Baslow, Robin Hood, and Totley

Another walk starting from Baslow Nether End, visiting the Eastern Moors today. I got off the bus and entered Chatsworth Park and took the footpath heading east towards Robin Hood. It was very misty, but did clear up later on.

I crossed the road and continued up onto Birchen Edge, and the Three Ships rocks and the Nelson Monument, part of the route was a steep rocky clamber.

Just beyond Curbar Crossroads I started my crossing of Big Moor from south to north, heading towards the abandoned reservoir.

Just before reaching the road just to the south of Owler Bar I passed quite a lot of heavy plant that was being used for some drainage improvement works. I finished the walk at Totley by going down the path that leads in the general direction of Smeekley Wood and Horseleygate Hall beyond. The final couple of miles was through a variety of landscapes with extensive views of Sheffield at some spots.

The first bus I waited for at Totley didn't show up, the second bus was full and so I couldn't get on, and the third one was twenty minutes late and then got stuck in a traffic jam...and to cap it all off I got on the wrong train at Sheffield and had to make it home to Doncaster via Wakefield.

Baslow, Longshaw Estate, Fox House, Totley Bents, and Totley

The weather forecast for Bakewell today was for 'sunny intervals and breezy' - much better than yesterday...so I decided I'd risk having a day out in the Peak District, my first day walking there for nearly a month. And what a great day out it turned out to be; the weather was better than predicted - it was sunny all day, and there was still plenty of snow left for me to enjoy.

The day didn't start off too well though. The bus I had intended to catch at Sheffield didn't turn up and so I caught the 218 service to Baslow. There were only two other people who boarded the bus and they both stated their destination as being Chatsworth, but didn't pay. There must be some sort of offer or special promotion today; I just scanned my pass as usual though.

I got off at Baslow Nether End and walked towards the Golden Gates roundabout and took the footpath up through the woods to reach the top of Bar Lane, and then Froggatt Edge.

Towards the northern end of the edge I started looking for somewhere sheltered and warmed by the sun to sit down and eat my sandwiches. This wasn't easy because the wind seemed to be simultaneously blowing from all directions; I don't know how this might be possible.

I reached the road a few hundred yards before the Grouse Inn and left the same road to cross Big Moor a few hundred yards beyond the pub.

I soon hit difficult terrain; tussock grass and two feet deep snow. Walking through this was exhausting; I must have fallen over a dozen times and rolled about in the snow, but I really enjoyed being a polar bear.

I was glad to reach White Edge Lodge, one of the Longshaw Estate's holiday cottages. I knew it has vehicular access to the road...and therefore easy walking. 

I changed my socks in the public toilets at Longshaw and had a pot of tea and a scone with jam in the cafe - it was more expensive than my cream tea at York last week.

This pair of socks didn't stay clean and dry for very long; just past Fox House I was confronted with more deep snow.

My crossing of Totley Moor wasn't too difficult though. I took a route that I'd not used before into Totley Bents and then walked up the road and caught the bus back into the city centre at the Cross Scythes pub.

Totley Bus Terminus to Baslow

For a change today, and hopefully to arrive as early as possible at Bakewell to catch an onward bus, I stayed on the train until it reached Dore and Totley station; this is one of the few services from Doncaster that stops there. My original plan was then to pick up the Bakewell bus [I'd not be able to make the connection in the city centre]...but the first bus of the day wasn't due for another thirty minutes. I noticed that a local bus would arrive in three minutes and so waited for that, assuming it would be going all the way to the terminus, right on the edge of the moors. I was wrong though; after about half a mile it turned up a housing estate and the driver told me he was then heading off in a different direction. So I got off at the next stop and walked back down to the main road. At the first bus stop I checked when the next number 97 was due; it was another fifteen minutes and so I continued walking...to a few hundred yards beyond the parade of shops at Totley.

It was quite sunny when I got off the bus at the terminus and so I walked straight up to the picnic site and had a bit of breakfast and studied my map to plan an alternative walk.

From here it's only a few hundred yards to the county boundary. The first thing I had to do when I reached Derbyshire was to make some loud random animal noises and move my arms about to scare some cows out of my way which were blocking a stile. A couple of fields later and more livestock was in the way, this time a rather handsome horse which I had to entice to move from the gate by banging a rock on the wall.

I had several more grassy fields to cross until I reached the road, Moorwood Lane. I then needed to walk along another road for a short while - the views from here were very nice.

I found the footpath that leads to Horsleygate Hall.

Along this stretch, in a field next to the footpath I noticed at least two dozen beagles being exercised by a man. A few minutes later I caught up with him and he told me that he and his colleagues were exercising sixty hounds in the nearby fields; the dogs were all very well behaved though- none of them came anywhere near me.

It was then another short walk along a road before a steady climb up through woodland to the main Baslow road and then on to the access land on Big Moor. As expected the crossing of the moor was quite slow and tiring, the tufted grass, bracken and peat bog each presenting its own challenges.

The Highland cattle were in their usual spot as I took the path that leads past Wellington's Monument.

At the top of the paved section of the lane that goes down to Baslow there's a 'Restricted Byway' sign; I don't think the locals want anyone driving a vehicle up there though.

I arrived at Baslow Nether End just in time to catch the 2:15 bus back to Sheffield. This was a bit earlier than I had planned - but it meant that I got back home in Doncaster before the shops closed.

Calver, Curbar, Owler Bar, and Totley

When I was waiting on the platform at Doncaster Station this morning I noticed that new signage had been put up showing Platform 0, even though this additional platform at Doncaster isn't in operation yet.

Terminating services from Hull and Scunthorpe will be using the platform, which is completely separate to the rest of the station so that these trains won't be interfering with traffic on the busy East Coast Main Line. Unfortunately I can't use my free travel pass beyond Thorne in this direction: I like Hull and would be going there a lot if I could. I would be using the city as a base for exploring the Yorkshire Wolds.

My train to Sheffield ran on schedule and the bus out to the Peak District was on time too. I got off at Calver and walked up the track and then through the woods to Hare Knoll. There are some lovely panoramic views up here.

The path descended to the river at New Bridge, which I crossed over then walked on the other bank for a couple of hundred yards before finding the path which climbs up to the northern part of Curbar. I walked north along the road, then took the footpath which cuts through the woods and comes out quite high up on the climb to Curbar Gap on the road. Before reaching the road I stopped to talk to a fellow walker for about ten minutes about local accents; I didn't mention that he had a large globule of transparent snot precariously dangling from the tip of his nose...it looked quite striking as it glistened when the sunlight caught it.

Whilst still down by the river I spent a few seconds reading this notice and pondering what word has been erased; what activity can I now do which I wasn't allowed to previously?

When I reached the road I still had a bit more height to gain though before joining the path which runs along the top of Baslow Edge. I turned left just past the Eagle Stone and later spent a bit of time photographing the Highland cattle...I love the Highland cattle.

I found a path through the boggy parts of Big Moor which took me to the track leading to the cottage at Barbrook Reservoir. I then walked along the main Sheffield to Bakewell road, first to Owler Bar, and then the bus terminus at Totley.

As I approached the terminus I saw that a bus was waiting and so I started to jog. All this movement caused my pelvic muscles to do something that I don't understand causing my trousers to drop down to my knees; I grabbed them, and held onto them for the rest of the day. I've got a sufficiently long length of string in my ruscksack to hold up my trousers, but I didn't want to draw unwanted attention to myself.

I'm very happy to be losing so much weight, and I still need to lose more, but I'm starting to worry about possibly having problems when my weight has reached its optimum and I'm still needing to be on the maximum dose of metformin to keep my blood sugar levels low.

The mixed game pie which I bought at Matlock yesterday and I'm going to have for my supper should help me replace some calories.

Owler Bar To Baslow

Today's walk started with a stretch of about half a mile along the road from Owler Bar until I reached the access road across the moors to Barbrook Reservoir. Taken out of use and decommissioned about twenty years ago it is already getting difficult to distinguish the area covered by the reservoir basin from the rest of Big Moor, the vegetation is nearly the same.

When I reached the reservoir I walked along the top of the dam wall until I reached the spot where it had been breached and then stepped down into the basin, the area that had until not so long ago been underwater. Walking along this section was quite easy, unlike the remainder of my crossing of Big Moor, a large tract of land consisting of mainly tussock grass and a few small areas of heather. Walking through the tussock grass is difficult; it's hard work and in my opinion is some of the most difficult terrain in the Peak District - it's like walking across a large field where hundreds of trampolines are lashed together, then three foot tall pressurised balloons are attached as closely together as possible...then the whole area is covered  with tons of treacle and hay, straw, and sawdust dropped from helicopters...and there you have it, Big Moor [oh, and of course hundreds, if not thousands of adders, England's only venomous snake live there.]

I arrived at White Edge, at the western edge of Big Moor absolutely exhausted, but elated at my first solo crossing. I found the first comfortable spot and sat down and ate my sandwiches before turning south and walking along the footpath, enjoying the views and taking plenty of photographs.

When I reached the car park at Curbar Gap I bought a 100% real orange juice ice lolly; I thought it was the healthiest option now that I'm having to contend with having both rickets and diabetes.

I walked down the road towards Curbar, but before reaching the village turned right, taking a footpath that was new to me, then joining a more familiar path closer to Baslow. At Baslow Nether End I had twenty minutes to wait for the bus; I wasn't feeling too well by this time and I needed some sustenance and so popped in the shop and bought an ice cream, Bakewell Tart flavour. They didn't have my favourite flavour, lemon curd.

Froggatt Edge With Chris and Simon

Another walk today with Chris and Simon from Leeds.

I arrived as planned at Fox House at 09:50 and so had nearly half an hour to wait until Chris and Simon arrived in the car; so I got the camera out. The photo I've chosen depicts the view from the pub's rear beer garden.

Thirty minutes later we set off, crossing the road and walking through the grounds of Longshaw Estate. After a couple of hundred yards Chris suddenly stopped and shouted "Rucksack!" He'd left his rucksack in the car; neither Simon nor myself had noticed.

It's easy going through Longshaw Estate, on gravel tracks..and the views are good, especially westwards towards the Hope Valley.

We reached the road, passed the Grouse Inn, isolated on the moors, and took a path just beyond the car park which led down to a small wood at the side of 

Haywood Car Park.

Another road to cross, at a location where we needed to be careful, and then we were on the path which soon goes right along the top of Froggatt Edge. We stopped at many of the rock formations to admire the views and Simon spent a few minutes posing for photos with the docile Highland cattle.

Simon also enjoyed posing next to the Eagle Rock, managing to climb about halfway up without any difficulty.

The Wellington Monument was next; no opportunity to pose here because a small group of people had got there first. We reached the road and then entered the access land on Big Moor. There's well-defined and well-maintained path that leads to White Edge, higher than Froggatt Edge, but not as spectacular...but there are distant views all the way to Sheffield and the Trent Valley power stations - we even discussed if Nottingham might be visible using binoculars.

It was a straightforward walk back to Fox House, where we arrived fifteen minutes before the number 65 bus was due. It didn't arrive; the next bus, the 272, due thirty minutes later, was five minutes late and was only a single-decker. Being first in the queue I got a seat; several people didn't though.

My train from Sheffield back to Doncaster was ten minutes late, and then delayed even further en route. Not a good day for public transport.

Blacka Moor, Robin Hood, and Baslow.

As the bus was climbing up towards Fox House this morning I was surprised at how much snow still remained from last week. I didn't travel all the way to Fox House though, I got off at Blacka Moor and walked along the footpath through woodland which parallels the road, being just the other side of a high wall. After only a few minutes I noticed two memorial plaques; one commemorating the centenary of the South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire area of the Cyclists' Touring Club in 1978, and the other which had been placed a few yards further on by the Sheffield and South Pennines Topographical Society a year earlier.

I soon left the wood and then took the track which initially runs alongside the western boundary of the wood, but then crosses open countryside. I could see the highest point of the moor, and so headed for it, having a bit of fun on the way in a deep snowdrift which had survived in a sheltered hollow.

This location probably wasn't the highest land in the immediate area because I reached the Trig Point on Totley Moor.

By now I was walking along a substantial track which eventually led down to the road at a gas pumping station of some sort, just a few hundred yards west of Owler Bar.

I crossed the road and followed the path which cuts across the north-eastern corner of Big Moor; the chimneys and roof of the house associated with the old reservoir soon came into view. As I passed the building I observed that it looked as though it was occupied: although its location is extremely isolated, it does have a good metalled road leading to it.

I passed by the house and continued following the track southwards, occasionally crossing the Bar Brook using well-built stone bridges. Along this section I spotted a man who looked like he was picking berries; I can't imagine what they might be at this time of year...he was certainly regularly bending down though and placing something into a small transparent plastic bag.

Maybe half an hour later I arrived at the Baslow road, crossed over it and continued along a well-defined path across access land. This led me to a stretch of country road which I had walked along only two weeks earlier, I think. After only a few yards I noticed some bamboo canes stuck in the ground next to a roadside wall; I went closer to investigate and discovered that several fruiting or flowering bushes had been deliberately planted, and staked.

Another few minutes and I was at a crossroads and climbed over a stile (or possibly walked through a gate - I can't remember) onto more access land and took a path which was leading towards Birchen Edge. I soon caught up with, and passed , a couple who were being very careful in picking their routes across the boggy ground. I surmised that they didn't want to get too muddy because they were probably going to visit the Robin Hood Inn.

I reached the base of the Edge and soon found a way to scramble to the top and obtain my first view of Nelson's Monument, and a few yards away, the Three Ships: prominent boulders inscribed with the names of three of Nelson's most famous ships, Victory, Defiance, and Royal Soverin.

It was a quite difficult descent down to the main Chesterfield road, passing by the Robin Hood Inn and being wary of the traffic on my steady walk down into Baslow, where I had time to enjoy a hot Cornish pasty before catching the bus.