Christmassy Castleton ridge ramble - 16.11.19
Falling asleep on Leanne's living room floor was not how I had imagined the day's adventures to end.
10:00am was the agreed meeting time and of course I arrived late, and of course, Dave still hadn't arrived! Almost immediately a discussion arose about leaving Dave behind before he magically appeared from the crowd. His Craghoppers walking trousers and Weird Fish jumper meant one thing - we were taking him home to the Peak District.
The magnificent seven were assembled and ready for the adventure to begin! We headed for platform 2c, which could have been 9 3/4 - hidden away at the back of the station, platform 2c serves a small two-carriage train bound for every stop along the Piccadilly line. "Surely the train will be empty," Leanne said, "No one would get that train to Manchester". After squashing and squeezing through the masses on the packed tiny train, and taking out a few elderly folk with my oversized rucksack, we finally found a place stand, huddled together.
The train pulled away from the station and I thought to myself, "perhaps some of these people are just travelling to the Dore & Totley?" How wrong I was as more people piled on with their anoraks and ankle-high boots. As houses turned to hills, anticipation for the adventure grew.
We finally arrived at the station. After Leanne's somewhat wild guesses at the destination of today's adventurous walk, I correctly pointed out the summit of our first peak, shrouded in a fine layer of Derbyshire drizzle. Taking in their surroundings, the team posed for a photo with their first essential piece of kit - a hip flask. We were off! It quickly became apparent that Leanne's previous experience should have been a warning of the brisk pace that Matty sets.
From Edale station, we headed up the muddy bridleway to join the paved footpath leading to the top of Mam Tor. The footpath resembled the well-travelled paths of the country's most famous peaks, those of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis. Approaching the peak of Mam Tor (517m), once a Bronze Age settlement, now the most visited peak in the area, we muddled our way upwards through the crowds of people taking part in a mass organised walk. To avoid the countryside congestion surrounding the peak, we quickly moved on, after the obligatory photo shoot, along the country highway.
Clouds lifted, providing us with a well-deserved view along the ridge and down the two valleys; Edale and Hope. We continued east towards Lose Hill, taking in the views of the beautiful countryside in stark contrast with the notorious and unsightly cement factory. Shortly after passing Hollins' Cross we were forced to come to a standstill for a short 'comfort' break - Joe needed the loo and didn't know where to go. He raised the question 'what do you do if you need to do a poo?' Being an experienced hiker, I explained the importance of carrying a small/folding trowel on expeditions - always be prepared.
We reached the foot of Back Tor and gazed up the steep ascent. At the very top, I could just about see Matty disappearing off into the distance. We scrambled our way to the top. The reward - flapjack and, of course, a wee dram of whisky. We pressed on, some faster than others, towards Lose Hill.
Pace had quickened (a keen nose had sniffed out the ever-closer pub) and we marched straight on down the hill. I watched as the front of the group sailed on by the correct footpath. Knowing that I would be able to put us back on track, I allowed the group to make the mistake and learn the importance of accurate navigation over speed. Despite a couple of 'helicopter impressions', none of us actually fell on the muddy slopes and we arrived at the Cheshire Cheese.
A crackling fire and a cracking pint were just what we needed to recharge for the next leg of our journey. A very brief discussion decided that "two are better than one" - we had better stay for another pint.
We set out on the second leg of our journey. To Castleton! Although the leg was shorter and significantly flatter, it was no less eventful. Leanne had proudly shown off her new jacket (which she had bought for the three peaks), along with her walking shoes - she was feeling very 'outdoorsy' and well prepared. However, she soon hit a spot of mud.
"This is not what I signed up for! No one said there would be mud!" she exclaimed. I, unfortunately, was on the end of her exasperated outburst, Matty was, as expected, far towards the front of our group out of earshot.
We arrived in the bustling town of Castleton. Busy with the hoards of people who had turned out for annual Christmas light switch on. None of us had quite prepared ourselves for how busy a small town could become on such an evening. We muddled our way through the crowds to the pub at the far end of the tow, fully intending to attempt a pub crawl back through the town.
We left my brother David and his wife, Lynne, who joined us, in order to move on through the now festive village. We walked among the crowds towards Hope as they made their way back to their abandoned cars. We had made the decision early on not to take the dark footpaths following the river as we moved on from adventures and mud.
Arriving in Hope, we arrived at our final country inn. This was significantly busier than anticipated - the crowds had beaten us to it! Once again, we were resigned to the benches outside in the cold, it was a good job we had come prepared! Fortunately, the pub boasted a good selection of gin and an even better whisky selection which kept us occupied for some time.
Eventually, Dave had to leave us and he was replaced by Hannah and Owen who had been hot on our heels, following a live location I had shared. They eventually caught us up at the station and joined us for the journey back to Sheffield. After a few more celebratory drinks in the Rutland Arms, Luke, Hannah and Owen headed home and the remaining few returned to Leanne's for a quiet nightcap, but not before Matty could demonstrate just how quick he is.
With weather far better than expected, more beer and whisky than expected, and far fewer Christmas lights than expected, it turned out to be a fun night and a great way to fit in yet another important training walk.
My three tips are:
Tip one: wear appropriate walking trousers (with off-set seams)
Tip two: carry a hipflask (preferably with a nice smokey whiskey)
Tip three: the most obvious path is not always the right path (accurate navigation over speed)
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