More outings since last time
10th June 2012 This past weekend saw me stay at home after a few weekends away. Saturday turned damp all day around Macclesfield so a spot of domestic tidying and rearranging was a good escape from the conditions though a necessary shopping excursion had me out of doors for a little while too. Sunday may have come better but other matters occupied the day.
The Jubilee bank holiday weekend saw me return to Scotland for the first time in nearly twelve months and I have thoughts about not repeating that again. My base was Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire and I ventured to Dalwhinnie for a trot along the shore of Loch Ericht and to Blair Atholl for an incursion into Glen Tilt. Transport arrangements were such that I got to potter about Pitlochry too before heading off elsewhere for a few hours, with much of that time being spent beside Loch Faskally and River Tummel.
One unusual aspect of this Scottish getaway was that I only decided what I doing up there on my first night away from home. More usually, I leave home with ideas in mind but the weather forecast was such that I only could decide when I saw what I was getting. As it happened, I seemed to escape the deluges that fell elsewhere so I count myself thankful for that. Sun may have been obscured by clouds for much of the time but the only dampness I met was a light dusting of rain on Monday morning.
Temperatures weren't so high either and that made for pleasant walking conditions in wonderful alluring countryside. The incursions only may have been a taste of what is there but that did nothing to dispel a certain sense of satisfaction from what I had savoured. This contrasts with how I felt after spending a few days in the area nearly six years ago; then, it seemed that I was leaving unsated. Was it that I might have spread myself too thin or that hazy July days didn't offer much for photography that was the cause of this? If so, it amazes me that I left so much time go before making a return that more than dispelled that previous sensation.
The last weekend of May didn't have a bank holiday this year and hot sunny weather that visited us. Not only were many of us tempted out of doors to enjoy a brief experience of summer but events such as horse racing at York and the Edinburgh Marathon ensured that train services were far busier than usual too. It was an outing to Alnwick and Warkworth in Northumberland that was the cause of my discovering this for myself. The hot weather dissuaded me from a longer walk so shorter strolls taking in Northumberland's castles and a little of its coastline seemed a good option, especially after the cold that came my way the previous weekend. Overdoing exertion didn't look such a bright move to me and taking an easier less hurried course had its rewards too. Sometimes, a slower course reveals more of the character of an area.
Now that we are in June, it is tempting to look ahead to ideas for summer outings. When looking at my annual leave allocation for this year, I decided against an expansive escapade such as heading to the Western Isles. Those days have be rationed so shorter outings will need to be in order. There are no firm ideas in mind and I am grateful for those opportunities that have come my way already this year. Hopefully, there'll be a few more yet. Could a return to Perthshire's hill country be among them?
Amazing what a little sunshine can do
20th May 2012 Somewhat infuriatingly for me, I am nursing yet another cold as I write these words. Was it the milder winter that made them more prevalent, or are those long working hours finally catching up with me? It might be a bit of both in reality and, since it is overcast where I am this weekend, I am not feeling overly denied by my ailment. The rest may do wonders.
In contrast, last weekend saw me summon enough resolved to get out and about. Friday evening saw me spend some time around Knutsford after work, with Tatton Park and more looking gorgeous in the evening sunshine. Saturday finally saw me undertake a trot from Waterhouses to Hulme End along the length of the Manifold Trail after a few false starts. Much to my surprise, I completed the 8.5 miles in around three hours, so I decided to continue to Hartington by way of Wolfscote Dale and Biggin Dale. The former of these looked so wonderful that walking from Thorpe to Hartington by the course of the River Dove is an alluring prospect that I'd like to turn into reality. Though my legs were tired, Sunday had its trot to too with a local itinerary taking in Tegg's Nose, part of the Gritstone Trail and Hurdsfield. What seems very odd to my mind was that there was none of that weariness there on Saturday evening after I got home from Hartington.
Only for the cold, I'd be letting my mind ponder options for the coming weekend since we are promised warmer temperatures. Maybe the lack of those might explain why I am coughing and spluttering this evening as well. If some delightful weather does arrive, I'd like to be able to go exploring the countryside after what last weekend brought. Well, I haven't been to Scotland, Wales or the Isle of Man since last summer and they can call again. Then, the Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend starts June for us, and it'd be a pity to leave that underused too. Hopefully, colds and flu will be a distant memory by then. Rest and recuperation should assure that, and opportunities can be well-used when they come.
Emerald Inspirations
21st April 2012 A trip to Ireland in March may have taken the form of an elongated weekend that involved no hill wandering (there was some urban trotting around Limerick that took in its People's Park and Arthur's Quay though) but the warm sunny day on which I needed to leave the place to return to the U.K. left a more lasting impression. There has been perusal of issues of Walking World Ireland too so it might be no surprise to hear that my mind (if not my heart) began to ponder a hill wandering excursion to follow my ascent of the Great Sugarloaf in Wicklow a few years ago and a trot around Howth Head last year.
Though sunshine was hazy and skies milky, thoughts of staying on my bus from Limerick to Shannon Airport all the way to final destination of Galway were very tempting. The ambience was very much of the feeling of summer days when we get the sort of weather of which so many of us dream. On looking down while flying across Ireland en route to Manchester, the extent of the haze was unmissable yet various hilltops protruded from low cloud. In fact, I reckoned that I could see the tops of the Galtee Mountains along the Limerick-Tipperary county boundary and I wouldn't be surprised if we passed over Slieve Bloom too. On the eastern side of Ireland, the sprawl of the Dublin and Wicklow mountains was there to be survey and I fancy that I picked out Poulaphuca reservoir near Blessington in Co. Wicklow too.
After the summery feel of March, April has plunged us into atypically chilly temperatures and typically showery weather; maybe that's why I am weathering a cold as I write these words. That made for a less than glorious Easter weekend that I spent doing some spring cleaning and tidying. If we had got the sort of weather that we enjoyed around Easter 2011 and the following Mayday Bank Holiday weekend, then I might have been tempted to follow up those thoughts of Irish explorations. After all, curiosity had me survey photos of Wicklow's hill country and antiquities on a few royalty-free stock photography websites and much of what I saw left me thinking that I might do better myself; it would make a good excuse to go across the Irish sea to survey the delights of picturesque Glendalough for the first time. For now though, that's on a waiting list.
Weather and workload has meant that I otherwise haven't been doing much wandering around hill country than a short trot up Nab End near Bollington. The hoped for extensive views over Pott Shrigley failed to materialise. That's not to say that I didn't content myself with what I found because I also managed to have the place to myself, something that would be said for the Kerridge ridge on the same day. A cycle that took in both Bollington and Pott Shrigley was what allowed me to sample Nab End's delights so there definitely were no complaints from me even if cloud rolled in to blot out the sun during the afternoon. Rediscovering a little more in the way of motivation not only would get me to that Irish waiting list but would send me out among Macclesfield's hill country more often too.
Following a North Sea coastline
12th March 2012 After having thought of it for a few Saturdays, I finally sorted myself for a walk by Northumberland's coastline from Alnmouth to Embleton. It had been January 2006 when I last walked from Alnmouth to Craster. Then, the hoped for combination of blue skies and sunshine didn't materialise so photographic opportunities were limited. While amazed at how long it took for me to follow up on the earlier visit, there was set to be no problem with the weather for February's visit. In fact, I was playing with the idea of an overnight stay with a less taxing Sunday to follow a coastal on Saturday, but returned home that night and went for a short cycle around Macclesfield and Bollington the next day. Limbs may have been tired, but both places saw the sunny that didn't come their way the previous day.
Having not been there for more than six years made for imperfect recollection of the route as I found out more than once. It also made for changes such as extra cycle paths added by SUSTRANS for their Coast and Castles cycling route (NCN 1). This was what I discovered at the other side of a hedge while going from Alnmouth train station to Alnmouth. Also, there was little sign of the Northumberland Coast Path when I came this way last and it's made an appearance on maps since then as has St. Oswald's Way, with which it shares some of the same route. Nevertheless, there was little sign of waymarks for the latter and those for the former had become faded so I really needed a newer map to be sure of the line of my route.
After a road walk took me from Alnmouth railway station, I reached the village of the same name. Prior to entry, I stopped on the bridge over the River Aln to see if I could make some photos before continuing on my way. In my haste to set off walking along the coastline the last time around, I avoided Alnmouth's pretty main street on my first visit, but this omission was remedied this time around. Everything may have been a little too close together for photos but it was good to savour it all the same. At its end, I picked up a coastal path and trotted along it before dropping in on a handy public convenience.
Rather than sticking with rights of way that cut through a golf course, I opted for a well trodden path up by its coastal side before cutting a little inland to pick up the Northumberland Coastal Path again near Marden Rocks. Then, it was onto Foxton Hall, the hub of yet another golf course and one of which I oddly have no recollection from my first passage by there. That may explain my need for establishing my route onward from there before I dropped onto the beach as the right of way dictated. For those occasions when high tide obstructs the route, there is an alternative that goes by public footpath and road.
To get to Seaton Point, I needed neither though walking over loose stones was less pleasant than threading on grassland and reaching wet sand didn't come a moment too soon. Then, it was a case of rising up off the beach to reach Seaton House and its assorted collection of summer houses, by which the right of way passed. Beyond those, it was straightforward and quite undisturbed walking to Boulmer. The OS map may make it look as if you are going along a beach for much of this but I was walking on grass turf for the most of it.
At Boulmer, the signed restrictions on the taking of fishing bait from a proscribed area were a curiosity, as was that of the local sea rescue service. The first was the business of Alnwick District Council while it surprised that the second wasn't that of the RNLI. They say that there is an independent spirit in Northumberland so that may be part of the explanation for that state of affairs.
Leaving those curiosities behind, I continued with heading north by using a byway open to all traffic that is an off-road section of NCN 1. At this point, I began to veer away from that around Longhoughton Steel and got in generous views up the coast towards Bamburgh Castle. The perceived distance did spur me along, but there was another deviation from the line of the trail before I decided on keeping to its line more rigorously. Twitches in muscles may have helped to convince me of the sense of this, but there had been no loss of route completeness since I have been the way before anyway.
Around Iron Scars, I left the byway after me to pick up a footpath. Since I was beyond where the end of a road leading out from Longhoughton, there were more folk about now than was the case earlier and families were among them. Views were shared and I shortened the distance to Rumbling Kern. Beyond there I passed Howick and noted improvements to the path since I last had been this way, particularly the part that shadowed a single - track road.
Cullernose Point was growing ever closer now and the proximity of Craster was yet another explanation for how many were going the way along with me. The glorious day must have drawn them too, as did the school midterm break. The weather certainly was a departure from the struggles that the sun had in effecting any light on cliffs when I passed this way before. The result this time around was a feast for the eyes and there remained quiet spaces at which I could stop awhile and take it in before the path took me up onto Long Heugh and over by those same cliffs.
The progress into Craster was good and the sight of Bamburgh Castle was luring me along though Craster is a not unpretty spot either. Last time around, it was at this point that I decided to turn around before without passing the nearby castle at all. With time in my favour, I decided to set that piece of unfinished business to rights.
What an English Heritage monument like this wasn't going to offer was having it to myself so getting photos like what you see above needed some patience. Nevertheless, good things come to those who wait and a few uncluttered photos of the ruin were mine to keep. It was below the castle that I decided to continue to Embleton after making good time from Craster. Unfortunately, there was no time to dawdle around the castle itself, but that can be an excuse for another visit, never a bad thing.
Beyond the castle, I noticed a defensive element not apparent from the south: a cliff face. That would have made it difficult to approach from the north so they had cut down on one option for attack. It's being atop a hummock too must have helped until the age of the cannon finally did for the fortification. The ample views up and down the coast must explain the position of the castle too. Maybe that's also why so many spend time around there.
The rest of my walk was to carry me across yet another golf course; they seem to be plentiful in these parts, perhaps because of the sandy soil. While the public footpath weaves its way across the course, the coastal path takes a less intrusive line by following its boundary. Nevertheless, there were waymarking posts directing those who fancied using the former, though the later would be my personal preference.
Light was declining at this stage and I reckon that time went faster than I'd have liked it to go too. Maybe I dallied as I walked along, but a reality check around Dunstan Steads saw an end to any sense of dawdling. From then, it was with a sense of purpose that I reached the end of the road from Embleton and then dealt with the height gain to reach the village itself. Travel contingencies were emerging in my mind but I was in time for a double-decker bus to pick me up from the front of the Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel, even if I was unsure of its being an official stop; others with signs were to be seen later so that's useful information for future excursions.
In the fading light, it was a curious experience to feel the undulations of Northumberland roads on the top deck of the bus. It weaved in and out of Craster (telling me where the main bus stop is to be found) before making for Longhoughton and passed Boulmer RAF Helicopter Station before going through Lesbury on its way to Alnwick. It was along roads like these that I trotted to return to Alnmouth train station on my first visit to the area, with a head torch being needed south of Longhoughton. This time around, I was able to relax, rest my limbs and let the bus do the work while I pondered a return to explore Alnwick itself and other places besides. Northumberland remains a place of unfinished business for me, but the same can be said for anywhere that I have visited, if I am to be honest about it.
Travel Arrangements:
Train travel from Macclesfield to Alnmouth with changes at Manchester and York. Bus service 501 from Embleton to Newcastle and train travel home again, changing at Manchester.
A trot through three counties
4th March 2012 In 2011, most of my walking trips took me outside of England, with both Scotland and Wales featuring strongly. The first outing of the year took me to Wales, and trips to other Celtic countries followed before any sort of hike took place on English soil and took until April before it took place. It was July when what might be called a more extensive trot through the English countryside, and that took me from Wooler into Scotland. A Friday outing in December was an exclusively English affair when I visited the part of Shropshire's hill country near Church Stretton.
Part of the reason for that delay was how busy my working life in the early months of last year, and it was to be a continuing theme for the rest of it too. With that in mind, I have been playing with ideas that involve explorations of the countryside that lies not far from where I live. As if that weren't enough encouragement, a quick journey over the hills to Buxton on the second day of this year reminded me of how glorious the hills between there and Macclesfield appear when the right light falls on them. It was as if it ensured that I got out among them when the next opportunity arose.
That came a week or two later and took me from the Cat and Fiddle Inn to Buxton, using the upper reaches of the Dane Valley Way for much of the walk. Thinking about the walk since reminded me of how many walks started from or ended at the Cat and Fiddle Inn over the years. With that in mind, I was planning a preamble for this piece that recalled them, but it grew too long and became a posting in its own right.
The track south from the Cat and Fiddle Inn is one that I have traversed a few times before, yet never with the type of weather that I had on my most recent stroll. The quality of the light falling on the surrounding countryside was enough to have me stopping and admiring the surrounding countryside. Naturally, a camera was set to work too, and the passage by Danebower hollow may have taken longer than it otherwise might. Well, I had grey skies the first time that I passed this way and plenty of clouds abounded the same time around. Neither were frustrating, but they seemed to ensure that I made the best of near perfect photographic conditions.
Though I wasn't certain that reaching the A54 should have taken as long as it did, that didn't mean that a course deflection wasn't about to happen. Noting the time that I had until sundown and the distance to be covered, I decided on deviating around by Three Shire Heads. This is home to a well-known packhorse bridge, and I fancied having a go at photographing it in what I considered to be good light. That meant forsaking the frozen ground of higher reaches for more waterlogged parts as I followed the River Dane towards the bridge. It was a reminder of how soft the going was the first time that I passed this way, but I was rewarded when I got to the bridge that was my objective.
Others were about enjoying lunch around there, and who could blame them? It's a good place for such an activity and there are plenty of nooks and crannies where you can stay awhile too. Though it isn't near any conurbation in particular, I was to be surprised by how many folk had gone and congregated in the vicinity. That's not to say that the area was overrun though and none really in the way of my photographic efforts.
The waterlogging of the Dane Valley Way south from the A54 encouraged me to a different course on continuing to head towards Buxton again. That involved following public footpaths by Panniers Pool and Blackclough until I reached the Dane Valley Way. Though I can understand that a long-distance trail following the course of a river should try and keep as close to the watercourse as possible, I must admit that my deviation seemed to me as being the more pleasurable as it took to higher and sounder ground though there was some sogginess in places.
For the sake of completeness, I decided on returning to my southward turning point again. If time was an issue, I wouldn't have bothered, but there's never any point in rushing things either. Doing this took me by the now unused Reeve-edge and Danebower quarries and revealed that the Dane Valley Way leaves the course of the said river for its later stages, hence the comment that I made earlier. The first of the quarries that I passed were north facing, so plenty of frost remained on the stones that littered the ground. That's not to stay that the path was icy, though, but a spot of due care and attention was in order too.
That last observation especially applied to the crossing of the Dane on steeping stones. If there was less water, fording might have been an option, but that wasn't the case, so careful steps and studious use of walking poles got me over and back as required; the latter proved to be the easier crossing of the two so it must have something to do with the positioning of the stones because I doubt that it had anything to do with practice.
A quick and back trot made good a missing piece of a long-distance trail. The river crossing added ups and downs to this too, but there was a time for taking stock before proceeding towards Buxton in earnest after a diversionary amble. That revealed that I should make my destination before the light failed completely, so I set off again.
On approaching the steeping stones, I passed more walkers who had stopped for a spot of lunch nearby. A few words were passed about the crossing before I was on my way again, and I mentally noted how much quieter was their lunching spot in comparison with that of others. Putting Reeves-edge Quarries behind brought me past another walker that I had seen stopped at Three Shire Heads earlier; this one was altogether quieter than the other two, though.
Quietness was to pervade for much of the remainder of my walk too, with the Dane Valley Way twisting and turning its way above Blackclough and with Knotbury Common across the valley from me. Oddly, the trail goes down to the road near Orchard Farm when there is an alternative right of way that cuts out the attendant descent, re-ascent and road walking altogether. Nevertheless, I stuck with the trail though route finding was a little bereft of waymarking and correspondingly dependent on my map reading skills until the road was reached. To my relief, all was done without a hitch. It was then a matter of continuing past both Orchard Common and Cheeks Hill. This stretch was to be shared with other walkers who were out and about and with no perturbations, either.
The source of the River Dane is a soggy bog, but it was partially frozen, so its crossing wasn't as muddy an affair as it might have been. Still, the course of the path was unclear thanks to constant erasure by the wet ground, a phenomenon that I have perceived elsewhere. Thankfully, this is all Open Access Land so no one is going to pick an argument with you about following a line on the ground and the road was reached soon enough.
That brought views towards the Cat and Fiddle Inn and reminded me of the sort of course that I had taken. Then and after I had left the road to cross Axe Edge Moor, I reckoned that I was making out the back of both Shining Tor and Cats Tor, with both throwing the Goyt Valley into shadow. It was yet another reminder of how often I have trodden these parts over the last decade.
As I was crossing Axe Edge Moor, the declining height of the sun could not be missed; it was a reminder of the coming end of the day. Looking to me right, I thought that I was making out the trig point marking the top of the hill, and looking straight ahead drew my eyes towards the descent of the A54 as it approached Buxton. That told me that my walking destination for the day wasn't so far away, a reassuring thought at that point in the day.
Crossing the A54 took me to the next stretch of the trail, though I now wonder is I followed it so exactly; sometimes it's best to follow things in spirit and not to be overly concerned with complete precision. Another crossing of the same road, got me onto a byway and public footpath that needed a stop for map reading to be sure of my course. The A53 (Buxton-Leek road) was the next thoroughfare to be crossed before that in turn was left for Grin Low Road. While the HSE laboratories near Harpur Hill lay in the near distance, I was seeking to head to Grinlow Country Park instead.
The latter is owned by the local council and proved to be easy to find and had an open public convenience too. The next stage of my walk proved to be a little confusion when it came to route finding because of all the micro-detail on the ground. Though I had scotched in the idea in my mind, I ended up taking Solomon's Temple (also known as Grinlow Tower), a folly. There were good views from the top of this even in the declining light, so I quite fancy the prospect of returning to it sometime. As if to prove how frozen the ground was underfoot, I even embarked on an unplanned slide when my boots lost purchase on it. All stopped very quickly and no one took any notice of my little adventure, so there was no embarrassment either; the views must have been as appealing to them as they were to me.
With that little reminder of frozen ground, I picked my way back to the trail that I was following with more care. Light really was failing as I went down to Poole's Cavern and a snow-covered field looked like a car park, though that deception was short-lived. Once in the real car park, I decided that there was no more time for dawdling because of when the next bus to Macclesfield was leaving. Due to keeping a keen eye on time, I made it too, and that was thanks to a little shortcut that I discovered on the second day of 2012. Not only was it the cause of getting me out there in the first place, but it also helped to get me home a little sooner in the day too. Hopefully, it will continue to help with future outings, too.
Travel Arrangements
Bus service 58 from Macclesfield to Cat & Fiddle Inn. Same bus service from Buxton to Macclesfield.
