David and Jacinta's Walks- 2026

 High Rigg with The Curmudgeons David was on a trip to The Lake District with a subset of The Curmudgeons- Tim, Greg, Chas and Andrew. We met at St. John in the Vale church, using their car park as it was afternoon on a Sunday. I remembered that I'd done the walk with Jacinta back in 2021 and Julian reminded me that he and I had done the walk from the south as well. We had views of Blencathra, which had a cloud topping and a dusting of snow. Blencathra with its head in the clouds It was a straightforward amble to the summit of High Rigg. Greg, Tim, Chas and Andrew at the top of High Rigg We walked on for about a kilometre for the view of Thirlmere. Chas and Thirlmere With all the objectives for the day now met, we returned to St. Johns via the route of (relatively) least resistance. A walk of nearly three miles with 345m ascent.

 Eyam to Abney Celebrating our wedding anniversary with a pleasant breakfast of scrambled eggs at the Village Green cafe in Eyam, set us up for a walk to Abney. At the start Mompesson's Well, named after the vicar of Eyam during the plague, is worth revisiting. At Mompesson's Well After this we struck out for open country across Eyam Moor, eventually going downhill to Stoke Ford. Crossing Eyam Moor with clouds below Mud was the order of the day as well as disintegrating footbridges, but we crossed Bretton Brook and  towards Abney Clough to reach Abney village itself. David thought that he recognised the place that he camped with the scouts back in 1968. The village of Abney consists of a few houses and this was our first visit together, although it's unlikely that David visited in 1968. We stopped on the way to Nether Bretton to rest and have our lunch on a convenient woodland bench before the muddy ascent to Cockey Farm. Down again to cross the river again and then the wal...

 Calton Lees and Edensor We parked at Calton Lees and started uphill to Calton Houses, passing a couple of cold-looking donkeys, despite their "Blankets". Chilled out donkeys After passing Calton Plantations, there's a walk up towards Manners Wood and then a traverse across fields to the wonderfully named Moatless Plantation, a wooded knoll where we stopped for lunch. The route then goes downhill, initially downhill and then down a byway, towards Edensor. Downwards towards Edensor Edensor must qualify as one of the most manicured villages in Derbyshire with its perfect cottages and imposing church. Instead of doing the long walk, we made our way back to the car park via the scenic bridge near Chatsworth House and the (rather flooded) fields by the river. Glorious, if damp, Chatsworth Hunting Tower on the skyline There were not the usual Chatsworth immaculate sheep around, although we saw some hardy types out on the hill. A nice walk and not too damp with great views along...

Marsden, March Haigh and the Pack Horse Road A misty and moist day as it has been for a couple of weeks, but we set off for Marsden to do a familiar walk up March Hill. After stopping at the Standedge Tunnel café for a quick brew, we walked up to Hey Green House and then alongside the row of rail posts, dated 1847. We headed next for the track beyond White Hall Farm which marks the start of the moorland and the steep sides of Haigh Clough- not that you could really see anything in the mist. At March Haigh Reservoir we stopped for some food and surveyed the extensive works that are taking place in the reservoir. We made our way up March Hill where normally one can see views back to Marsden. Nearing the top of March Haigh According to the Marsden Walkers leaflet, this is a view that Mesolithic people would have seen which is quite thrilling to imagine how wild it must have been in those times. We continued on the rather muddy path until the Pack Horse Road (marked by a clear PH road ston...

 Tatton Park We grabbed the chance to go out for a short walk on Friday afternoon and so went to Tatton Park in the damp. It was not that exciting- the best thing was the sight of the deer, some of whom were adorned with impressive antlers. Tatton Park Deer! A wander of 3.6 miles.

 Black Hill- David Solo A chilly, windy and misty day and anyone sensible would stay at home. Nevertheless, David was off to Crowden for the year's first trip to Black Hill. It was relatively sheltered on the way up to Laddow Rocks, but at the top it was very windy. I had to swap my knitted hat for a securely fitting Buff- I really didn't want to lose my new hat! With the wind as it was, I was anticipating coming back the same way (along the Pennine Way) as the top of Tooleyshaw Moss is very exposed. The mist was blowing in and out, as well although this was less of a consideration as the path is relatively clear and certainly familiar. Approaching the summit plateau ...and less than a minute later- horizon visible! I stopped at the trig point on Soldier's Lump, sheltering from the breeze in the lee of its plinth. Although I'd set my compass in case the visibility was bad, by the time I left the mist had cleared and the wind had died down a bit, so I was pleased to do t...

 Higher Shelf Stones- David Solo A chilly and windy day and so Jacinta, very sensibly, stayed at home. As we were going out in the evening, it made sense to go on a walk close by; initially, I thought of Black Hill but The Higher Shelf Stones are reached from Old Glossop, a little closer. The walk is a bit shorter as well so this made sense and we'd not done the walk for quite some time as well. It soon became apparent that the weather forecast was accurate in that the Bleaklow Massif was wreathed in cloud and by the time I reached Dog Rock I was well and truly in the mist. Some very careful navigation was needed to leave Dowstone Clough to head south to the trig at Higher Shelf Stones, but I branched off eastwards to look at the remains of the B29 "Overexposed".  Remains of B29 Superfortress "Overexposed" I stopped at the boulders close to the trig point and had my lunch- pretty quickly, as it was chilly. Sheltering boulders at my lunch spot After James's T...