August Bank Holiday and a sunny forecast! If only we’d thought to hire a secluded hostel at the far end of the Edale Valley. Oh! But we did! Thank you Nigel for booking the Dalehead Bunkhouse.
It was advisable to arrive in daylight as the bunkhouse was a long way down a rough track – and a post dinner trip to the pub was going to be out of the question. Luckily, we were forewarned, so prepared for full wilderness survival (i.e. beer, wine and biscuits). Fully provisioned with great weather, great location and great company, all we had to do was enjoy it!
Saturday we walked directly from the hostel door. This was wonderfully convenient but did mean a stiff climb right at the start of the walk. We joined Rushup Edge just west of Lords Seat, so after the initial climb there was just a gentle slope up to the top, where the barrow crowned the summit. As the last resting place for some Bronze Age worthy, it takes a lot of beating. The views were stupendous – the whole of the Edale Valley and east over Hope and Castleton. Dave even reckoned he could make out part of the Roaches far to the southwest.
The route onwards was the obvious track along the ridge to Mam Tor. It was at this point that it started to get a bit crowded, as it seems we weren’t the only ones out enjoying the sunny weather. We managed to find a quiet spot for a picnic lunch just before Back Tor, then it was back on the trail to summit Lose Hill. At this point there was a parting of the ways as most of the group took the shorter route back, passing through The Old Nags Head at about 4-ish. Very civilized. Group 2 went a smidge further, returning via the opposite side of the Edale valley and getting to The Old Nags Head about 2 hours later. They proved quite handy as a sweeper crew, retrieving Doug’s walking poles – left propped against a random wall in Upper Booth – on the way back to dinner.
You can’t have an August Bank Holiday without a bit of weather, and it seemed like all of ours was concentrated into Sunday. Not torrential rain, but steady and driven at you by a howling gale. It was the sort of weather that finds all waterproofs wanting, and not one of us got back to base without a bit of a drenching. Still, it gave us a chance to put a bit of cash into the local economy via tearooms and pubs, and it was an excellent excuse to get the woodburner in the hostel going.
Bank Holiday Monday and the sun was back out again. After cleaning and shipping out of the hostel, the group split into several parties for the journey home. We chose to go via Lyme Park, a National Trust property on the edge of the moors overlooking Manchester. Not only great views, but a NT tearoom to fortify us for the drive south.
Ali
The Shivering Mountain
Mam Tor (which means Mother Mountain) sometimes goes by the name “The Shivering Mountain”. This is due to numerous landslips caused by unstable lower levels of shale. Up until 1979 the main road into Castleton passed twice across the face of the mountain. First built in 1819 the road saw pretty much constant repairs over the next 160 years. There were major landslides in 1912, 1933, 1946, 1952 and 1966, then another big slip in 1976 that saw it reduced to single track before full closure 3 years later. The twisted remains of the road now make a popular local walk.
Stock Walk
Thank you Caroline for a tremendous walk from Stock out to Galleywood and back. The highways authorities did their best to sabotage the day with a truly ridiculous road closure/diversion which had the whole through traffic for Stock being sent down a single track road barely wide enough for bicycles to pass. This delayed our setting out, but a gorgeous day stretching was out in front of us with wall-to-wall sunshine and the promise of a pub at half time. A perfect day out.