Nick & Geraldine - My Walks (Volume 3)

This is a description of walks I have taken recently complete with reference to the book from which the walk was taken, comments and, where appropriate, photographs.

This page covers walks from 8 December 2009

Tetford
Book - The AA Pocket Book of Walks Through British History - Published by AA Publishing	Start Point - Tetford
Page 76	Moderate
Landranger Map -122 - Skegness & Horncastle	Length - 5 Miles
Very nice varied walk on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Do not believe a word of the 65 feet given as total ascent. It is 365, which is a reasonable walk but not dead flat as suggested. Also, why bother with parking in the White Hart. There is ample parking which disturbs nobody in a large lay by beside the church. Having said all of this, it was a nice walk and reasonable under foot for a winter walk (although you do need boots). The scenery changes frequently, you see two nice villages and a host of birds. Route finding is easy. The instructions alone are adequate. Instruction 7 could be clearer, the path to the right is at the end of the woods but is some way after the low point.

Frogatt Edge from Grindleford
Book - Eastern Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Grindleford
Page 12	Moderate
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 5.5 Miles
Very nice walk done with Kate on a foggy day in December shortly after the wettest November on record. It was very varied, starting with a big loop around Grindleford followed by a stretch of the Derwent Valley way before climbing through woodland to achieve Frogatt Edge, by which we return to the start. The walk was pretty good underfoot for a very soggy period. Much of the Derwent Valley way was paved and the path along the Edge is superb. The woodland stretches were open natural woodland. Unfortunately, on our foggy day, the views were not too good. The walk is well worth repeating on a clear day.

Black Rock
Book - Drive and Stroll in Derbyshire & the Peak District - Charles Wildgoose - Published by Countryside Books, Newbury, Berkshire	Start Point - Cromford
Page 71	Easy
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 3.5 Miles
Very nice easy walk. We needed a gentle walk with good ground underfoot with Geraldine's first outing after enforced winter hibernation. This fitted the bill perfectly. There was only one small area of mud and no serious inclines, yet the walk was varied and interesting with several periods of good views.

Dovedale & Hall Dale
Book - 1000 Walks in Britain - Published by AA Publishing	Start Point - Dovedale
Page 743	Moderate
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 5 Miles
Very nice walk out of Dove Dale through Hall Dale. Reasonably good under foot for a winter walk apart from the stretch over Bunster Hill, which was very slippery and required some scrambling as indicated in the description. I did this on a Saturday and, once the honeypot of Dovedale was left behind, saw very few people and lovely views.

Wooler Knoll from Hope
Book - Short Walks in the Peak Park - William & Vera Parker Published by Derbyshire Countryside Ltd	Start Point - Hope
Page 48	Moderate
Landranger Map -110 - Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 5 Miles
Superb walk on the flanks of Win Hill. I did it in early March whilst snow lay on Kinder Scout, Mam Tor and Bleaklow, which added to the superb views. The walk starts as the climb to Win Hill from Hope, but towards the top you branch left for a superb contoured walk above the Hope and Edale valley to Wooler Knoll. Then down quite sharply with a lot of tarmac back to Hope. I got it wrong. The walk talks about left, away from the woods at a crossing of paths. I went left at the first crossing and cut off a part of the route. Without redoing the walk, I don;'t know how many path crossings are ignored before the recommended left, but the highlight of the walk is earlier than this.

Crow Stones
Book - Eastern Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Howden Reservoir
Page 90	Moderate
Landranger Map -110 - Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 6 Miles
Fabulous walk, the first time I have walked beyond the Howden Reservoir in the Upper Derwent Valley. Beautiful wild country and outstanding views throughout. Up at Crow Stones must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The walk was much harder than it seems, particularly as we did it when there was some patches of snow making faint paths difficult to find. We cut down from Crow Stones cross country down Stainery Clough. We fell foul once again of Paul Hannon's attempts at literature rather than guiding a walk. In a wild trackless spot such as this, we should have compass bearings and detail not flowery language. But it is a fabulous place.

The Dragon's Back
Book - Southern Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Earl Sterndale
Page 38	Moderate
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 5.25 Miles
Superb walk across the Dragon's Back of Chrome Hill. Plenty of ups and downs including crossing the flank of Hitter Hill to return to Earl Sterndale at the end. The permissory path over Chrome Hill is very well waymarked. There is even here a big descent followed shortlly by a similar ascent. There is also quite a bit of scrambling on the way up, although the final desent is much smoother and grassier. You get an exhillerating ridge walk with fantastic views, a little off the beaten track. Fabulous.

Collingham
Book - Waterside Walks in Nottinghamshire - Peter Fooks - Published by Countryside Books, Newbury, Berkshire	Start Point - Collingham
Page 57	Easy
Landranger Map -121 - Lincoln	Length - 4.5Miles
First done 31/5/2006. Very pleasant short walk. Dead flat. A long road stretch to start but worth the effort. Repeated 3 April 2010. Once again very pleasant and undemanding walk. The return leg, after leaving the Trent, was better than trailed as it too is still beside water as you walk close to gravel pits. There is no need to park near the Grey Horse. Travel on down Low Street to the church. There is plenty of parking there, away from houses.

Waterhouses
Book - Drive and Stroll in Derbyshire & the Peak District - Charles Wildgoose - Published by Countryside Books, Newbury, Berkshire	Start Point - Waterhouses
Page 67	Easy
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 4.5 Miles
Decent easy walk in the less well known (for us Nottinghamshire people) part of the Peak District. It is initially along the Manifold Way and then a steady climb to a high point. From there it drops down through the hamlets of Back O'The Brook and Waterfall to the start point. The only real complaint was that more than three quarters of the walk was on tarmac. Perhaps a good idea for a wet period, although there would be mud problems on the latter part of the climb. Nevertheless, a very pleasant walk.

Abney Moor
Book - Southern Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Bradwell
Page 40	Easy
Landranger Map -110 Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 6.75 Miles
Very nice walk from Bradwell over Abney Moor and back under the gliding club at Great Hucklow. Lovely views of Win Hill, Loose Hill and the Great Ridge (and the cement works) in the early part of the walk. Then there is a nice walk across Abney Moor (with a strategically placed seat (thank you William)) which is ideal for lunch. After the descent to Grat Hucklow, there is a reasonable walk along the valley although the good countryside is frequently interrupted by mineral extraction. No walk by Paul Hannon would be complete without added notes to avoid getting lost. I never saw the Wildlife Trust's Over Dale reserve or the multiple wall junction and there was no dense bracken on Abney Moor in April. GPS did however correctly insist that I left the main track (Brough Lane) that I had been following for some miles immediately before the track turned left.

Lathkill Dale
Book - Southern Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Youlgreave
Page 56	Moderate
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 5.25Miles
Very nice walk through Lathkill Dale. Very similar to one that I have done before but none the less for that. The steps out of Cales Dale are serious but they do get the main ascent out of the way quickly.

Chelmorton & Flagg
Book - Central Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Taddington
Page 66	Easy
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 6.5 miles
Very nice walk through less popular part of the Peak District. Good walking and good views throughout although lots of old fashioned stiles. Links the three villages of Taddington, Chelmorton and Flagg. The footpath at Flagg ("go up the drive to Flagg Hall") has been diverted. I don't know exactly where, I only found the diversion at the end, having negotiated a host of electric fences and badly maintained stiles.

Jacob's Ladder & Brown Knoll
40 Short Circular Walks in the Peak District - John N Merrill - Published by Footprint Press Ltd	Start Point - Edale
Page 9	Hard
Landranger Map -110 - Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 6 miles
Superb walk climbing Kinder Scout by Jacob's ladder and then veering round the head of Edale past Brown Knoll to descend with the path from Rushup Edge. It has the best paths up and down of any walk that I have done on Kinder Scout. The walk across Brown Knoll and the subsequent ridge was superb, descending gently on springy turf giving full benefit for the effort expended in climbing Jacobs ladder. The final descent has superb views of the Edale Valley, the Great Ridge and the Kinder massif. Fabulous walk. But we did it on a dry sunny day in May. All of these opinions could be different if it was wet. Route finding was easy but it was good to have the reassuirance of sat nav as some of the path choices at the top were not that clear and the walk along the ridge was long with no route marks befor turning left for the final descent.

Tideswell & Cressbrook Dale
Peak District Walks - Compiled by Brian Conduit & Kevin Borman - Published by Jarrold Publishing	Start Point - Tideswell
Page 49	Moderate
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 7.5 miles
Lovely walk through five dales. Highlights are rthe remote Cressbrook Dale and the ever popular dales along the Wye. Have done this walk in reverse before but it is better this way. Fabulous views and lots of picnic spots,

Edale Valley
Book - Peak District Walking on the Level - Norman Buckley - Published by Sigma Leisure	Start Point - Edale
Page 8	Easy
Landranger Map -110 - Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 4miles
Nice walk following the Pennine Way to Upper Booth and returning along the bottom of the valley. Views of Kinder, Rushup and the Great Ridge are superb on the outward leg.

Alstonefield & Wetton
Book - Peak District Walking on the Level - Norman Buckley - Published by Sigma Leisure	Start Point - Alstonefield
Page 98	Easy
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 3 miles
Very pleasant short walk linking villages of Alstonefield and Wetton. Route finding easy once thae way out of each village has been determined.

Alstonefield & Wetton
Book - Peak District Walking on the Level - Norman Buckley - Published by Sigma Leisure	Start Point - Alstonefield
Page 98	Easy
Landranger Map -119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 3 miles
Very pleasant short walk linking villages of Alstonefield and Wetton. Route finding easy once thae way out of each village has been determined.

Hose
Book - Weekend Walks in Britain - Edited by Penny Hicks - Published by AA Publishing	Start Point - Hose
Page 74	Easy
Landranger Map -129 - Nottingham & Loughborough	Length - 3.5 miles
Very pleasant and undemanding canal side walk. Even here, sat nav was welcome. The instructions around Hose Lodge do not go on any footpath that is noticeable on the ground, although sat nav assured us we were in the correct place and so it proved when we reached the canal, close to a particularly smelly and untidy farm.

Skiddaw
Book - Country Walking Magazine - August 2009 - Published by Baeur Media	Start Point - Underscar
Page 23	Hard
Landranger Map -90 - Penrith, Keswick & Ambleside	Length - 8.75 miles
Ascent of Skiddaw. Did this with Kate on our annual trip to the lakeland fells. The weather was not great so we had to descend by the tourist route and miss out the descent via Sale How. The ascent was very steep for over a mile, making it the hardest continual ascent of any hill that we have done. Progress was very slow and muscles very tight. The path round Little Man (it would have been absurd to go over in the mist) was a relief bufore the final ascent to the rugged summit plateau. Unfortunately, we could not see the 360 degree views. We did have the compensation on the descent that suddenly we did get the fabulous views over Keswick and Derwentwater. Overall, one of the hardest walking ascents although the easiest to navigate. It might be because of the latter that we found a surprising number of other walkers slogging it out in the cloud.

Surprise View
Book - Eastern Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Surprise View
Page 70	Easy
Landranger Map -110 - Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 4 miles
Very nice walk around Hathersage Moor, covering some familiar territory in a different way and adding a few new bits. The views on the last leg were superb. We cannot understand why we were advised to come down the trees rather than the edge of the scarp. The extra couple of hundred yards are compensated in spades. Route finding was surprisingly difficult, with Paul Hannon fancying himself as an artist rather than an informer on several occasions. Not for the first time. First done on 7/6/2008 and repeated 11/8/2010. This time we found the route over Owler Tor that Paul Hannon had intended. It is easy to miss the route up here but very difficult to get lost!

Cave Dale & The Great Ridge
40 Short Circular Walks in the Peak District - John N Merrill - Published by Footprint Press Ltd	Start Point - Castleton
Page 12	Moderate
Landranger Map -110 - Sheffield & Huddersfield	Length - 6 miles
Nice walk climbing Cave Dale and then a high level circuit of Castleton taking in Mam Tor and the great ridge to Hollins Cross. Fabulous views throughout. Route finding very simple. Excellent

Sturton le Steeple
Book - Country Walking Magazine - August 2010 - Published by Baeur Media	Start Point - Sturton Le Steeple
Page 11	Moderate
Landranger Map -121 - Lincoln	Length - 7.25 miles
Pleasant enough walk in north Nottinghamshire. Route finding is easy and conditions were generally good under foot. It is actually difficult to know why Country Walking graded it moderate; there were no steep climbs or difficult walking. There were a lot of great views for very little effort as you would expect on the Nottinghamshire Lincolnshire border. The views were dominated by two huge power stations at Cottam and West Burton. Nevertheless an airy and descent walk, Ideal for late autumn.

Rufford & Edwinstowe
Book - Newark & Sherwood Rambles - Malcolm McKenzie - Published by Sigma Leisure	Start Point - Rufford
Page 53	Easy
Landranger Map - 120 - Mansfield & Worksop	Length - 5.5 miles
Pleasant enough walk close to home. You have the usual Nottinghamshire advantages of big views and sandy soil under foot but it is nit the Peak District. No photographs with this walk as it is familiar territory although I have not done this particular walk before.

Ashford & Magpie Mine
Book - Central Peak - by Paul Hannon - Published by Hillside Publications, Keighley, West Yorkshire	Start Point - Ashford in the Water
Page 82	Easy
Landranger Map - 119 - Buxton & Matlock	Length - 6 miles
Nice walk from Ashford, firstly along the Wye then climbing through woods and then through Deep Dale to the White Peak plateau. Across this to the historical interest of the Magpie mine and then a descent back to the Wye and Ashford. I did it on a day when the fog never fully cleared. This restricted the view of hitherto unexplored Deep Dale and completely blocked the promised views over Ashford on the way back. However this was compensated by the still quietness on the river section, which led to a variety of wildlife. The highest section was also atmospheric. I was generally above the mist but it could be seen hanging in the valleys. The Magpie mine is an interesting focal point for the walk. Beware the"dry base" of Deep Dale. In November it had a substantial stream running through it, although there was plenty of room to walk relatively dry if a little muddy. The final descent is very steep and pathless. I classified this walk as easy on first reading. With a very steep ascent out of Deep Dale and the final steep descent, it would probably justify a moderate rating