Walk Summary
A walk along the scenic Mickleden Edge, on to high boggy moorland and over to the remote summit of Pike Lowe. Views over to Langsett, Midhope, Broomhead and More Hall reservoirs from the top. Return down Sugden Clough and see some of the remains of the World War II artillery training area.
Date: 11/01/2022
Length: 8.69 miles
Height Gain: 276 m
Terrain: Boggy paths, rocky paths; woodland paths, forestry tracks, lightly used roads
Navagation: Moors across to Pike Lowe are featureless and the path is sketchy. Requires map and compass in bad weather. Woodland walking.
Start: Flouch Langsett Car Park
Route: Flouch Langsett Car Park , Mickleden, Pike Lowe, Langsett Reservoir
Map: OL1 Dark Peak Area
Weather: Grey clouds
Walkers: Nun
Gallery
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Mickleden
Captain's Log
Mickleden
It was a 11:00 when I set off from the Flouch Langsett car park on the weather forecaster's promise that the sun would appear in the afternoon. The sky was a blanket of grey and I wasn't too hopeful. I joined the throngs of other walkers making the Langsett reservoir round and then left them behind when they branched off to North America.
I made my way along Mickleden Edge. At the end of edge, a two metre wide track of plastic matting crosses the Cut Gate path. This matting appeared many years ago and was installed by the landowners. Research on the internet shows that they didn't have planning permission to lay the matting. In 2018 an enforcement notice was made by the Peak District National Park Authority for the landowners to remove the track. It looks like the landowners tried to appeal that decision.
I was walking near here last year and found a letter in some heather notifying that an enquiry was going to be held and gave details of where you could register your view. I could see where the letter had been attached to a board next to the path for the public to view, but somehow the letter had found its way into some heather a fair distance away. I'm not sure what happened at the enquiry; I can't find anything on the internet. Whatever happened, the plastic matting remains in place.
Ironically, the plastic matting is too slippery to walk on the wet, steep slope from the Cut Gate path. I walked alongside it to get to Candlerush Edge. Candlerush is hardly an edge; it is almost flat moorland. A boggy path took me along it towards the peak of Pike Lowe. There are two boundary stones along the path, each with RRW inscribed on it. Apparently this is a boundary stone for the Rimington Wilsons of nearby Broomhead Hall. As a point of interest, Guy Gibson (of Dambusters fame), lived with Rimington Wilsons during the raid preparation. The nearby Derwent and Langsett reservoirs were used as practice areas.
Hay Bale Catch
Pike Lowe As Seen From Langsett Reservoir (The Shelter Can Be Seen On The Top)
Calver From Bramley Wood
Pike Lowe
It is an easy climb up to the top of Pike Lowe made harder by the thick heather. At the summit there is a substantial shelter. The walls are quite high and I wondered, if at some stage, there had been some sort of roof on it. The shelter can be seen on the top of Pike Lowe, from miles around. It looks like a small pimple.
There are extensive views in all directions. The Langsett and Midhope reservoirs can be seen to the north, but also the Broomhead and More Hall reservoirs to the east.
It looks quite straightforward to just descend north to get back to Langsett. I've come up to Pike Lowe using that route before and couldn't find an easy path. It was a case of wading through heather. The other issue is that this whole area was used for artillery target practice during World War II, and occasionally some old ordnance resurfaces. The MoD have to be called to detonate the explosives. I decided to descend by retracing my steps along Candlerush Edge and then following the established path down Sugden Clough. There's evidence of caterpillar tracks on this path and so I figured that if any ordnance was in the area, then this would have been set off by now.
Valley Leading To Langsett
Target Practice
As I descended Sugden Clough I came across evidence of the World War II operations in this area. There is a large brick/concrete structure that is labelled as a target on the OS map. I'm not sure whether this is an actual target or whether it was a winch house. Some targets were shaped liked tanks and made out of wood and canvas. These were called a hornet. A winch house was used to tow the target on a bogie on rails.
Over by North America an aircraft would tow a drone so that anti-aircraft artillery could be practised.
There are many tracks and roads in this area; all evidence of its previous life.
I made my way down to the side of the Langsett reservoir. During World War II there used to be a cable stretched from one side to the other, on pylons, to prevent German bombers getting low enough to bomb the dam.
World War
Langsett Bank Pond
Turtle Times
On Langsett Bank I decided to drop in on the pond in an old quarry area. It is a little off the beaten track. Most people pass it from above, on the bridleway. I found an old couple sitting on a bench having their lunch and I started chatting to them. They told me that they'd been coming here for years and that once they'd found a turtle swimming about in the pond. Somebody's unwanted pet I guessed. There was no signs of it today.
The fellow said he used to a lot of walking, but not so much now that he'd 'got some tin in his leg'. They asked me where I'd been and I told them up to Pike Lowe. Surprisingly, for somebody coming here 'for years', neither of them had heard of it. On enquiry it sounded like they'd never venture further than North America. I guess they'd just been happy doing the Langsett Reservoir round.
As I made my way back to my car, the sun threatened to come out. It didn't actually make it until I got home.
It had been a good walk. Familiar territory, but still interesting. I was rather disappointed to find that Pike Lowe isn't an Ethel.