The Road goes ever on and on; Down from the door where it began;
Now far ahead the Road has gone; And I must follow, if I can;
Pursuing it with eager feet; Until it joins some larger way;
Where many paths and errands met; And whither then? I cannot say.

[JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings]

Wednesday 21 May 2008

Day 37 - Edale to Crowden

21 May
Distance: 16.25 miles
Number of cheeky robins encountered: 1
Number of knee-testing descents: 2

Having spent a very pleasant evening in the Nag's Head with Jeff, he didn't baulk when we told him that our morning start time is 7.30am.

It was a few minutes before that time when we all strode out of the campsite this morning for photos in front of the pub (the official start of the Pennine Way) before setting off along the 'new route' which goes along the valley and up Jacob's Ladder.

Before we knew it we were on top of Kinder Plateau and marvelling at its dryness. When we got to Kinder Downfall there was no downfall to be seen. In fact there was barely any dampness on the river bed, never mind a trickle.

Navigationally it was an easy morning for me and Mick. Jeff is familiar with this route so we followed his lead until Mill Hill, where Jeff turned left for Glossop and a train home and we turned right to follow the paved trail to the Snake Road.

It was a nice change indeed to have company for the morning (moreover company familiar with the area, able to point things out to us), so thanks to go Jeff for coming to find us.

Progress had been quite rapid until we reached the stoney stretches up Bleaklow, which slowed us a little. Then for a bit of navigational practice I led us slightly off course off Bleaklow Head, which took a little bit of head-scratching and a bit of yomping to put right.

The descent down Clough Edge was testing firstly for its stoneyness and then for its steepness and by the bottom we were adjudging this to have been a hard day.

However, we also adjudged it to have been a spectacularly good day. With the variety of terrain and surroundings and views there was certainly a lot to recommend it (if bleak open spaces are your thing, that is).

We're now sitting at the campsite at Crowden where once again we find ourselves the only customers. Alas, I don't think that this camping solitude will last for much longer. I spy a Bank Holiday weekend and school holidays rushing towards us...

2 comments:

  1. A big thank you to Mick and Gayle for putting up with me on a small section of their epic walk.I am now sitting on the Settee at home with a nice cup of tea watching the Champions League Final(Come on Utd!)The Settee is my friend(Where have I heard that before?)Good luck with the rest of your journey.

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  2. Can I fel a hankering here, Jeff? You have all the time in the world, young man! You know you want to....

    It's only 1200 miles or so, after all said and done...

    And you have already done a day and a half of it....

    :-)

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