Walk: 10am to 1pm - 5.3 miles and 710ft of ascent
After our plans changed yesterday based around the weather, I had Donna taking the mickey out of me as we travelled the 25 miles or so over to the Peak District and headed into fog with the temperature dipping down to 2c. I'd promised her blue skies and endless sunshine (ok no promise of cocktails on a beach), but what we experienced wasn't exactly as I'd suggested. And to make matter worse, my attempts at passing the blame to BBC Weather were falling on deaf ears. I accepted my punishment and we did have quite a laugh about it.
That said, a wry smile did come across my face as not too long after leaving the car we could see shades of blue appearing through the low cloud, my predictions were coming true. We headed along the main A623 for about 200m before taking a path to the left heading up towards Coombs Dale. The path was more of a track so it was easy walking, and this first half of the planned circular walk was a very slight incline so a great way to get our legs pumping.
We followed the track for about 2 miles, much of the route was shaded in the trees so not a great deal to see, or importantly for me, to take photos of. Just a few snaps along the way as a reminder of the route but nothing to set the artistic juices flowing. The track took us past Rough Side and on the left there was an old mine entrance that had been long since closed. Not sure what was mined here, but with the help of Mr Google it looks like it was Lead that was mined in the area.
Our route was supposed to take us around a flooded disused quarry before heading back, but a slight misreading of the map meant that we didn't quite reach it assuming that it was in some way out of view. We picked up a slightly steeper route up the hill towards Bleaklow, stopping close to the top of the hill for a snack. Donna had found a large flat stone next to the path with a metal sign attached with the name "Ruby's Chair", it would make a great seat for 10 minutes. Looking back from where we came, we could now see that the flooded quarry was about 200m further along from where we turned to head back. Clearly out of sight when we'd been down there.
Not much of a snack today, a few rice cakes, some grapes and a fruit bar - just enough to stave off the hunger. After continuing on our route we reached the top of the hill and came across the opencast mine at High Rake. Not a place that you could gain access to, so I tried to hold my camera as high as I could and fire off a few 'hit and miss' shots.
The last 2 miles or so of the walk saw us head downhill, initially with a gradual drop in height and the last part quite steep with the need to ensure that you watched where you were walking as the path was quite loose, and it would have been easy to end up on your backside if you weren't too careful. I know I've got plenty of padding in that area, but still not an option I'd choose.
As we walked the last couple of hundred metres through the village back to the car, we saw what we thought was a small quaint cafe so decided that a sandwich and drink would be the order of the day. However the only order we made was a can of pop each as it wasn't a cafe but more of a sweets and ice-cream shop. Never mind, it didn't take any of the shine of what had turned out to be a lovely walk.
After our plans changed yesterday based around the weather, I had Donna taking the mickey out of me as we travelled the 25 miles or so over to the Peak District and headed into fog with the temperature dipping down to 2c. I'd promised her blue skies and endless sunshine (ok no promise of cocktails on a beach), but what we experienced wasn't exactly as I'd suggested. And to make matter worse, my attempts at passing the blame to BBC Weather were falling on deaf ears. I accepted my punishment and we did have quite a laugh about it.
That said, a wry smile did come across my face as not too long after leaving the car we could see shades of blue appearing through the low cloud, my predictions were coming true. We headed along the main A623 for about 200m before taking a path to the left heading up towards Coombs Dale. The path was more of a track so it was easy walking, and this first half of the planned circular walk was a very slight incline so a great way to get our legs pumping.
We followed the track for about 2 miles, much of the route was shaded in the trees so not a great deal to see, or importantly for me, to take photos of. Just a few snaps along the way as a reminder of the route but nothing to set the artistic juices flowing. The track took us past Rough Side and on the left there was an old mine entrance that had been long since closed. Not sure what was mined here, but with the help of Mr Google it looks like it was Lead that was mined in the area.
Not much of a snack today, a few rice cakes, some grapes and a fruit bar - just enough to stave off the hunger. After continuing on our route we reached the top of the hill and came across the opencast mine at High Rake. Not a place that you could gain access to, so I tried to hold my camera as high as I could and fire off a few 'hit and miss' shots.
As we walked the last couple of hundred metres through the village back to the car, we saw what we thought was a small quaint cafe so decided that a sandwich and drink would be the order of the day. However the only order we made was a can of pop each as it wasn't a cafe but more of a sweets and ice-cream shop. Never mind, it didn't take any of the shine of what had turned out to be a lovely walk.
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