Feb 24 ‘08 - During the last couple of weeks,
the weather has been fairly dry here in Derbyshire, unfortunately I have not had the time to take advantage for a spot of gritstone climbing but at least yesterday I managed to escape for a mountain bike ride. I parked at Ashopton Viaduct, Ladybower reservoir and headed along the side of the reservoir, north towards the moorlands. At Howden dam, I crossed, past Fairholmes and continued north on the access road. Round the corner I took the steep bridlepath to Lockerbrook Farm and continued on to the Snake road near to where the walk to Alport Heights begins. I took the stony bridleway up the flank of Kinder that leads to hope cross, crossed Jaggers Clough and along the road in the direction of hope. Before reaching Hope, I took the bridleway back up towards hope cross but turned right on meeting the gate, climbing in the direction of Win Hill. I picked up the bridleway that drops then into Aston and along Part of the Touchstone Trail (I think that is something to do with Bamford's Millennium Project) , crossed the dam (avoiding the dog muck left by the usual irresponsible dog owners) and back to the parking at the viaduct.
Previous entries ...
June 29 ‘05 - Headed out climbing at Intake quarry near Middleton top on the High Peak Trail yesterday evening and enjoyed using the chert nodules as handholds. This set me thinking and as a result have added some more pages to the geology section - why not check it out. I will add some more over the next week or so. The link to the Peak District geology pages is found above in the top bullet points. Also did a great mountain bike circuit from Bakewell to Youlgrave, on to Birchover, round Stanton Moor then down into Rowsley. I then headed towards Bakewell and over the top into Chatsworth Park, to finish with the Edensor climb and a great piece of singletrack down into Bakewell and the car. On the way round I stopped at Youlgrave and Rowsley to take a look at their well dressings. Amazing. Beautiful. Sometime over the next few days I will add some pictures and maybe a short write up as well to the well dressings page. For anyone interested in advertising their business, B&B or self catering accommodation or if you are an estate agent looking to advertise their property, try us, we consistently receive over 9000 individual visitors each month and our adverts outperform our main competitors in a big way (contact us for 3rd party evidence). And we cost significantly less.
July 17 ‘05 - The last couple of weeks have provided Peak District tourists and locals with plenty of dry and warm weather. We have been out for a few of our favourite short walks on Sunday afternoons, the Burbage valley, Froggatt and Curbar villages and their edges, Baslow and Gardom's Edge to name but three. They are often quite wet and boggy in places but are as dry as we have seen them for a long time. The other surprising thing has been the lack of people - for saying that the Peak District receives around 23 million visitors a year, we seem to have missed most of them! Mind you, last Sunday was pretty hot so maybe people headed underground, visiting the show caves on these days keeps you cool. A friend of mine does some occasional work for the Derbyshire library service and recently had to deal with an enquiry for 'the big cavern in the Peak District'. Now Derbyshire has a number of big caverns, but the client eventually qualified it by saying it was the 'Devil's something or other' and had something to do with making ropes. Sorted - it was obviously the Devil's Arse up at Castleton - more politely known as the Peak Cavern, whose entrance is just below Peveril Castle. Hopefully, sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will have added some new information to the towns section of the site, I have been researching several places including Bonsall, Birchover, Beley and Baslow and hope to have the information on the site, with a few images, by the end of next month. Accommodation, particularly self catering, is becoming scarce to find, however if you look to the areas of the Peak District that are off the beaten tourist track or a little away from the usual popular places, you can usually find something. Bed and breakfast is usually less of a problem, as is hotel accommodation. An associate of mine runs a website that is dedicated to supporting the works of Far Eastern artists. It is for a non-profit making organisation called ArtsrepubliK. Collectors of 50's and 60's political posters will be interested as they have communist propaganda posters for sale. Also, for those of you generally interested in social conditions and issues in China today, or just enjoy looking at gritty contemporary B/W photographic images, take a look at his site. His B/W photographs of life in China are copyright free and you are invited to use them however you like.
July 30 ‘05 - The weather has now returned to normal for the UK, wet and cool! Still, for those of you who enjoy walking, running and cycling, it is more pleasant as you tend to overheat less. Although having said that, we were cold and miserable on a walk in the Barlow area, a circuit from Millthorpe. We only had to dodge the motorised traffic on one bridleway thankfully, but it was a bit of a noisy, smelly squeeze. Despite that and the weather, the area is classic English rolling countryside, with some delightful sections through woodlands with views over to the Eastern moors of the Peak district for most of the circuit. The Millthorpe well dressing was interesting, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of PG tips! We welcome Bird's Nest Apartment, a self catering apartment in Matlock Bath, who have renewed their advert for another year - see what they have to offer by visiting our accommodation page and choosing the South East regional page. No new Bed and Breakfasts have joined this month. Anyway, whatever the weather, we hope you enjoy your stay in the Peak District or nearby Amber valley.
September 5 ‘05 - Welcome to Cliff View, a self catering holiday cottage in Hayfield in the north west of the Peak District and Common Barn Farm Bed and Breakfast (5 rooms), Rainow, Cheshire, close to the Peak District, both of whom have joined us for a two month free trial. Also welcome news that the Government are to take steps to reduce the intrusion of off-road motorised traffic on bridleways, it will be nice to have the fresh air back, plus the peace and quiet which is probably the main reason that most people head into the countryside anyway. Perhaps given time, the scars created by trail bikes and 4x4 vehicles will mend. I would like my right to fresh air and a peaceful countryside restored. I am against a total ban, just more responsible riding and a sensitivity for the environment and anyway, it is unlikely that a ban would be enforceable.
October 12 ‘05 - Welcome to new advertisers Sladen Cottage and Peak Retreat, both recently refurbished holiday accommodation. Argonaut Bandwebsite completed.
Nov 18 ‘05 - The autumn colours are beginning to give way to the bareness of the winter now, although the weather in the Peak District has been pretty good. Last weekend was fine and sunny, but with a distinct chill in the air. Saturday was a bit frustrating as it took me nearly all day to repair my mountain bike, which has taken a bit of hammer up on the moors above Derwent, Howden and Ladybower and around Bakewell, Baslow, Calver and Eyam plus a couple of less wild rides in the Amber Valley, near to the Peak. Sunday we took advantage of the still sunny weather to do an afternoon walk near Hathersage. We parked near to the Fox House on the Sheffield road and walked over to Carl Wark, the (Iron Age?) hillfort overlooking the Burbage Valley (not the Buxton Burbage), over to Higger tor, where climbers were preparing to climb Brown's classic route the File. If you contemplate doing this VS, take as many mid-size friends as you can muster. From Higger we wandered over to Burbage North crag, where the outdoors activities groups of all ages were in full swing! A walk over the Moors past Burbage South crag, where the bouldering fraternity were out in force, took us back to the Fox House as the sunset was just getting good.
Dec 22 ‘05 - A couple of so-so weekends in the Peak this month, but at least it was not raining. The Christmas shopping traffic is building up now and everywhere was pretty busy. So we did some more walking and cycling, the best being a mountain bike circuit from Castleton. Parked on the old road and cycled up to Mam Nick, exploring the Odin Mine on the way (see mining section of this site). Along the bridleway and down to Edale from Hollins Cross. Picked up the bridleway to Jaggers Clough, an old packhorse way, where there were the usual kids on motorbikes (even though the Park Authorities have put up notices pointing out that motorised traffic is not allowed). At the top, where I turned right to go along to Win Hill, I encountered some considerate and careful trail bike riders, who actually waited for me to go through the chainwheel-deep water filled rut. They partially restored my faith in off road drivers. However, the usual marks of their passage were noted further along the bridleway with long swathes of the surface of the path ripped up and sprayed around. The main problem with trail bikes and 4x4 drivers is that the forces their wheels put onto the surface of tracks is strongly horizontal and it needs a fine touch to avoid damage. Feet and mountain bikes tend to put a compressional force on the path (apart from the mountain bikers who deliberately lock their wheels which most mountain bikers object to as it damages the environment and gets the rest of us a bad name) which does not damage the path. Nor do they leave a cloud of fume behind and disturb the peace that is most people's reason for heading into the countryside anyway - if we want traffic, we can get plenty in urban situations. I have begun to notice that trail riders in the Burbage valley seem to be getting bored with the tracks where they are legally allowed and I have encountered them now on the footpaths between Burbage North and South crags - there were two of them and I was on my own so I tamely stepped aside rather than confronting them.
Jan 12 ‘06 - Welcome to Homefield B&B, Darley Dale near Matlock, the latest guest house to take advantage of the effective advertising opportunity that this site offers. Darley Dale spreads out either side of the A6 as it passes north of Matlock, taking you towards Rowsley and Bakewell and on into the heart of the Peak District. They overlook Peak Rail and offer standard and premier rooms - perfect for the railway enthusiast. Also perfect if you are looking to visit Chatsworth or Haddon. The festive season was gloomy weatherwise but there was still good walking and mountain biking to be had. On a circuit round Hathersage, over Shatton Moor, Through Hope, up Win Hill and down the 'Gnarly Descent of Doom' to Ladybower reservoir, the terrain got the better of my bike. Just about to start the above descent and two spokes snapped, turning my front wheel banana shaped. This was much to the amusement of some younger lads as well as my companions. So, I had to walk down. Once at the bottom, with the front brakes dismantled, I was able to complete the ride. Wheel now rebuilt, Snowdonia is calling ...
0Feb 12 ‘06 - The Peak District flora and fauna is now starting to come to life
and the region is preparing for the arrival of spring even though it is still
only mid-February! Global Warming? A certain president would have us believe
that humans are not responsible for this. We may not be but can we afford to
ignore it? Perhaps a U-turn is on the way from the aforementioned powerful person
as the policy is to move away from dependence on oil supplies from the middle
east. What replaces oil? Alternative forms of energy. Excellent. Anyway, closer
to home and not political at all, lambs are starting to appear in the Peak District's
fields, the birds have been singing, probably because of the unseasonably mild
temperatures and the snowdrops are flowering.
March 6 ‘06 - Early in Feb, in the midst of the dam,
grey Peak District weather, there was a glorious Saturday, we managed to get
out for an afternoon walk from Baslow, over to Gardoms and then back to Baslow
via Baslow Edge and Wellington's monument. Sunday was back to grey! The weather
has been superb for well over a week now, although a little cold for climbing.
Last week-end, my friend Simon and I met up at Bakewell for a mountain bike
circuit. We were both a bit under the weather and decided on an 'easy, short
circuit'. After grinding up the hill of doom from Great Longstone onto Longstone
Edge we had some respite with the downhill of Coombes Dale, along to Calver
where we stopped for a cuppa. Refreshed, we headed back up to the top of Longstone
Edge and down the gnarly deescent to Rowarth. Simon's adrenaline had taken
over by this time and he wanted to try out a track he had seem from Hassop.
So off we went. OK, I admit it was an excellent track and one we will undoubtedly
do again, but it deposited us on the main Baslow to Bakewell road. Without
a map. We spotted a track heading off to the left, severely damaged by the
ubiquitous trail bike riders. Still, we were able to carry our bikes through
the unrideable section and continued off road, avoiding the traffic. To cut
a long story short, we finaly made our way back to Bakewell, about an hour
later than expected - so much for the short easy circuit, thanks Simon!
April 2nd ‘06 - weather wise, one of the better days so far this year. Having purchased the Vertebrate Graphic's White Peak mountain bike guide, we set off on one of the rides. Simon was on call so he needed to be within easy striking distance of the car. Fat chance of that - this was more like an enduro! Off we went to Monsal head. We actually parked opposite Cressbrook Mill rather than at Monsal head as we are cheapskates and did not want to pay for parking! The start of the ride was innocuous enough then we hit the first uphill! The bridle path up to Monsall head. Neither of us quite made it to the top! A great singletrack downhill led us back to the viaduct although with my dodgy brakes I needed a change of underwear! Luckily, this section was clear of walkers as we descended. At Monsal Station, we took the track upwards, grinding to a halt after about 50 metres on the loose and rocky surface. Then we had the black ascent to do after that - Simon did well but I walked most of it - got to have a target for the future was my lame excuse. The trail led us through to Blackwell Halt in Cheedale. The climb out of Cheedale was tough owing to the glutinous mud. Eventually we made it to Wormhill and to a fairly easy section. Another stiff climb left us on the Limestone Way, unfortunately rendered unrideable by trail bike riders and 4x4 drivers. One guy who was running had to stop and climb over the wall, at least on bikes, you can sort of push yourself through the gloop and deep ruts using your feet on the few high points remaining. It is heartbreaking to see the damage created by these people. They must be stupid or insensitive as they do not realise how much they spoil our beautiful countryside. Anyway, rant over, the route back along the valley to Cressbrook Mill was quite undulating and my legs were quite pleased to reach the car.
April 6th ‘06 - hurrah, some great evening weather this week so we have been able to get out to Harboro rocks to do some bouldering. Wirksworth Climbing wall is fine but after several months of pulling on plastic it is good to get some fresh air and feel rock under ones hands again. A bit chilly though with the strong winds.
April 23rd ‘06 - Headed out for another great circuit in the Peak District,
using the Vertebrate Graphic's guide to mountain biking in the White Peak. We
hit fog at the top
of Via Gellia which stayed with us all the way through Buxton and up to the Cat
and Fiddle. A strong wind was blowing as we off-loaded the bikes but once we
had reached 3 Shires Head the fog was lifting and we had warmed up. 3 Shires
Head was once the scene of illegal bare knuckle fighting. When the local constabulary
turned up, the fighters would just nip into one of the neighbouring counties
to continue safe from arrest. The village of Flash is nearby, which possibly
gives its name to terms such Flash money owing to the nnumber of rougues who
lived there in times past. An interesting and technical haul up from 3 Shires
Head plus some road work got us round Shuttlingsloe to Wilboarclough, from where
we could access Macclesfield forest. A steep pull up past a group of Duke of
Edinburgh's youngsters took us to the concessionary bridleway that skirts the
forest. Some great downhill on this track was followed by a short stretch past
the reservoir and back onto an uphill stretch through the other side of Macclesfield
forest.
Charity lane proves to be an excellent stretch of downhill. Another short, steep
stretch with a new, very loose surface of limestone chippings marked the end
of the off-road sections. All there remained was the grind back up to the Cat
and Fiddle Inn. Thanks to the Vertebrate guys for producing a great guide, as
good
as their Dark Peak guide.
May
22 - Despite the poor weather, the Derbyshire tourist season is underway now,
with increasing numbers of visitors to Bakewell, Buxton, Dove Dale, Chatsworth,
Ashbourne and the other Peak District tourist areas. My latest mtb ride was
on a circuit suggested by a friend from Youlgrave - taking in the steep climb
of Rowsley Bar, curling back through brilliant singletrack through the woods,
back up to the top of Beeley Moor again and a great downhill to the lights
at Chatsworth. There are various options back to Yopulgrave from here, we
went up past Calton Lees, out of Chatsworth Park via the woods and down behind
Haddon Hall. The Bluebells are fantastic in the woods at the moment, do not
leave it too long otherwise they will be gone. We also welcome new advertiser
The Palace
Hotel at Buxton - a 4 star hotel where you can papmer yourself during
your stay in the Peak District. New pages have been added to the site about
golf in the Peak District, Calke Abbey to the south of the Peak District,
in South Derbyshire, Near Ticknall and Melbourne and an outline page of the
National Trust properties and estates in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Jun 10 - Over a week of glorious weather in the Peak District National Park
has really dried out the crags. Managed a couple of trips to Wildcat at Matlock
Bath - climbing on warm limestone. Mmmm nice. Nearby Willersley is cooler but
more midgy, but if you want to fry whilst doing a hard route - then High Tor
is the place for you! Great views though over Matlock, Matlock Bath and beyond.
Mardon House and Parson
House Outdoors Centre have also joined the ever growing legions of advertisers
on this, one of the most informative sites about Derbyshire's Peak District.
Jun 26 - Peak District weather has deteriorated a little now but it has still
been largely Dry. Managed to do a little climbing at Stanage (in the north of
the Peak District) and a couple of Peak District mountain bike rides. The more
memorable ride was a repeat of the Beeley Moor ride, in the Peak District diary
entry for 22 May. Amber Valley looks to have some potential for mountain biking,
will try it out and let you know!
Jun 30 - A great week for Peak District weather, managed to get out climbing
at Intake Quarry, near Middleton Top. Almost a year since I last went. I had
heard that there had been some rock fall - I did not realise how much until we
arrived. Virtually all of the Arch walls have fallen down. We went to the faraway
walls area, past the takeaway walls sector in the top section of the quarry.
There are a series of steady 6as there. The best of them in my opinion is the
middle one of the 5. Latest pages added to the site - cascades
B&B, Cascades
gardens - a hidden gem of the Peak District at Bonsall, Derbyshire, the
Peak District village of Hope and the Hope
Valley and Hartington. Derbyshire
Arts Centre. July 31 - Been away for a while but came back to the Peak District
to the same sort of weather as in Europe, only hotter! Managed to get out climbing
to Willersley again, a couple of times. The first attempt was rained off by a
heavy shower, and resulted in an abseil from the stance, the second visit was
more successful with an ascent of the route to the left of Garotter (VS 4c allegedly
- felt more like an HVS 5a, hard at that - the grades are cetainly not generous
at Willersley, Pupilla at Wilcat is the same grade but a pretty straightforward
warm up) plus Cucumber groove to recover from the trauma. Both routes are worthwhile.
Not been up into the Dark Peak on account of the fire risk - areas like the moorland
are closed (see the top of the page).
August 22 - A couple of weeks of bad weather and a hamstring injury has curtailed
my normal outdoors activities in the Peak. Headed indoors to Wirksworth wall
a couple of times when it was too wet to get out anywhere climbing (mtb outings
not an option - thanks hamstring!) and managed a couple of sessions on the dolomitic
limestone of Harboro Rocks. Also managed a couple of short strolls near Bakewell
and Baslow, along the top of Curbar Edge and Baslow edge is a pleasant evening
walk. I feel another rant coming on now ... it dismayed me a little recently
to see web sites celebrating the number of pages and number of hits they get
- many of the pages are devoid of any information! I am sure they will eventually
fill up, at least this site does not add pages until there is some meaningful
information on them. Web site statistics eh? They can be used to blind people
to the reality of the situation. They are used by unscrupulous web site owners
to dupe people into thinking the site is doing better than it is "Millions of
Hits per Month" they will declare, pretending that a hit equates to a visitor.
If they are not duping people and genuinely believe that a hit is a visitor,
then they clearly don't understand anything about web site statistics. A hit
equates to a file being displayed on a visitor's computer screen! So, the page
itself will register as one hit, each image produces another hit and any other
files like css style sheets each record as a hit. If a page requires say 10 files
to display on the screen, then 10 hits will register for each visitor. If the
next page needs 15 files to display, then that one visitor will create 25 hits.
The owner of a web site will often visit their own site, looking at 20, 30 pages
a month, maybe more, so they register hits. Search engine software looking at
hundreds of pages will generate hits as well, so the key figures really are unique
visitors. This is almost impossible to track accurately, for example we use 3
different methods, the one that we take as being valid is the one with the lowest
number, that way, we feel that we give a fairer picture, especially if you are
deciding whether or not to part with some money. Also, many sites will not display
their statistics, so that potential clients cannot verify the figures for themselves.
Here at A Taste of the Peak District, we do, we are honest and open, you can
see the user figures for yourselves.
Sept 10th - The day of Belper's River Gardens centenary celebrations, seldom
have I seen so many people in the gardens! It is good to see this local Derbyshire
Amber Valley amenity being so well used, it is always well maintained. The Wirksworth
festival is also in full swing, long may it continue, exhibitions and sales of
arts and crafts from Derbyshire, The Peak District and beyond. New pages added
to our Peak District, Derbyshire site, including tips and advice for walkers,
hikers and campers ... Walking
in Derbyshire - Gardom's and Baslow Edge, Peak
District walking on Kinder Scout, buying
a pair of walking boots - advice, Warm
up exercises for walkers and hikers, Ashbourne,
Derbyshire, Peak District, Shrovetide Football, Walking
shoes or hiking boots - which are best?, Walking
gadgets, Reuse
and recycle your old foam sleeping mat, main
Peak District walking page updated
Oct 23 - not been out climbing, walking or cycling into the Peak District or
any where else in Derbyshire for a while, have been up into Lancashire though,
a walk near the Trough of Bowland on a Saturday was superb. We saw very few others
- a few locals and a few people in cars passing us on a short road section. We
did manage to get a break in the weather for some Peak District Grit climbing.
It felt strange as we have spent the summer on limestone (with a little French
Basalt thrown in!). It is now the wall season so Wirksworth Climbing wall here
I come. On the site, about the only change has been to the Derbyshire towns section
- the Glossop page
has been modified, thanks to historical and archaeological information supplied
by Mike Harding of Glossop Heritage Centre.
Nov 9th - At least it did not rain at the weekend so my friend Simon and me managed
a couple of days in the Peak District, climbing at Stanage and Burbage North
crags. We started at Paradise wall, above the Plantation area. Paradise wall
is never quite as straightforward as it looks. The bottom can be awkward (keep
your feet as far out as possible and don't burrow in at the start of the climb)
as can the wide crack at the top. The gritstone friction was excellent. The weather
was not inspiring, despit it not raining, it was very windy at the top. We looked
at BAWs crawl, but it was far too exposed to the wind for our liking so we moved
along to the inverted V and Flying Buttress areas - much more sheltered, at least
when belaying. The crag was full of groups and we had to queue for ages for right
hand trinity, giving up when the previous team got a wallnut 10 stuck! We finished
on Rusty Wall, climbing the central crack - a pleasant VS with some balancy moves
lower down but plenty of good gear! Sunday, the groups were out at Burbage North,
top roping and abseiling the choicest areas, so we did some of the more esoteric
offerings, and became very cold. Welcome to Derbyshire Art Courses
Feb 10 - last weekend was absolutely glorious in the Peak District, that was
reflected in the number of people who were out and about. Although there did
not seem to be many climbing on the gritstone edges, the boulders were packed.
Bouldering seems to be getting more and more popular in the Peak District, maybe
because there are an increasing number of novice groups and abseilers on the
crags, making it more difficult for climbers generally to touch rock. I opted
for a mountain bike circuit, as I really can't be bothered queuing for problems
or routes these days. Parked near Gardom's and headed over to Wellington's monument
and down into Baslow. Over the old Baslow Bridge and, when I could get across
the road, headed into Chatsworth Park and up the hill out of Edensor. Slithered
down the singletrack into Bakewell, boy was it muddy after the rain. Along the
Monsall trail and on to the climb of doom out of Longstone. After a severe mechanical
(the rear mech hanger bent), I headed down behind Glebe mine (yes the very same
one whose lagoon wall gave way and sent huge quantities of mud flowing through
Stoney Middleton) following the still-frozen Combes Dale. Then up to curbar gap
via Calver and a final run along the top of Baslow Edge back to Wellington's
monument, left along the track back to the car near Gardom's Edge. Despite the
beautiful sunny weather, most people seemed quite miserable, I gave up even acknowledging
them after about an hour. Also, the idiots were out in real force in Chatsworth,
despite there being polite requests for all cars to park in the very ample and
free car park at Calton Lees, still you get dozens of people parking at the side
of the road. What is it with people that makes them so arrogant as to think that
they can do what they want, or are they just thick? Remember, Chatsworth is private
land but the Chatsworth Estate allow people to roam freely in many parts, without
charging them - I think that people forget that and just take it for granted.
OK, so I will irritate the freedom to park-where-you-want people, but just remember,
would you like cars parking on your veg patch or lawn - I think not. Don't bother
emailing me about this, you have your own opinion and I have mine.
New advertiser - Twitchill
Farm self-catering holiday cottages Hope Valley.
April 29 - After a good spell of dry weather here in Derbyshire and the country
as a whole, now would be a good time to do the Linacre mtb circuits, which have
some horrendously muddy sections in the winter. With the start of the lighter
evenings and the decent weather, Harboro Rocks has been a good choice for evening
boulder sessions. The White Peak mtb guide has a short but excellent mtb route
in it, the Hope circuit - this can easily be extended by parking at Castleton,
take the bridleway up to Hollins cross and descend from there, following the
right hand bridleway down. Head to Hope Cross via Jaggers Clough and join the
Hope circuit on the slopes of Win Hill, overlooking the Edale and Hope Valleys.
New advertisers - Darwin
Lake self-catering holiday cottages, Whitton
Lodge bed and breakfast and Tudor
Rose B&B in the south of Derbyshire.
May 21 - Finally made it out onto the grit for the first time this year! 4 of
us headed up to Cratcliffe and warmed up on Five Finger Exercise followed by
Suicide wall. Five finger for me has a couple of cruxes, getting up to the bit
below the flake (small but positive and sharp 2 finger hold with a high step
facing left) and then entering the flake itself (a bit of a swing and reach up
into the bottom of the flake with just some smearing for the feet). I find suicide
wall, although technically easier is more of a battle but with a brilliant variety
of jams and layback moves with the monster jug to finish. The start can be awkward
as can be the move just before reaching the bower - I reckon it is best to stay
out of the Bower). After that, we hooked up with a couple of other friends and
spent a couple of hours on the boulders. Friction was pretty good considering
the conditions of the previous week.
May 28 - No-one around for climbing so went out on the bike. Risked the Bank
Holiday crows but leaving early and finishing just after lunch just about did
the trick. Only had to suffer a couple of 30 mph drivers out on tha A6! The biking was the
superb Hope circuit from the White Peak Vertebrate Graphics mtb guide, with a
slight modification.
June 3 - 9 - Evening session at Matlock Bath Wildcat Crags, hopefully a gentle
warm up on trad limestone routes. Unfortunately started up an E1 by mistake which
is a grade I seldom lead, needless to say, I had a bit of a 'mare and sent Mark
up instead as he does lead that grade! The first pitch of Golden Yardstick was
our other route of the evening, fantastic but pretty slippery on the first pitch
now. A couple of days later we headed to Intake and did several of the routes
on Take Away Walls, very enjoyable as the routes there are mid-grade sport routes
- and you can get quite a lot done in an evening session. But that was just the
warm-up for Chee Dale on Saturday, we did not have a real game plan, maybe warm
up on embankment and then move to the other side of the Wye, for a route or two
on Two tier buttress. Instead we did a complete pile of choss as a warm up on
Max Wall (6a at the left hand end) but then did a few of the mid grades on the
main part - definitely not chossy and with plenty of great moves. Two tier will
just have to wait until the next time!
August - The Ecrins, for something a little bigger than the
Peak District!
Dec 23 - Cratcliffe for some bouldering - minging despite the
morning's sunshine, fell off, grazed knee and went home. Beer was a better
idea.
Dec 26 - in an effort to shift some Xmas Pud, took a stroll
from Baslow. Up towards Baslow Edge then the path from the gate down to the
Sheffield to Baslow road. Over to Gardoms and across the moors. Over the moors
to White Edge, crossing the Curbar road at Curbar gap, back along the top
of Baslow edge and dropped back down to Baslow. Still plenty of pudding to
lose!!
Dec 29 - Mountain bike ride in the Peak District. Started at
Ashford and headed up the hill of despair from Upperdale Farm, near Monsal
Head crossing under the Monsall trail. Still could not manage to ride it,
steep and technical ascent. Progress not helped by the 4x4 drivers, enjoying
the peace, quiet and fresh air of the Derbyshire countryside. But at least
they were not ripping up the trails like the kiddies on their trail bikes.
The wind was a bit grim but when we hit the high peak trail it helped us along!
Deep Dale was its usual muddy, slippery self which made the last gnarly section
very interesting.
Jan12/13 2008 - Great, a full weekend out in the Peak District. First of all some gritstone bouldering at Cratcliffe and Robin Hood's stride, near Birchover (Very busy) and then a mountain bike ride round the Manifold Valley in the heart of the White Peak District. We set of from Hulme end in the wind and Derbyshire drizzle, although the mass of Wetton Hill reduced the effect of the strong breeze. We cut across to the Manifold Valley and turned right, following the left hand road to the ford. Then left through some of the glutinous Derbyshire White Peak Mud to pop out at Grindon. Back down to the Manifold Valley via a Bridleway (and footpath where we went wrong by following the horse hoof prints) and then blasted back up to Hulme End, past the Ecton Copper mines, aided by a stiff southerly breeze.
Feb 2nd - decided to get out and try to get a bit fitter so
parked up at Middleton Top, the start of the Pennine Bridleway. The countryside
was beautiful as there had been an inch of snow overnight. It made the mountain
biking more interesting as well, addin g some extra slippiness to the route!
Headed over to Grangemill, up past Alwark towards Longcliffe. A right turn
and more road work to reach one of the least pleasant stretches of the route
- where the farmer just allows the waste to run off from the cow sheds to
lurk in deep and smelly cow shit coloured puddles on the track. Down into
Gratton Dale and over to the climb of despair out of Middleton. From the top,
a track, frequented by trail bike riders (ripped up and rutted to hell of
course by these irresponsible and thoughtless people who do not seem care
about the countryside or other users of the countryside - why were roads covered
in tarmac in the first place?). Then a blast (OK, trundle owing to the headwind
and a lack of fitness) back along the trail to Middleton Top and a well deserved
Mars bar!
Business services.
OK,
we are not the official web site of the Peak District but we have a lot of
useful information to attract visitors (over 100,000 last year - individual
visits - not just hits which are not a measure of the number of people who
visit a site but measure the number of files/images viewed on a site. A page
with say 20 images would register at least 21 hits for each visitor, and when
they return to that page, would register another 21, thus rattling up a huge
number of hits as opposed to just recording the one visitor). If you have a
holiday cottage or cottages to rent, or rooms to rent in hotels, guest houses
or farmhouse Bed and Breakfast establishments in the Peak District National
Park, you are invited to advertise
your accommodation can you afford not to? We consistently appear on the
first page of Google, Yahoo, msn and other search engines for Peak District
accommodation and tourist information related searches(see bottom of page for
current figure - feel free to click on the counter and examine our site statistics
- that is the only reason we have it so that you can substabtiate our claims).
We also produce cost effective web sites (starting from £75 for a one page
web site including a year's free rental of web space) with substantial discounts
for property owners advertising on this site - contact
us for details.
If
you manage a Peak District tourist attraction and would like to add it to the
site, please contact us with your details and images.
If you are in business, Chevinside Publications offer a web
design and search engine optimisation service (remember we offer substantial
discounts for web sites that we makeover or build from scratch for bed and
breakfast (B&B) rentals, self-catering cottage rentals and hotel owners
who advertise with us).
January saw the launch of the Dateactive web site online
dating for fit sporty and active people - friendship and also a dating site for
anyone with an interest in the outdoors, sports or an active lifestyle, which
we manage for a client. Also we have launched our Peak
District Visitor web site, ahead of the major re-design of this site
in a month or two. The two sites will gradually diverge in order to provide
better coverage of the region.
Please contact us with requirements for paper based publications such as
flyers, leaflets and brochures. Currently in preparation is our 'Insider's
guide to Peak District Villages' series of leaflets, written by Tom Bates.
About half of the leaflets are produced now, covering Peak District places
like Hathersage, Tissington, Wirksworth, Carsington, Bradbourne, Youlgrave
etc. We welcome contact from writers, particularly local to the Peak District
for publishing.
Contact us by email or
by phone 07947 260390
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