A walk starting at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn at Ladybower in the Peak District.I head up to the top of a windswept Win Hill and then through the snow drifts to Hope Cross. I then forge may way down through the forest and back along the banks of the Ladybower reservoir. View the blog post for this walk at Peak District – Win Hill & Hope Cross in the Snow.
Today’s walk was to be a relatively short one, I had limited time and I knew that my progress would be slowed slightly by the snow, the starting point was to be the Yorkshire Bridge Inn at Ladybower and thankfully the roads leading here were open today too. We have had a pretty heavy amount of snow in the last few days which has made a lot of roads impassable and many of the roads I used today were closed until 7am. Thankfully I managed to make it to the parking spot, getting kitted up and then get on my way without any problems.
Parkin Clough
Parkin Clough
The weather was stunning this morning, a very mixed bag with broken clouds and the odd snow shower. I made my way from the Yorkshire Bridge Inn towards Ladybower and then took the path along the dam wall. The path here had obviously seen a lot of traffic in the last few days as the snow was rather compact and it had turned pretty icy. Thankfully the fresh snow awaited me once I had crossed the dam wall and took the path that leads up Jaggers Clough. The last time I came this way was when I had Wild Camped at Wooler Knoll, walked down to meet my mate Andy at the pub and then walked back up and over to Alport Dale.
Parkin Clough
Parkin Clough Sign
The climb up through the forest at Jaggers Clough is sharp but thankfully rather short, I’m a sucker for a pine forest and it was looking nice today under a blanket of snow. The path was icy in places but nothing that would have required my crampons, the time passed quickly as I was concentrating on my footing and I reached the cross roads in what seemed like no time at all. From here it started to snow once again, I must have been the first person to come this way today as I had to cut a fresh through the artic landscape as I headed towards the tree line. The wind became much stronger as I reached the eastern flanks of Win Hill Pike to the point where huge snow drifts had formed, thankfully they were pretty manageable at this point so didn’t cause any problems.
Parkin Clough – Win Hill Plantation
Win Hill Plantation
The views from the top of Win Hill Pike were changing every 30 seconds or so, the snow was coming and going the every so often I would get a break in clouds. I don’t have a device that can measure wind speed or wind chill but it was pretty darn windy and cold up there today. I only stayed for a short while as the weather upped its game once again, the wind was whipping up the snow and the clouds were dropping a fresh covering. I headed off to continue my journey and noticed that the western edge of Win Hill Pike had turned in to one massive snow drift. The snow must have been 4-6 feet deep in places so I made sure that I stayed well clear once I had taken the a few images ☺
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike – Trig Point
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
As I made my way in a westerly direction I crossed sections of ice, drifts and patches where there was no sign of winter at all. The wind was whipping and swirling the snow in all directions until I eventually reached the relative cover of the Woodlands Valley Plantation. The snow at this point was around 2 feet deep, it was more suited to snow shoes today and I could picture Ray Mears in my mind as I forged my way towards Hope Cross.
Vale of Edale
Vale of Edale
Vale of Edale
Snow Drifts near Wooler Knoll
Walking near Hope Cross
The views from Hope Cross down the Vale of Edale were stunning once the snow had stopped and the cloud had broken. The sun came out to illuminate a spectacular winter wonderland and I decided that it would be the perfect time to have a spot of lunch.
Hope Cross
Hope Cross
While I was having lunch I met another couple of walkers who we from Norwich, they were staying at the Edale YHA and getting out everyday to enjoy the snowy conditions. They were the only people who I had seen so at that point and they seemed like really nice people. I spoke to them about ShareYourAdventure.com and also gave them one of the business cards that the creator Phil Sorrell supplied me with. I forgot to tell them about PeakRoutes.com though 🙂
Ladybower – Woodlands Valley
Ladybower – Woodlands Valley
After lunch I took the path from Hope Cross that heads down in to the forest, I had decided to take this route as I’d not walked this way before. On previous occasions I have headed along the roman road towards Alport and then picked up the path back to Ladybower. As my mission is to walk as many new routes in the Peak as possible I saw it as an opportunity to tick off another path.
The going was good through the forest although the path was rather tricky to follow in places due to the snow. When I came out on a freshly logged clearing I decided to ditch the path and head off piste straight down. The views along Ladybower from this angle are stunning.
Ladybower & Crook Hill
Ladybower
Ladybower
The route that runs along the southern edge of Ladybower is usually very easy, it follows a forestry track so the path is smooth and pleasant under foot. Today however the snow was around 1-2 feet deep as the accumulations hadn’t been whipped in to drifts like they had on higher ground. I pushed on through the snow while listening to the Bletchley Park Podcast.
Ladybower Sheep
I eventually made it to the point where the path swings towards the south and heads towards the dam wall. This section of path was very icy in places and I paused on a patch of snow to let a stampeding flock of sheep pass bye. I was in a world of my own gazing at views up towards Bamford Edge and I reached the road in not time at all. Al that was left then was to walk the final hundred or so metres back towards the Yorkshire Bridge Inn where my car awaited.
Ladybower & Bamford Edge
Thanks for stopping bye to read, view and listen to my exploits today. The YouTube video in this post was recorded and edited using my iPhone. A podcast version of this route will be available very soon on the Podcast page of the site, it will also be available from iTunes and many other podcast arching services via FeedBurner. Stay tuned.
UPDATE – We are meeting between 15:00 & 15:30 at the Old Nags Head on Wednesday the 10th
Some may have spotted my announcement that in April I will be undertaking a journey along the Pennine Way, I also mentioned that my friend Chris and I are hoping it will turn in to a very social event. I wrote a quick note in my previous post giving an open invitation to anyone who wishes to join us, In order to let people know where we will be I promised a rough itinerary. The very rough route plan is as follows….
10th Meet up at Edale between 15:00 & 15:30 at the Old Nags Head, We will then be heading for a Wild Camp on the western edge of Kinder Scout.
11th. Edale to Crowden 16m
12th. Crowden to Whitehouse Pub.18m
13th. Whitehouse to Withens 19m.
14th. Withen to Malham 26m.
15th. Malham to Horton 15m.
16th. Horton to Hawes 16m.
17th. Hawes to Tan Hill.17m.
18th. Tan Hill to Middleton.18m
19th. Middlton to Dufton 21m.
20th. Dufton to Alston 20m.
21st. Alston to Greenhead 22m.
22nd. Greenhead to Bellingham 23m.
23rd. Bellingham to Bryness 16m.
24th. Bryness to Kirk Yethom 29 miles.
As I say it is a very rough plan as no doubt it will get tweaked a little on route depending on weather 🙂 Our plan is to wild camp our way north so naturally we will end up either side of particular points in order to stay away from buildings etc.
A handful of people have already expressed an interest in joining us for particular days or nights, please feel free to contact either myself or Chris if you would like to meet up, we would love to have as many people as possible join us along the route… Walks, Wild Camps, Drinks or Dinner, you choose 🙂
In order to get in touch you could leave a comment here.. Or contact either Chris or myself on twitter. Alternatively you could head over to any of the following following sites, DeanRead.net, PilgrimChris.com, PeakRoutes.com and a site specifically created for our journey The-PennineWay-NationalTrail.Blogspot.com. All of the aforementioned sites will be receiving updates along the way so check back soon for more.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that my friend Chris (@PilgrimChris) and I would be walking the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland. It is a stunning route starting in Fort William which weaves its way up to the most north western tip of Scotland at the Cape itself. As things often do in life, plans change, new ideas form and opportunities present themselves. So I’m writing this post to say that this coming April, Chris and I will be tackling the Pennine Way. Many reasons have promoted us to decide to postpone the CWT adventure and hopefully I’ll be able to share more very soon.
The Pennine Way is a route that I always knew that I would like to do, I’ve walked sections of it in the past and thought that it would be great to tackle it in its entirety. The route meanders 268 miles from Edale in the Peak District, via the Yorkshire Dales, Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland and then finishes at Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. Obviously I’m a sucker for the Peak District, the Dark Peak has become a firm favourite for my walks and it will be great to set off from a familiar place. Another one of the reasons why I thought I’d love to do the PW is due to my recent holiday in Edinburgh, we drove up past Hadrian’s Wall and through Northumberland. It looks like a stunning area I can’t wait to walk there and to learn more along the way.
Chris and I are keen advocates of ShareYourAdventure.com and the journey along the Pennine Way will be a very social event. It would be great if people would like to meet up along the way to walk with us, you could even join us for a wild camp if you so wish. If you can’t spare the time or don’t fancy a walk then why not just meet us to say hello.
We will be Sharing Our Adventure in many ways, via this Blog, on ShareYourAdventure.com, twitter, Google+, AudioBoo and YouTube. We hope to make this journey as media rich as possible and look forward to taking you along with us in spirit or even in person. More info will be coming very soon about where we will be at particular times, so if you fancy meeting up for a walk, a chat or a drink then give us a shout 🙂
I really love walking places I’ve never been before and seeing sights I’ve never seen. A lot of my inspiration has come from looking across a valley while out walking, seeing a feature on a map or hearing stories from other walkers. Today’s inspiration came when looking across from Margery Hill while I did a loop of Ladybower, I spotted a great rock formation off in the distance and the clumps of gritstone in question are located at Crow Stones Edge. I plotted a quick route last night, sent it off to my mate Andy and we arranged to meet this morning.
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At 09:30 this morning we arrived at the designated meeting point, the car park at the very top of the sealed road that leads along the edge of the Ladybower, Derwent and Howden Reservoirs. We quickly got kited out and made our way up the gravel road towards Slippery Stones. It was a rather overcast morning with an icy cold bite in the air, luckily I hadn’t forgotten my hat and gloves today.
Howden Reservoir
Slippery Stones
There wasn’t another soul around today which was nice as we had the place to ourselves. Slippery Stones won’t stay like this for long, as when the weather gets better more and more people will venture back here. It gets rather busy at weekends during the summer months so it was nice to enjoy the silence.
Slippery Stones – Sheep Fold
We ascended up to Margery Hill via Cranberry Clough where we were met by some of the remaining snow. The wind began to pick up substantially which made me thankful that I’d remembered my gloves and hat. The views as we rose higher and higher got better with every step. The snow left in the cloughs and gullies made the landscape look amazing.
Cranberry Clough
Horse Stone
Cut Gate End
Upper Hey
Cut Gate End
Cut Gate End
We eventually reached the top of the hill where we turned north westward along the moors towards Outer Edge. The going was good due to the fact that the majority of the bog up there was nice and frozen. In wetter months this part of the Dark Peak becomes a bit of a boggy maze as you attempt to weave your way along the driest path possible.
Outer Edge – Trig Point
After a short stop on Outer Edge to update AudioBoo and to take a few pictures we then headed off the edge down to Crow Stones. Crow Stones was the reason why I had planned this route today as it was rumoured to have some of the greatest shaped stones in the Peak. I wasn’t disappointed as we were met by some fantastic looking gritstone towers. It never fails to amaze me how varying types of erosion can form these stunning shapes.
Howden Reservoir from Crow Stones
Crow Stones
Crow Stones
Crow Stones
Crow Stones
Crow Stones
After a short lunch break at Crow Stones we made our way across the moors towards Stainery Clough Head. There was lots of icy snow left in the gullies which made crossing them relatively simple. There were times where we disappeared into the snow up to our knees but nothing any worse than that.
Crow Stones and Derwent Edge
The view back across to Crow Stones with Derwent Edge in the distance was great when we reached Hoar Stones on Howden Edge. infact the 360 degree views were great today even if it was cloudy. The sky was rather moody with thick looking grey clouds, the sun did break through every now and then but not for anything more than a matter of seconds.
Holme Moss Transmission Tower
Spicer Hill – Wind Turbines
Barrow Stones
After walking along Howden Edge for a while we eventually turned southward and made our way back down towards the River Derwent. The Derwent is beginning to build in size here as it makes its way from Swaines Greave down to the Howden Reservoir.
River Derwent
River Derwent
Land’s Side
The path gets gradually better as you make your way down stream, it turns from a boggy track into a road fit for a four wheel drive. The going is good from here on in and it’s just a gentle stroll back down towards Slippery Stones.
Oaken Bank
River Derwent – Cranberry Bed
It was great to finally get out walking again as lately work and family commitments haven’t made it possible. We finished off today’s great wander by heading to our favourite cafe in the Peak District, The Woodbine Cafe in Hope. Thanks for taking the time to read, view and listen to this post. I shot some video footage today which will find its way online very soon.
Peak District Routes 