Margery Hill

It was a glorious day but so windy that it kept nearly blowing me over as I walked along Mickleden Edge. Another walker was about a 100 metres ahead of me and I started feeling a bit competitive about reaching him. The Cut Gate path is a depression in the moor and this was enough to stop the wind to the extent that the air was almost still. Due to bends in the path, I lost sight of my fellow walker and I lost interest in our race. Just before the Cut Gate path reaches Howden Edge, I saw the walker sat on the heather above the path. I shouted 'Hello', but the wind must have been that strong up there that he didn't here me. I headed off left to Margery Hill.

Before you reach Margery Hill there is a large fenced enclosure. It is believed to be part of a Bronze Age burial ground. When I wildcamp on Howden Edge I always make sure it is further along the edge towards High Stones.

At 546 metres Margery Hill is the highest hill in South Yorkshire. It was also the windiest hill in South Yorkshire today.

Stirling LJ628

My main objective for today was to find the aircraft wreckage of Sterling LJ628 that crashed a couple of kilometres east of Margery Hill. I remember searching for this more than 30 years ago and not finding anything. I don't usually remember events from 30 years ago. The reason I remember this was that it was an awkward place to get to since there were no paths. After ten minutes of wading through knee high heather I can vouch that nothing much has changed in the last 30 years. Well, apart from my knees aching more. I remember that my walking friend Shirko was doing the navigating. I'm not sure where he got the co-ordinates from since this would have been pre-internet days. I think you'd be lucky to find the wreckage without a gps. I found two areas of wreckage quite close to each other (my gps reading: SK202956). I may well have missed other wreckage since the heather is quite deep.

The Stirling crashed on the 21st of July 1944. It had been on a training mission to practice two and three engine flying. The crew thought they were flying over Lincolnshire. It was the Jim Coulson, who was in the front turret who first noticed that maybe they weren't. Apparently he shouted into the intercom:, 'Pull up! Pull the flaming nose up skipper'. I wonder if he really said, 'flaming'. The warning didn't do any good; the Stirling reared up and 'bellied' on the moor. There was no fire since both wings and the tail were ripped off as they slid across the moor. Amazingly all the crew survived. The most unbelievable part of the story is that help arrived six hours after the crash, by way of a chief flying instructor and 'two army chaps' from Wigsley (near Newark). Given that it had taken me 2 hours to walk from Langsett to the crash site, I think that is remarkable if true.

Howden Edge

By the time I reached High Stones, the blue sky had turned grey. The wind had returned with a vengeance. I headed off along Howden Edge back towards Margery Hill. I met another walker stumbling the other way. 'I've been trying to find a sheltered spot to have my lunch', he shouted to me. 'You'll reach Sheffield by the time you find anywhere sheltered', I shouted back.

My way back to Langsett along the Cut Gate path seemed to take longer than it did this morning. Maybe my early morning race with that other walker had distracted me somewhat. As I dropped down Mickleden Edge the grey sky disappeared and blue sky reappeared. The sun shone on the Langsett Reservoir and the surrounding woodlands. Even the wind dropped a little. Normality was resuming.

Will it be another 30 years before I revisit Stirling LJ628? More to the point, will I still be around in another 30 years? Even if by some miracle I am, I can't see me wading through all that heather again.