Park Ranger Stories

Back at the Snake Road a part-time Park Ranger started chatting to us. He told us that he was to spend the day directing people to the Superfortress wreckage up on Higher Shelf Stones. 'Over the Easter Bank Holiday we had four Mountain Rescue callouts in three days from people who had got lost on the way to the wreck'. He joined us as we walked along the Pennine Way to the junction with the the Doctors Gate path. 'One day I was up here and there was a head-on collision between two motorcycles. Luckily two people arrived who just happened to be nurses. And then a paramedic happened to be passing, which was fortunate in that I didn't have do any first aid. It involved two air ambulances and two ambulances'. He recounted the story with a certain relish. 'The other day I was driving down the Snake road into Glossop when traffic came to a standstill. A motorist coming up the pass told me it would be best to turn around since there had been a bad motorcycle accident and it looked like the road would be closed for hours' . The Ranger was a nice chap but he seemed to have a touch of death about him and so we weren't that sorry to part company as we headed off on to the Doctors Gate path and he headed up the Pennine Way to the wreckage of the Superfortress.

Doctors Gate And Dog Rock

Doctors Gate was a Roman road and leads down into a very pleasant valley that is full of wildlife. Meadow Pippits chirped along beside us. When we reached the fields Lapwings swooped and swirled with loud shrieking.

Just before arriving at the Edge Plantation we headed off up a track leading to Dog Rock. Two bird spotters were nestled behind a stone wall looking at two birds flying above Shittern Clough. The birds were too far away to be seen, but I took a few photos. On inspection of the photos later, they looked like they were Hen Harriers.

It is gradual ascent up to Dog Rock with great views back down into the Doctors Gate valley and also over to Glossop. A couple of years ago I was approaching Dog Rock when I turned a corner and was faced with the massive Bearded Vulture that took up residence in the Dark Peak over the Summer. It was about 20 metres away. For a few moments we just stared at each other and then she flapped her huge wings and hovered high above me for a minute or two. She then flew across the clough and perched on some rocks at Wigan Clough. I sat down to watch her and take a break. After a while she glided back towards me across the valley and then used the uplift of the clough to soar up and past me. What an amazing experience...for me that is; probably not for the vulture.

Lancaster KB993 And Skytrain Dakota 210892.

After lunch we headed off southwards across Shelf Moor. Unfortunately, this area has been a magnet for aircraft crashes. At James Thorn there is a memorial to two aircraft crashes: Lacaster KB993 and Skytrain Dakota 210892. Lancaster KB993 crashed on the 18th of May 1945. War in Europe had ended just ten days earlier and one assumes that the Canadian crew were looking forward to returning home. They were on a training flight and had no navigator on board. Witnesses say that the Lancaster was seen circling above Glossop. Around 10pm, after darkness descended, the Lancaster crashed on to James Thorn on Shelf Moor. Six crew members died in the crash. The rear gunner survived but died a short time later. A few scraps of debris is scattered around the memorial with a larger amount, a short distance downhill.

On the 24th of July 1945, about nine weeks after KB993 crashed, Skytrain Dakota 210892 went down in almost the same spot. The crew were on a transport flight from Leicester East to Renfrew in Scotland. The cargo included a jeep. The pilot had been advised to fly up the East coast due to a forecast of bad weather, but he chose a more direct route along the Pennines. Seven crew members died in the crash. The impact caused the jeep to be flung into the planes crew and then out of the plane on to the moor. Some debris reportedly remains of the crash but the location is in a gulley. Since we were on a long walk we decided we would do the search for the wreckage on another day.

Higher Shelf Stones And Superfortress RB-29A

A few minutes, and after a short climb, we were up at the trig on Higher Shelf Stones with the rest of civilisation. At 621 metres, Higher Shelf Stones is the third highest in Ethel's list, a few metres behind Kinder Scout (636) and Bleaklow (633). What it loses in height though, it makes up for with views with a cracking panorama over to Kinder Scout and down into the Doctors Gate valley. Due to this dramatic vista and its relatively short distance from the Snake Road, it is a very popular location. I'm not a big fan of graffiti, especially those chiselled into rock, but the dates on some of the inscriptions do make you wonder about the lives of those who have have stood here before you. One of the dates is 1871.

We were half expecting to find our friend the The Park Ranger/Grim Reaper up here directing traffic but he was nowhere to be seen. Continuing our aircraft disaster theme, we headed off on a well worn track to Superfortress RB-29A that crashed only a short distance from Higher Shelf Stones trig. This is the most famous aircraft crash site in the Dark Peak with copious amounts of debris still scattered around. There is a memorial too to the 13 crew members that lost their lives.

On the 3rd of November 1948 RB-29A was on a flight from Scampton in Linclolnshire to Burtonwood near Warrington. The crew probably descended through cloud to try to determine their location with devastating consequences. RB-29A had been named 'Over Exposed' (with a naked lady painted on its side) and had some back history in that it was involved in Operation Crossroads which was the atomic bomb testing at Blair Atoll in 1946. It was also used for covert photo reconnaissance during the ongoing Berlin airlift. A disappointing side story from the incident is that some American officers were immediately despatched to the crash site. As people were searching the moors trying to find bodies, one of the American officers picked up a satchel and announced to his team, ' This is what we've been looking for'. The satchel contained £7,000 and was part of a payroll that the crew were delivering.

The sun disappeared behind a cloud and the area now looked rather sombre than a few moments before. Over in the west a passenger jet banked over Manchester on its way to who knows where. It was time for us to leave too and we set off over trackless moor to two large stones that could be seen on the northern skyline: the Wain Stones.

The Wain Stones

The Wain Stones are easy to locate on a clear day, but a bit more tricky when it is misty. A good navigation help are the huge pile of boulders that is know as the Hern Stones. They poke their head out through the heather halfway through the traverse across the moor. The Wain Stones are sometimes know as the Kiss stones in that from a certain angle, and a little imagination, one could almost see the shape of two heads kissing. This reminded me of when we came across another curiously shaped stone as we ascended to Higher Shelf Stones not an hour before. As we all stood around the stone, admiring the aesthetics I commented to Calse and Mo that it was shaped like a four leaf shamrock and that we may be in for some good luck. After a few moments to digest this thought in silent contemplation, Mo suggested that, 'It looks like a cock and balls to me'. Sometimes you just wonder whether it's worth making the effort.

Apart from a couple sat on a nearby stone, we had Bleaklow Head, its pile of stones and its wooden pole, all to ourselves. Pennine Wayers are on their first day when they reach this point and are usually so exhausted that they are usually having dark thoughts about calling a taxi and booking a hotel once they drop down into Crowden. No such thoughts for us though and we headed southwards on the Pennine Way, back towards the Snake Road.

Over Wood Moss

Before reaching the Snake Road we headed eastwards from the Pennine Way on to Over Wood Moss. This area is mostly trackless, relatively flat and can be confusing in bad weather. It is possible to drop into nearby locations such as 'The Swamp' . In 1964 three scouts lost their way on Bleaklow in bad weather and descended into the Alport Valley that runs alongside Over Wood Moss. After a deceivingly easy start, the bottom of the valley is a poor route to descend and eventually all three died of exposure. Our early morning friend, the Park Ranger/Grim Reaper, was trying to prevent other people wandering off into these locations. Even on a good day like today, the route can be less than obvious with paths being sketchy to non-existent. A couple of years ago I saw an excavator up here building little dams with metal sheets to improve the moor's water retention. There are now dozens of these little dams. After the summit, the route is slightly less boggy and gradually slopes down towards Birchin Clough. There is a sting in the tail to this walk and that is the descent down into the car park. It is steep, slippery and a challenge for tired legs.

Three Ethels, three aircraft wrecks and three tired amigos. I wondered whether to have three bottles of beer tonight to celebrate. There again I was so tired, I probably would go straight to bed.