DAMPLY UP AND OVER DERWENT

The vague plan of hiking up to Lost Lad today is scuppered by the weather, too much intermittent fine rain and low cloud along with patchy fog. But all is not lost, even if the Lad is, and there is always somewhere to walk around Derwent.

We park in our usual spot, and notice as we drive down that a lot of the smaller car parks now have the dreaded parking meters, though not ours, or not yet! A quick walk down to the centre at Fairholmes and we discover that all facilities are closed as there is work being done higher up the dams which has cut all the power. Ah well, onward.

We cross under the dam wall and head along the far side reservoir.

The blossom is starting to come out on a few of the trees, soon the branches won't be so bare.

This is a pleasant easy lane to walk on, and although there are usually quite a few people doing the circuit of the dam, today we are pretty much alone. The weather certainly has a lot to answer for.

Look for the left hand path that will take us uphill, and we clambler over the stile and onto the track. It starts off steadily, but after a patch of gloopy mud we are climbing. It's a rather lovely, if steep, lane but one thing it does do is encourage us to pause to admire the views (and catch our breath).

Despite having no leaves the trees look superb, their structure seen with greater clarity.

The views more or less in the direction of Lost Lad look as though it might be a bit clearer up there.

But there is general murk everywhere.

We reach the top of the lane and go through the gate next to the wonderfully situated farmhouse. Then another short stretch of uphill (with a fortifying nip from the secret flask to give us encouragement) and we come to some lovely views, and a stone wall to sit against to have lunch. 

Today is my 'birthday' walk, so as well as coffee and sandwiches, it is treat time! A small bottle of fizz, mini chocolate pots, and a gloriously large slab of carrot cake (my absolute favourite) make for a very decadent and much appreciated picnic.

As usual after such a lovely feast the temptation is to linger (is a post-lunch snooze in order?) but it is rather chilly so we pack up and set off again across the top of the moor.

There are wonderful views all around, including a good one of the Lad in the distance.

We pass a group of walkers up here, coming from the oppposite direction. It's quite unusual to see many folk up here, and even rarer to see a group.

The incline here is pretty negligible, and as soon as we reach the top we start the slow decent, with Derwent reservoir gleaming greyly in the distance.

We keep the steady descent until we come to the point where the path becomes steep - and the rain arrives in earnest. Deep ruts and runnels, along with loose stones and slick ground mean we have to be cautious, but we soom manage to arrive at the bottom wall and the gate through to the reservoir track.

PC takes a photo just to remind us of the not-so-well signed path that we'll be taking when we next decide to try for Lost Lad.

Naturally, by the time we are on our way back the rain has almost stopped, so we are pretty much dry when we get back to the cars. Hopefully we'll get to walk up to the Lad soon.

A LONG WAY TO HOPE CROSS

We've decided on something a bit more challenging today. For too long we've been playing safe, acutely aware of our lack of fitness and time constraints. So, enough of that, today we're making the most of it!

We squeeze into the full lay-by next to Yorkshire Bridge Inn and start off with our usual swapping session (including an old fashioned ginger beer plant). It starts to rain so we wait it out with a piece of Key Lime Pie and a drink of ginger beer. That sets us up nicely, then it's onward and onward.

We cross over the dam wall and look down it's chilly length. There's always a stiff breeze blowing here, but we suspect that there'll be little good weather today.

We turn right and set off at the side of the reservoir. We haven't gone too far before we reach the track we usually come back down on and make the decision to go up that way instead and do our walk in reverse. Well, it seems like a good idea!

We go up, through the gate at the top, and pause. Is it an age thing? We can't remember how we usually approach this point - and we've been here loads of times. The map is of minimal help, the paths on paper not quite matching those on the ground.

We strike off to the right and then veer left, eventually going through a metal gate. The first wisps of familiarity disappear as we realise we have never been here before. Never mind, it's going in the right direction, more or less.

The path is quite boggy in places, and brings us to an old derelict building. It has wonderful views, but poor access and needs a bit of work doing to bring it up to modern standards!

We head on upwards and come to the fence line beneath Win Hill. We may not be on the path we planned but we've arrived where we need to be.

From here it's a long walk following the line between moorland and forest. In places it is waterlogged, in others it is stony underfoot. 

The path undulates with some quite large dips and rises and we even get a glimmer of blue sky, but it doesn't last. The views from here, though, are superb.

Further along we have a number of options; go down, go on, go to the Roman road, go backwards and up Win Hill. The sheep scrutinize us as we quickly decide to keep going. We'll reach the Roman road soon enough, and our target is Hope Cross.

And after more walking than we recall (why are distances distorted when you do a route in reverse?) we see the cross standing aloof next to the path.

We only pause briefly to look at it before finding the path into the woods. At last we find something to sit on out of the wind to enjoy a late lunch. The Key Lime Pie and ginger beer certainly kept us going! Today's treat is scratched cinnamon swirl bun. Nice and chewy, but I would have liked more cinnamon.

Once we've done we head off again, it's too cold to linger. We're going steadily downhill now, and past the ridge and furrow land under the trees. They look very ethereal given the dark gloom of the woods here.

At the bottom we turn right through the muddy patch that was once the front yard of another derelict building. There's heavy moss growth on the old gateposts and a sense of nature reclaiming everything.

We walk through the trees, and the views open out again. It's downhill and a bit muddy, and we're surprised how far we still have to walk - this is usually behind us on the outbound stretch so it's not our usual view.

It's levellish ground though, and no challenge, especially as we still have plenty to talk about (nothing new there). But the sky is dull and we've had the best of the day. No pause when we get back to the cars, it's been a long walk and we can't hang around. But it's certainly been worth it.