Danger Deep Bogs

It is over a year since Monkey and I did part two of our Pennine Way walk. We have been put off part three because it is a very long way from Hadfield to the next place where you can get to a railway station. Feeling in the need of getting away from the city we studied the map on Saturday and found that there was a footpath that left the main route and cut across the moor to the Chew Reservoir, ending up in Greenfield. It seemed like a manageable distance. 

So yesterday we took our sandwiches and headed back up the Trans Pennine Trail from Hadfield. We wandered off the path the first time as we headed uphill, finding ourselves clambering up the side of a stream, having to struggle across a boggy patch and managed to rejoin the path on the ridge at the top. Then we came across this helpful sign: "DANGER DEEP BOGS please keep to the main path". Next time we'll be more careful.

At our first rest stop we chose a lovely big flat rock to sit on, only to find some disgusting people had chosen to stuff their rubbish down the crack in the rock. This was no accidental littering but obviously quite deliberate. I pulled it all out and carried it home.

We only walked about three miles along the Pennine Way before taking our turning. This was the one place where we managed to take the correct path despite there being no sign. Basically, for the next couple of hours we followed the stream, first uphill, then, apparently the same stream, down the other side. There was not really much of a path, mostly we had to climb up onto the heather to avoid the bogs. I definitely would not recommend this route. We assumed the stream would lead us to the reservoir, which it duly did.

There are very, very few trees on the top of the Pennines, but we came across this random Christmas tree ... how the hell did it get here ... and now I want to go back up in December to decorate it.

There was still not much path as we skirted the reservoir but we finally arrived at the dam, and once again took the wrong path. I looked across the ravine and saw some walkers confidently striding up the paved road on the other side, and persuaded Monkey to take another look at the map. At the bottom of the long descent we again found the correct path, the Oldham Way, taking us away from the Dovestone Reservoir and towards Greenfield. As we arrived at the edge of the town we were supposed to find a path leading down into Greenfield. We ended up just tromping across a couple of fields, avoiding the highland cattle and shooing away the aggressive sheep. The trains back to Manchester are only once an hour. The 16.46 train pulled out as we trudged up the road towards the station. We made it home about 7.

The Pennine Way distance calculator shows a walk of 10.87 miles, rising to a high of a mere 1750 feet. We have currently completed approximately 17.3 miles of the 267 mile route.

There and back again

The second stretch of the Pennine Way has been planned since the first one two months ago, so yesterday Monkey and I took the train to Glossop and retraced our steps across the troll bridge and up the boggy valley to what is known as Doctor's Gate and rejoined the Pennine Way to cross Devil's Dyke and Shelf Moor towards Bleaklow Head. From there we followed the precipitous Clough Edge and descended to the chain of reservoirs that led us, via the Trans Pennine Trail, (finally) to Hadfield. On the map it is big loop, but we didn't quite go in a complete circle as the train home bypassed Glossop.

This time we were armed with a newly acquired map cover so there would be no struggling to check the route:

and we paid close attention to the stone arrows, though they are not necessarily as frequent as you need and you still have to sometimes just follow your nose.

The previous walk's cottongrass had been superseded by the heather:

and instead of the carcass of the aeroplane we discovered this skeleton; at first glance I thought was a rabbit, but on closer inspection it appears to be a large bird of prey, the flesh rotted away but clumps of feathers still obvious in the mud:

The handy Pennine Way distance calculator tells me we walked over twelve miles, and climbed again to nearly 2,000 feet.

Taking a packet of Ginger Nuts for a walk

Wednesday was a good day to go for a walk, bright and sunny, but not too hot, at least we were fooled by the cooling breeze into thinking it wasn't too hot. Monkey and I started the day at the Nag's Head in Edale, where Simon Armitage finished his Pennine walk. Confident that even with our cobbled together kit we would make it to Glossop by dinner time we set off up the hill. 

It is important as you go along the Pennine Way to stop regularly to admire the view, or you are missing the point.

After getting hot and sweaty on the first uphill stretch we cooled off in the stream at the foot of Jacob's Ladder:

An hour or so later we found ourselves at the triangulation point, the summit of our walk.

We followed the path as it wound across Kinder Scout, we skirted the Kinder reservoir from high above, and then the route descended precipitously to the River Kinder.

A group of students had taken the nice spot by the river so we continued back on up to look for a place to eat. Considering its popularity with walkers the sheep were still rather miffed at having their space invaded, bleating but keeping their distance, except this one, who came to watch us as we huddled by some rocks for lunch.

It was a little while after this that we made our minor detour. We reached Mill Hill, and a stone sign gave us somewhat ambiguous directions. It being rather too windy to try and open the map we trusted our instincts and followed the beautiful paved stone path that headed straight on. We were striding out when I spotted what looked like huge pieces of metal only a few meters away alongside the path. It turns out this engine and some panels is all that remains of the crash site of a US RB29 bomber that came down in 1948. The gouge in the earth caused by the crash is still clearly visible though now much overgrown. Thirteen men died here on a routine flight to the base at Burtonwood near Warrington.

It was not until we neared the road and Monkey commented that she was not expecting to see a junction that we checked the map and found we should have followed the arrow back at Mill Hill.

Continuing would involve a long walk along the roadside.

Some debate ensued.

We decided to turn back.

The walk across to Snake Pass took us until around 5pm. We rested by the roadside and then continued the few hundred yards until we found the turning to the bridleway that descends into Glossop.

We'll be back at the train station in no time, we thought. Alas, it was not to be. Away from the National Trust maintained route we had to pick our way over broken and fallen rocks, collapsed paths and numerous bogs as we made our way down the valley of the Shelf Brook. It was really beautiful and felt remote from civilization, but by this time we were too exhausted to appreciate it. Around each bend we kept expecting to catch sign of the town. 

No walk of ours, it seems, is complete without a troll bridge:

Having left the house before 8am to catch the train to Edale we reached Glossop station at 6.40pm, and finally arrived home about 8pm.

I found this very handy Pennine Way distance calculator which told us that we walked over 16 miles. It also gave me this gradient profile for our walk. Our legs can still feel every foot of the nearly 2,000ft.

I am most pleased with this wonderful photo that I took just after we crossed Snake Pass. The whole walk had been dotted with this cottongrass but on this stretch it blanketed the landscape off into the distance, making it appear almost as if snow-covered. 

Today we are nursing our sunburn and planning our next expedition. The packet of ginger nuts came home again uneaten.