8.5.16
Walking with; Rae and Dave
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I’d only just arrived back from my Cornish adventures when I received an e-mail from Rae asking whether we could fit her and Dave in for a walk in the Dark Peak, an area they’d never visited before. I chose Kinder as for me it’s the archetypal Dark Peak hill combining peaty bogs, with weird, weather sculpted rock formations and social history with spectacular views of the Edale Valley. It’s probably the place I’ve been more than anywhere else and yet I’ve never tired of it.
The gorgeous sunshine had clearly inspired half of the UK to come and visit Edale and as I drove around fruitlessly searching for a spot to park I, slightly mean spiritedly, cursed the fair weather walkers and beer garden punters invading the village. However, eventually a spot was found and I met Rae and Dave outside “The Pennypot Café” and we, along with many others, set off in the direction of Grindsbrook Clough passing “Ye Olde Nag’s Head” and any number of scenic cottages en route. Grindsbrook is, to my mind, the loveliest of the many paths onto the plateau following as it does the stream which carves it’s way beneath the imposing walls of the clough. Whilst it was early for the Heather, the Bilberries were starting to flower, the Silver Birches were in leaf and the water looked cool and refreshing as e picked our way upto the top.
Atop the plateau a fresh breeze provided welcome relief from the sun and we followed the spectacular path along the edge that took us past some of Kinder’s finest rock formations, “The Woolpacks”, “Pym’s Chair” and “Noe’s Stool”. The peat was dry and crunchy underfoot and the views across to the Great Ridge and beyond were great with little haze to disturb the vistas. We took the path that angled down below the Swine’s Back and then continued the knee crunching descent of Jacob’s Ladder into the valley. The last leg on this loveliest of days saw us follow the start/end of The Pennine Way through fields of sheep and back to village for a welcome pint in the beer garden of “Ye Olde Nag’s Head”. This is one of my favourite walks and it was both a joy and a priviledge to share it with such lovely, friendly clients
