AN UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITY

DERWENT EDGE AND LADYBOWER

Having been unable to go walking for so long getting out for two weeks in succession is a real treat. Circumstances have meant that PC is still at home this week so we're able to sneak in another walk before she returns to the boat.

We're eager to enjoy this opportunity and both feel up to a reasonably long walk and plan to take in the length of Derwent Edge and return along the side of the reservoirs. 

We park up on the long lay-by on the A57 at the side of Ladybower after having availed ourselves of the facilities at the Heatherdene car park. Crossing the road we take the bridleway on the right which leads towards Ladybower wood and away from the reservoir. It's a lovely lane with a few neat cottages alongside it and good views across the reservoirs.

At the top of the lane we go through a gate and a little way further turn left on the track leading slightly uphill. It's close and muggy in this wooded area so PC stops to remove a layer. The walking is easy, though, so we are able to fully immerse ourselves in our conversation. So much has happened in the last week and we must make the most of it as it will be a long time before we're able to catch up again.

The track follows a wall line and soon we are out of the woods and only have trees to our left with Lead Hill looming above us on our right. Although it is only early on in our walk we decide to stop and have a drink whilst catching up with some photos from a family event last week. Out comes the secret flask with the Ramblers, then PC decides that she'd better empty her flask too. Sadly there's only a drop in it (Cointreau her tipple of choice) but the combination of Ramblers and Cointreau is a good one.

Once we've satisfied ourselves we set off again, this time the track is meandering upwards and soon we have the steep uphill, very eroded slope to Whinstone Lee Tor. We've warmed up nicely by the time we reach the top and exchange a brief 'hello' with a couple sitting up there enjoying the superb views with their dog. (No Mollie for us again, she's off on her holidays.)

We set off pretty smartish along the unofficial but well used path that follows the line of the whole Edge, noting as we walk that the wind is getting pretty brisk and hoping that it doesn't get strong enough to cause any problems (we have had real problems in high winds up here, and been actually blown off our feet).

The view opens up in front of us and we can see into the distance to the Wheel Stones and the Salt Cellar, looking forward to getting up close. Before we get that far, though we come to the Hurkling Stones and decide to get up close to them, something we've never done before as this is usually towards the end of our walks when we need to get a move on.

The weathered stones are very impressive and larger on close inspection than they seem to be from a distance. They also provide a good place to shelter from the growing wind so we decide to have an early lunch where we can sit in relative comfort.

Sandwiches (boring) then bun. No cream buns worth having this week but Mr Morrison has provided us with iced cinnamon swirls, richly doughy and gooey - and very satisfying. Followed by coffee our lunch is a definite success, but before the last of the coffee has been drunk we feel the first few spots of rain falling.

Undeterred we pull on our waterproof coats and emerge from the shelter of the Hurkling Stones. What a shock. The wind has got up and the temperature has plummeted. As we make our way back to the main path we can barely hear ourselves speak, and the rain is making a concerted effort to dampen our spirits.

As we reach the crossroads of paths we pause to consider our options. As much as we want to continue on ahead towards the Wheel Stones and Salt Cellar - with half a mind to go as far as Back Tor - the clouds are gathering and the whole outlook seems pretty grim. We want to walk, but we can't honestly see the point in being soaked through if we can avoid it. We've done it before, we don't need to do it again. There are no medals being awarded for perseverance!

So we take the left hand path and slowly start our descent from the edge. We're not going to rush, we still have plenty to talk about, and as soon as we dip away from the exposed edge the wind drops to a tolerable level and we can hear ourselves again. Sadly the rain doesn't stop but that's to be expected.

Naturally we keep pausing to enjoy the (damp) view and for PC to take pictures. And we notice that others are coming down off the edge too - we're not the only ones to err on the side of caution.

When we reach the dry stone wall at the bottom of the path we turn right, then left through a gate and continue our descent. Here the path is broad but eroded, it's a bridleway well used by mountain bikers - and one is steadfastly struggling uphill. Rather him than us.

By now the rain is coming in splutters and squalls and we're wondering if maybe we've made the wrong decision. But it's too late to change our minds now as we make our way to the barn complex at Grindle Clough (Grindle Barn). The barn, which we have visited before, is a handy shelter but it is already occupied when we reach it and decide not to disturb the gentleman who is there, looking proprietorially out at us. Instead we go through the gates and begin our final descent.

The clough looks extremely pretty with the fast running water, but the fields around are equally attractive too with their massed wild flowers.

At the bottom of the path we turn left and are once again on the level track which runs along the final length of Ladybower. And here we realise that we have made the right decision to leave the edge as the rain begins in earnest. At least we have some shelter from the trees.

This is a very easy amble now and we are soon (too soon) back at our cars. It is raining heavier now but we decide that we need to drive to a car park with a view (at the side of Ladybower) and continue our chat as we don't need to leave just yet.

As we are parked facing the reservoir with the edge beyond we see, through the rain, heavy clouds descending and completely obscuring the edge. They are very low, blanketing half the hillside too, and we are both very happy not to be struggling through it.

But we can't sit here forever, it is time to get back to our respective lives. By next week PC will be back on the boat, and I'll be hoping to find time to walk on my own. If I manage it, I'll post it.

WE'RE BACK WITH A GENTLE AMBLE AND A SPRINT FINISH

UNDER DERWENT EDGE TO LADYBOWER AND ASHOPTON

Summer is over and we're back - at last. There's so much to catch up on, so much gossip and so many happenings that we've planned an easy walk to give up enough breath to talk. Although we've both been keeping fit(ish) over the holidays (PC sailing and me walking) we've both managed to put on a bit of weight. Too many Cornish Pasties for PC while I've been enjoying the Cumbrian ale! Still, we're ready now, and raring to go.

Cutthroat Bridge is our familiar starting point and we have one of those wonderful autumn days where the air is crisp and fresh but the sun is bright. We had hoped that the heather would still be in full bloom - two weeks ago the moors were a vivid purple - but it's gone over and we've missed the best of the colour.

We avoid being run over on the A57 and make our way onto the bridleway at the opposite side of the road. We have an easy walk along this path which gives us plenty of time to start catching up on the last few weeks: holidays, exam results, family etc etc.

We haven't gone far before we have to stop - not to rest but to de-layer. The sun is starting to make itself felt and our fleeces and jumpers aren't needed. We're passed by some other walkers and a pair (or is it a tandem, brace, duo, couple?) of cyclists, and we remember that this time of the year is still the holiday season for many, especially those with no need to keep to the school term times.

It doesn't take us very long to reach the gap beneath Whinstone Lee Tor where we pause to take in the wonderful view, and to get out the map to decide what to do next. Our original plan (such as it was) would have taken us on the path over Lead Hill following the route of our very first blog. However, after a brief discussion we decide to continue on the bridleway which runs beneath Derwent Edge, something we can't recall ever having done before.

By now the sun really is shining and since we seem to have lost all the other walkers and cyclists (who prefer to keep high up on the Edge itself) we decide to find somewhere to sit for a coffee. Not quite as easy as we first thought as although there is a lot of heather and grass, all very wet from yesterday's rain, there's not much in the way of handy boulders on this part of the path. In the end we find a grassy platform where we make ourselves comfortable and fetch out the two flasks - the coffee and the secret flask. We savour the last of the Ramblers' Restorative (good job I have another batch almost ready at home) followed by coffee and enjoy the view along with a good talk.

We sit for longer than we intended, it's almost lunchtime, but buoyed up by our refreshments we press on, initially ignoring the path down to our left which leads to Ladybower and taking the narrow track straight on which flanks the drystone wall.

It's really warm now, and we're feeling peckish. Fortunately, there are a lot of boulders around here so we scramble through the bracken and heather to reach a huge slab of gritstone at convenient seat-height. Sandwiches, coffee and our first-of-the-season fresh cream scones are consumed with great satisfaction.

We don't really want to get up and move, it feels a really lazy day, but we know we can't sit around forever. Again, we consult the map and decide to retrace our steps and take the downward track towards Ladybower and Grindle Clough. We're onto the subject of books by the time we're on the broad path heading towards the woods.

The path is a bit stony, the usual case when a track is heavily used by mountain bikes, but it's easy enough to walk. We certainly wouldn't really fancy it uphill, though. We go through a gate then across the stream before reaching another gate which takes us into an old yard and barns, renovated by the National Trust.

The first building is Grindle Barn, now made into a shelter for walkers with a wonderful 'duck' bench and ceramic tiles set into the walls made by local schoolchildren back in 2002. Outside, above the entrance, is a carved wooden board showing life in the valley and on the hills. It really is worth seeing.

As we pass through the yard the last barn on our left has date carved into the lintel: 1647.

From here the downward path is paved, a bit strange and heavy on the feet, but it does stop erosion. By the time we're at the bottom on the Ladybower path we're onto the subject of the prices some charity shops charge for things they were given for free. Like £70 - yes, £70 - for a dress in Kendal. Needless to say, that one was left on the rack.

We're enjoying the view and the steady pace, but when we glance at the time we realise that we're later than planned and that we to get a move on. So we step up a gear, not fast, but we're making a bit more effort. Not easy when we've eaten all the food and drunk all the coffee (and the Ramblers').

It's a long, steady haul along the side of the reservoir, which is rather low despite us thinking we'd had a pretty grim summer. As we approach the long, multi-arched bridge we veer left past the houses at Ashopton and out onto the path beneath Ladybower Tor. It's single file on the narrow track until we're through the gate and in the shade cast by the trees behind the Ladybower Inn. The temperature is really high now and it feels more like mid-summer than early autumn.

It doesn't take us long to reach the broad stony path that runs parallel to, but above, the A57. Here I get a phone call from home - a sure sign we're late and with a fair walk back to the cars there's no likelihood of being home soon. Ah well, can't be helped.

The walk up the path is steeper than we remember, or maybe it's because it's so hot and we, quite honestly, are getting tired. Obviously, we ain't as fit as we thought! However, once we've hit the high point it doesn't take us long to yomp the rest of the way, completely ignoring the wide views and peace.

We make it back to the cars hot and sweaty, not a good look, and with the first rosy glimmers of sunburn. Yes, it really has been that hot. No time to hang around, though, so we make hurried arrangements for our next walk in two weeks time before heading our separate ways and a return to what passes for normality.