Captain's Log

Edale

I stepped off the train at the Edale railway station and followed all the other walkers to the exit. Normally I’d drive to this location, but starting today,  I had a 2 day mini-venture planned that involved a linear trek from Edale to Penistone. This first day would take me along my favourite lower level path along the Vale of Edale before climbing the dual humps caused by the Snake Valley. I’d then drop down to Fairholmes Visitors Centre at Ladybower Reservoir to stock up on calories at their cafe. After the treats, I’d follow the easy road along the east side of the Upper Derwent Reservoir, before turning off eastwards up the Abbey Brook valley. I’d got a wildcamp pitch in mind at the top of the valley. At a smidgen under 10 miles, I had plenty of time to reach my final destination and so I set off with a steady pace from Edale.     

I lost all the other walkers when I turned off the road onto the footpath to Ollerbrook Farm. Everybody else continued marching up the road into the village centre, no doubt to head for Grindsbrook or one of the many other excellent paths up on to the Kinder Scout plateau. It really was a lovely day. The sky was blue and there had been a scattering of snow on the high tops of Mam Tor, Rushup Edge and Brown Knoll. Despite the sun, there was a chill in the air which made for excellent walking conditions. 

Vale Of Edale

A few very young lambs were pottering around their mothers in the surrounding fields. I bet they wished they had a bit more wool on their backs given the chilliness. After Ollerbrook Farm, I turned off onto the footpath that roughly follows the line of the Open Access area along the valley. The rain over the last few days had made the conditions rather boggy and I was glad that I’d stopped at Ollerbrook Farm to put on my gaiters. At Edale Youth Hostel I made use of one of their patio tables to take a break and brew a coffee. Given the size of the place, I’m surprised that I never seem to see anybody walking around whenever I pass through. Maybe they’re all early starters and were already out on the hills. 

Caffeine loaded, I continued following the footpath along the valley. Despite appearances on the OS map, the path is actually quite undulating. There’s nothing seriously arduous, but it did get the legs and heart pumping in parts. The view across the valley was superb to the pyrammid of Lose Hill and the further I progressed, Win Hill came into view. The path dropped down to the beck along Jaggers Clough and I had to walk upstream to find a place to cross. Normally it was possible to cross using the ford, but there was a bit too much water tumbling down today. It was a long, gradual climb out of Jaggers Clough. It opened up a lovely valley view on my right towards Hope.

Tackling The Hagg

I reached the crest of the ridge and started dropping down the other side. There were plenty of walkers in this area and I followed two down the path to the River Ashop. One of them was struggling and after Haggwater Bridge I passed them on the ascent to the Snake Road. Amazingly, it was clear of traffic and I scooted across. The next part of the walk was a steady plod uphill. It went through trees making it cool and the path zig-zagged to ease the gradient somewhat. It was still a tough climb though. I passed a female mountain biker who was pushing her bike directly uphill, rather than following the zig-zags. Short cuts make long delays and I passed her as she stopped for a rest. Finally, I reached the top and continued along the stone road to the Lockerbrook Outdoor Centre. Not far beyond, I turned right onto the path that descended through the plantation to the valley floor and Fairholmes. 

Fairholmes

‘Not a bad view is it?’ I’d stepped onto a small tarmac viewing area to take a photo along the length of Ladybower Reservoir. The question had come from an elderly couple who were queuing up behind me to take the same photo.
‘Not bad at all’ I replied. ‘I wonder how many people have taken this very same photo’ I added.

‘I don’t know, but we’ve taken plenty of them. We come here a lot.’

I left them to take another one for their collection and headed off towards the café.

I’d reached Fairholme ahead of schedule and so I decided to spend an hour there. It was pointless getting to my wildcamp pitch too early. It did mean that I had to purchase 2 coffees and a flapjack slab to pass the time as I sat at a patio table. It was when I decided to go for an ice cream cone and flake that I ran into trouble.The medium version still cost a staggering £3.70 and had a flake that suffered from dreadful shrinkflation in terms of both length and circumfrence. The ice cream was also more cream than ice and so I was in constant peril of it melting and running onto my hand. It was while I was addressing all my attention to this task that a large tanker approached and parked nearby. With its diesel engine running, the driver got out and fed a pipe from the tanker into a hole. He was draining the sewerage from the toilets. Obviously the sight of this didn’t add favourably to the atmosphere of eating an ice cream. On the frequent breezes, I’d catch an overpowering wiff of a curious stench of diesel and sewerage. I’d have moved to a different location, but it would have been difficult putting my rucksack onto my back whilst dealing with the melting ice cream. I could have cut my losses and just dumped the ice cream, but at an outlay of £3.70, I felt dutybound to finish it off. I have to say, diesel-sewerage flavoured ice cream is not one of my favourite flavours. 

Derwent Dam

There was plenty of water coming over the top of the Derwent Dam. I always feel a sense of awe when I stand at its bottom. I imagined what I’d do if a crack started appearing in the middle of its stone face. I think I’d probably just hide my head in my rucksack and hope for the best. I quickly headed across to the stone steps that took me up to the reservoir road. The day was greying over a bit now. There were still plenty of walkers and cyclists around though. It was easy walking along the road and I tried to slow myself down since it was still quite early. The west tower of Howden dam appeared which indicated that I needed to turn off eastwards into the valley that hosts Abbey Brook. 

Abbey Brook

It’s a lovely footpath up the Abbey Brook valley. Once I’d escaped the trees, I could see Howden Edge to the north. I would go along there tomorrow on the second day of this Mini Venture. It was still grey, although the sun did make an appearance a couple of times. I came across a Sealskinz glove that somebody had dropped. A little later on I came across another one. Somebody will be walking about with cold hands. Three raptors were patrolling along the valley. I’d find out later on that these were Red Kites. The valley closed in as I gained height. Before reaching the top, I followed a vague track that dropped down the hillside to the brook. This would be where I’d camp for the night. I thought somebody might have bagged the spot, but it was still early. So early, I devoured a Firepot and a coffee before pitching my tent. It was an excellent pitch with an interesting view up and down the valley. Apart from the Kites and some sheep, there was nobody else to disturb me. It got dark at around 19:00. I listened to the radio for an hour, but my eyelids were drooping and I drifted off to sleep. I awoke to hear a massive booming sound above me. A helicopter was making its way up the valley and seemed very low. In my dazed state, I initially thought it was trying to land, but the area was way too small to support a helicopter. Eventually, it headed over me and away across the moors. I drifted off back to sleep.     

It had been an excellent day in the Dark Peak. I love the picturesque walk along the Vale of Edale. The two hill ascents to get to Fairholme provided justification for me to stuff my face with flapjack and diesel-sewerage tasting ice cream. The walk along the Upper Derwent Reservoir and up Abbey Brook was a delight.