Fox House, Stanage Edge, and Hathersage.

Walking with Chris and Simon again.

I arrived at Doncaster Railway Station this morning just after a train had departed for Sheffield and so had to wait twenty five minutes for the next one, just about the longest gap there is between trains. During this time three trains left for London. Doncaster has a very good service to the capital, less good to other places much nearer though: trains are less frequent, and it takes longer to reach cities such as Nottingham, Derby, and Lincoln.

My train did arrive on time though, and my bus from Sheffield to Fox House as well. Chris was waiting for me when I got off the bus. After spending a few minutes in the car park whilst Chris and Simon put on their boots we set off across the moor to reach the footpath that goes along the top of Burbage Rocks. The weather was excellent, and there were some lovely views.

We discussed which route to take, continue going along the top of the rocks, or drop down into the valley and then climb Carl Wark and Higger Tor at the other side. We wanted to get to Stanage Edge as soon as possible so that we could walk most of its length, and so we pressed on, going straight ahead.

We soon reached the Upper Burbage Bridge and then briefly walked along the road until we found the path leading to Cowper Stone and the beginning of the edge. We posed for photographs at the trig point and then headed northwards, passing hundreds of climbers wearing the very colourful safety equipment that is part of the modern sport. When we spotted a young man confidently bouncing down a vertical rock face..Simon and myself started reminiscing about our times abseiling many years ago, myself at the other side of the Peak District, near Bollington in Cheshire, and Simon in the Lake District; we agreed that we were both confident at the time too.

Just before reaching Crow Chin, which I consider to be the northern limit of Stanage Edge, we stopped to eat our sandwiches in a sheltered location which was warmed by the sun.

We then continued for a few more minutes until we located a way of getting down to the path which goes along the bottom of the rocks. I pointed out that since neither the heather nor the bracken had grown much higher than a few inches, and the ground didn't seem too waterlogged, today would be a good day to break out across open moorland and head towards Bamford Edge. Simon and Chris agreed, Chris being quite eager as he lead the way. He soon discovered that the easiest terrain to walk across was where the heather had been burnt back last autumn, the unburned areas were a little harder, and the small low-lying areas of [not very deep at all] bog were the most difficult. Chris got his feet wet and Simon had to stop a couple of times to remove something from the inside of his boots.

We safely reached Bamford Edge, but too far south to enjoy views of Ladybower Reservoir. We briefly considered a bit of a detour, but when we noticed a large group of hikers posing for photos on Great Tor, we didn't bother, and continued walking in a southerly direction until we reached the road.

Our original plan was to walk back to the car at Fox House, but Simon wanted to have a bit of a look round Hathersage: he's never been there before. The crossing of Bamford Moor had been quite tiring for us all, and when Simon mentioned that Chris could travel on his '+1' concessionary travel pass, the decision was made: we'd catch the bus up the hill from Hathersage to Fox House, where Chris and Simon would go back to Leeds in the car and I'd stay on the bus to Sheffield. Our route to Hathersage took us along country lanes, through woodland and across fields, at times even briefly heading back towards Stanage Edge.

Near to one farm there were a couple of stiles which were constructed over stretches of electric fence. The farmer had done an excellent job with clear signage and more than adequate insulation so that there was no danger of accidental electrocution for even the clumsiest or most infirm person. Being a city boy from Leeds, Simon hadn't encountered an electric fence before and wanted to check that there was actually any current in the wire. He discovered that there was and the shock it gives you is quite unpleasant.

Our time in the centre of Hathersage was a bit shorter than we'd intended. There was a game of cricket being played, and we stopped to watch a few overs, standing in the lane, positioning ourselves in line with one of the batting creases. The batsmen were scoring well, not having any difficulties, until a bit of confusion when taking a run. It was quite a tight decision for the 'run out'. There appeared to be only one umpire, and he was standing at the bowler's end and so didn't have a good view. The three of us all yelled "Out" and put up one finger each, indicating that the batsman was out. I don't know if the umpire took any notice...but he did give the batsman out.

Whirlow Bridge, Ringinglow, and Fox House.

I caught the number 70 bus, which although it goes the long way round, still got me to Whirlow Bridge for 09:20 - it's better than hanging around the bus station waiting for a bus that goes deep into the Peak District.

I crossed the road and entered Whirlow Brook Park. After a few minutes I reached the toilets and popped in for a pee. I noticed that the cubicles had been nailed shut; I wonder what the situation was in the ladies'. On the Ordnance Survey map public toilets are shown at Ringinglow too. I can confirm that there aren't any there any more - what looks like the toilet block is now, of all things, a toy shop.

From a distance Whirlow Hall looks like a nice building. There seems to be public access, and looking at the photograph, there appear to be some notices on the door. Maybe it's a café; it's certainly a lovely spot....and there's a car park.

Beyond the car park I entered the wooded area of the Limb Valley. A large dog, friendly enough though, kept trying to sneak up behind me; but, because of the direction of the sun I could see its shadow and so kept thwarting it by turning round and facing it. Later on, as I was sitting on a bench eating my sandwiches, an even bigger, and dirtier dog, tried to steal one of them. The owner was very apologetic, but it would have been better if she'd kept her dog under control in the first place.

As I gradually climbed higher up the valley, it's not steep at all here, I spotted my first snow of the day; remnants of last week's weather still lingering on in sheltered spots where the sun hasn't reached. Later on, as I was crossing high moorland, there were even some sections where I had to walk through deep snow.

At Ringinglow I passed the Alpaca farm; yes, there actually is one - I've only been able to take a picture of the sign because the animals were actually hidden behind quite high green tarpaulins. Being tall, I could just about see their necks and heads; but it was no use pointing the camera in that direction.

I continued walking along the road for about a mile and then took the path which goes right next to the covered reservoir on Rud Hill, which from some angles as I approached it, looked a bit like an Aztec pyramid. Along this section I had to weave in and out of some quite large molehills; there were hundreds of them - it would be a good training exercise for rugby players I should think.

As I reached open moorland, down to my right I could eventually see all three Redmires Reservoirs. The middle one seemed to be nearly empty, despite all the recent rain and snow; I wonder if they are actually still in use?

I lost the path, and then struggled a bit across a boggy section of moor until I reached Stanedge Pole and the footpath to Stanage Edge.

As I approached the trig point I heard what I imagined to be the noise made by giant prehistoric grouse; if such things ever existed. In fact, it was the screeching brakes of a couple of mountain bikes. Two young lads were performing stunts on the rocks, and it looked like someone was filming them.

I continued to the car parking area at Upper Burbage; quite often there's an ice cream van here, but not today - despite it being very busy.

After a short rest, I walked along the track that goes along the bottom of Burbage Rocks, but halfway along I took the easy path which leads to the top...and then another level path towards Fox House.

I was surprised to see the 272 bus arrive; it normally doesn't run at this hour...except during the school holidays. So...the children must be off school in either Sheffield or Derbyshire, or both.

One final thing; and this has happened before - when I stood up to get off the bus my trousers nearly fell down. Although I had made sure my belt was tight it seems that my waist had temporarily shrunk by a couple of inches. I'm assuming that this was due to loss of essential fluids; I certainly was sweating a lot...and my pee stung my fingers when I needed to go. Maybe I was dehydrated.