden public footpath sign and went through a wooden gate (143mins). The path took us through a copse of trees and a gate into a field where we stopped for lunch (149mins).

Resuming, we went through a kissing gate (150mins) and turned right at a wooden public footpath sign for Barber Booth (151mins). After walking through a series of fields via gates marked with yellow arrows we passed The Old Dairy on our right (159mins) and turned right at a road sign for Upper Booth (164mins).

This country road took us under the viaduct supporting the Hope Valley Railway Line (167mins) and back to our cars (169mins). We de-booted and drove to The Roebuck at Chapel, where pints of Tetleys’ mild were available for £2-75.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.40am from Clough House car park at Wildboarclough. We intend to reach The Cat and Fiddle at about 12.30pm, and when we have finished walking we will drive to The Stanley Arms at Bottom-o-th’Oven around 2.20pm.

Happy wandering !