Captain's Log

Ted

We had a new member to our walking group today: Ted. This chap was the Cabin Boy's new friend and she wanted to bring him along to meet the team. Not only that, but she’d told him about the Peak District’s Ethels and guess what...he said he wanted to do all 95 of them. I sighed. It had been over 2 years now since I'd finished them. The Kapitan and Cabin Boy were only just approaching the halfway point and I’d been contracted to guide them up the remainder. It looked like now I’d have to climb them all again for Ted. The task was never ending.    

I decided to take him up the easiest Ethel to see how he coped before committing to the prospect. White Path Moss is only a stone’s throw from the road and requires hardly any climbing. We parked at Upper Burbage Bridge. There is a £6.60 (all-day) carpark there, but there is a free layby on the opposite side of the bridge. Today’s walk would start with a 10 minute jaunt up to the summit of White Path Moss. No doubt Ted would take a few selfies at that point since it was his first Ethel. We’d then walk that classic trail along the top of Stanage Edge. On reaching the Long Causeway, we’d drop off the edge and head for Dennis Knoll. A combination of footpaths would take us downhill into Hathersage. From there we’d climb back up to the moors at Over Owler Tor. Moor walking would then take us up to the rocky summit of Higger Tor where Ted would tick his second Ethel. It would then just be a short hop over moorland back to Upper Burbage  Bridge. 

White Path Moss - Ted's First Ethel

There was a definite chill to the wind that was blowing from the direction of Stanage. Autumn was definitely introducing itself. Our sunhats had been replaced by fleece and woollen hats, although the sun was that bright I could have done with a sunhat as well. We’d had a monsoon type storm yesterday afternoon and this had obviously replenished the streams. I’d never seen so much water bouncing under Upper Burbage Bridge. Within no time at all we were hopping from large stone to large stone on White Path Moss’ summit to reach its trig. Ted was exuberant.
‘That was easy!’ exclaimed Ted.
‘Hmmm’ I thought. Maybe I should have chosen the hardest Ethel first to put him off the whole project.    

Even though it was early there were still one or two walkers and runners along the edge. There were even some wildcampers cowboy camping in a cave just beneath the edge. They were being hit directly by the wind and so it must have been a long night for them. We walked along the edge and admired those incredible views down the various valleys. Standedge Pole (another Ethel) was in view to our right, but I was leaving that one for another walk. On reaching the Long Causeway, we headed downhill and almost immediately we lost the cold wind and we started to warm up. The carpark at Dennis Knoll was full; another £6.60 (all day) place to park if you can afford it. After 100 metres along the road we turned off on to a footpath southwards. We were heading for Hathersage. 

Hathersage

The valley down to Hathersage was crossed by many footpaths and you could choose any that took your fancy. It was a picturesque valley with fine views over to the hills forming Offerton Moor and Eyam Moor at its end. As we walked down Baulk Lane we met a few runners who looked like they were warming up for a race. We’d seen flag route markers at various places on our descent from Stanage Edge. As we approached the end of Baulk Lane, we came to the Start flag. There was a promotion banner saying that the race was the Fat Boys Stanage Struggle Fell Race. Oddly enough we hadn’t seen any fat boys limbering up; they all looked pretty fit to me.   

We headed uphill  towards the stone spire of St Michael & All Angel’s Church and on reaching the graveyard, commandeered a bench to have a break. It was a busy graveyard with plenty of runners and walkers using its path. Approaching the church we saw an isolated gravestone that was purportedly the grave of Little John (of Robin Hood fame). There was little hard evidence of course that this character walked the earth. Being referenced in stories and ballads doesn’t necessarily mean somebody actually existed. I was about to point this out to the Kapitan and Cabin Boy when a random chap walked up to us and said, ‘What they don’t tell you on the information board is that Little John was actually seven foot tall. He pointed to a pole that had been embedded into the ground next to the information board.
'That was the height of Little John' he told us. The Kapitan, Cabin Boy and Ted stood next to the pole and were evidently significantly smaller than Little John. As we were about to leave, two women approached to have a look at the information board.    
‘What they don’t tell you on the information board is that Little John was actually seven foot tall’ I enlightened them with the air of authority of a Professor of Medieval History.
‘He was as tall as that pole’ I informed them. Both of them cooed in appreciation of my exceptional knowledge. I left them with a dignified strut.

Over Owler Tor

We walked along the pavement of the busy A6187 for 300 metres or so and then branched off onto a footpath heading uphill to High Lees. The trail went through woodland and it was a relief to momentarily get out of the baking sun. It wasn’t for long though and a farm track brought us to the Whim Plantation and the start of the ascent to Over Owler Tor. The climb was actually easier than it looked from below and it didn’t take long to reach the north end of Millstone Edge. A gate gave us access to the other side of the fence and on to Millstone Edge itself. We got a tremendous view westwards  down the Hope Valley. The dramatic collection of boulders on Over Owler Tor was busy with walkers and families. Many of these would have made a short, easy ascent to the summit from the carpark to the south. We found a boulder to sit on for our lunch. Given the strong  sun, I felt like a lizard basking on the rock in the heat. It was never going to be a quiet break with all the people around and so we didn’t hang about and started making our way to the distinct rocky plateau of Higger Tor to the north. 

Higger Tor

The footpath towards Higger Tor was good and it didn’t take long to reach its base. An outward bound climbing course looked as though it was taking place on Higger Tor’s western rocks. It was an easy climb up to Higger Tor’s plateau. The area was busy with walkers and families again; Higger Tor is also easily accessible from the road. We proceeded over to the summit and found it surprisingly vacant. We stopped for Ethel summit photos. The Kapitan and Cabin Boy had now clicked over the 50% completed Ethel count.    
‘Well, that one was even easier!’ exclaimed Ted.
‘Hmmm’ I thought. It had been a big mistake taking Ted up the easiest two Ethels as part of his initiation. I wondered about taking him to the dreadfully hard  Harland Edge on the next walk. With luck that might put him off the idea of doing any other Ethels at all.  

As we approached the carpark, I stopped to take a photo of Higger Tor.
'That’s not a bad view is it?’ said one of two walkers that had been following us on the path. We had a brief chat and they said that they’d been in the middle of Kinder Scout during yesterday’s monsoon deluge. Some people are a glutton for punishment. 

It had been a glorious walking day made better with a cold wind and a warm sun. You can’t really go wrong with a walk that includes Stanage Edge. Ted seemed happy to tick off two Ethels on his first walk, but I’d now contemplated a plan to somewhat dampen his enthusiasm. That would have to wait for the next walk though.