Walk Summary
A walk along two Peak District edges with. spectacular views down the Derwent Valley. A climb to the top of the Higger Tor with views over to Burbage Edge. Curious rock etchings that might be seen as art or environmental vandalism.
Date: 23/10/2021
Length: 13.45 miles
Height Gain: 466 m
Terrain: Boggy paths, rocky paths; some road walking
Navagation: Good
Start: Cutthroat Bidge Car Park on the A57
Route: Cutthroat Bridge, Bamford Edge, Green's House, Burbage Bridge, Stanage Edge
Map: OL1 Dark Peak Area
Weather: Cloudy and windy
Walkers: Nun, Calse and Mo
Gallery
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Bamford Edge - Looking down to Ladybower Reservoir
Captain's Log
Cutthroat Bridge
There is ample parking at Cutthroat Bridge. The name is supposed to originate from a distant past when a man was discovered near here with his throat cut. More recently (in the 1990s) a decapitated body was dumped here. Fortunately, we didn't find any corpses.
On reaching Bamford Edge a low sun illuminated the Ladybower Viaduct. It was only a brief 'hello' and then it disappeared behind the clouds.
Kestrel
A Kestrel followed us down from Bamford Edge. It seemed deep in concentration at hovered above the heather waiting for its breakfast to appear.
The ruins of the Holy Trinity Chapel are in a field just beyond Green;s House. It is thought it was a Roman Catholic church and was later ruined in the seventeenth century by Protestants.
A couple of women with four small dogs toured the ruins whilst we were though. Each of the dogs had a onesie type outfit on. I felt a bit sorry for their street-cred since each outfit was either electric orange or electric green.
Bamford Edge - Kestrel
Higger Tor - Car Wreck
Higger Tor Car Wreck
As we approached Higger Tor, we could see that a car had come off the road and ended up at the bottom of the hill. The flattened ferns described its path as it departed the road and made its way down the steep slope. I looked up the incident up provided by the local Mountain Rescue. Apparently the car had come off the road in September 2021 at around 21:30. It was fortunate somebody spotted the accident and informed the emergency services since potentially nobody would have found it until the next morning. Thankfully the driver survived but had serious injuries. I wonder if the car wreck will now be a permanent fixture on the moors. Given its location, it would be tricky to remove.
Near to the top of Higger Tor four runners passed and shouted 'Hello again'. We'd seen them near the Dennis Knoll car park about two hours before. Evidently they were out for quite a long run.
Rock Climbers
Rock climbers were out in force on Burbage Edge and Stanage Edge. It has been a long time since I'd seen this many. The conditions were quite blustery and I enjoyed being an a horizontal rather than a vertical surface. Some were climbing near the large overhanging rock known as Quietus, although nobody was braving the overhang itself.
Item in the Rievaulx Abbey museum
Stanage Edge - Grouse Bowls
Grouse Water Bowls
From around Quietus northwards along Stanage Edge, you find curious features on some of the rock slabs. There is an indentation in the rock with grooves leading into it. Each one has a number chiselled into the rock near it. There are supposed to be 108 of them but I've never seen numbers above 30. Presumably some are away from the edge and possibly overgrown with heather. They are grouse water bowls. The chiselled channels collect water into the bowls. I'm split between seeing them as works of art or as environmental vandalism.
The path off Stanage, eastwards towards Jarvis Clough passes a row of substantial grouse butts. They have been submerged into the ground, are well camouflaged and seem more suited to Dunkirk than a Peak District moor.