Edale Bound

We dropped down into Castleton using the path above  Cave Dale. It had wonderful views across to Mam Tor and across the valley to Back Tor and Lose Hill. Halfway down we came across a couple of walkers laying down on the grass. This would have been fine except that the area was covered in sheep droppings and had a strong smell of sheep pee. They gave me a jaunty 'morning' as I walked by them and didn't seem that bothered about their unsavoury picnic spot. 

Castleton is very quaint away from the main road that runs through it.  We picked up the brook that runs through it and watched some ducklings pottering about in the water. We branched off from Hollowford Road on to a footpath that cut its way through fields. Eventually we reached the base of the climb up to Hollins Cross. The path up was overgrown with ferns and these retained the heat, making the ascent quite a sweaty affair. A few small gorse bushes were also hidden away in the ferns, making the ascent occasionally painful too. At Hollins Cross we stopped for our morning break. Housemartins and Swifts swooped up and down along the hillside. Some of them swooped so close to me I instinctively ducked. Swifts are amazing creatures. They are the fastest bird in level flight (70 mph) and can stay airborne for 3 years. They sleep on the wing by snoozing half of their brain at a time (similar to dolphins). During their 5.5 years average lifespan, then can fly up to 4 million miles. Unfortunately, they are in decline; numbers have gone down by 58% in the last 23 years. I don't normally retain facts like that; I'd just happened to read an item about them in the latest RSPB magazine.

On the way day from Hollin's Cross to Edale I met a group of walkers that had music festival tee-shirts on. I'd recently watched extracts from the Download Festival on TV and presumed they'd been there. The guy at the front was wearing a Kiss tee-shirt. I asked who he thought was the best band at the festival. 'Definitely Kiss. They were far better than Iron Maiden'. I've never really been a fan of Kiss, and I rather like Iron Maiden. The fellow at the back had a Guns And Roses tee shirt on. I was just about to give them a lecture on why British rock bands are far better than American ones, when I noticed that they had walked away and were already approaching Hollins Cross. Each to his or her own.

The slight breeze disappeared as we crossed the fields to Edale. Grindslow Knoll, behind it, started to look higher and higher. It looked a challenge.

The Two Knolls

The sun beat down on us as we shuffled up Grindslow Knoll.  Calse stopped for a drink of water after every ten steps. Sometimes nine. Just short of the top I commanded the troops to break for lunch and we found a spot with a view over Grindsbrook Clough. I was halfway through eating my sandwich when I was suddenly surrounded by dozens of midges. Curiously they avoided Calse and Mo. I decided to wait a moment for a breeze to  blow them away. It never came. With half a sandwich dangling out of my mouth, I grunted to Calse and Mo that I could stand it no more and I quickly packed up and headed off to the summit of Grindslow. The summit area was busy with people having their lunch but we managed to find a spot on some rocks that provided a breeze and relief from the squadrons of midges.

The northern edge of Kinder Scout offers fine views down into the Edale valley. There are some tremendous rock formations along the edge. After the impressive ramparts of Crowden Tower we came across the boulder array of Wool Packs. Walking between the boulders is a little like walking around a modern art gallery. The finale to this section are the twin towers of Pym Chair. There is another Pym Chair rock near Shining Tor (see Goyt Valley Rally) and that one was supposedly named after a preacher who gave sermons from the rock...or it could have been named after a highwayman, they didn't really know. I guess there might be a connection between the two locations, but I can't find one.

Just beyond the top of Jacob's Ladder I managed to trip up and take a flyer on some stone slabs. I fell down like a West Coast Redwood. I managed to swing my cameras around to the side before slapping the stones and so there was no serious damage. On investigation it seemed I'd stepped into a small hole at the side of one of the slabs. I limped on bravely to the trig point on Brown Knoll.

Rushup Edge

Brown Knoll is at the head of the Edale valley and is quite a lump. It is broad and flat on top and never really delivers the views it should. Many years ago it used to present a boggy traverse with the trig point point being surrounded by muddy pools. Nowadays the whole route is slabbed and this has diminished the challenge somewhat. It had been a long walk though and we welcomed its quick delivery of us, across its back, to the end of Rushup Edge. It was also getting very, very hot and the car couldn't come soon enough.

Halfway across Rushup Edge we came across a man checking his feet for blisters. They can't have been hurting too much since he was singing a song. Just below the edge there appeared to be a scout encampment with many tents. With heat like this, those young recruits were in for an uncomfortable night.

We stumbled down the flank of Rushup Edge towards Windy Knoll. It had been a cracking walk in delightful, but challenging conditions. I'd even remembered to get Ethel summit photos on all those we visited. Mo wouldn't be fuming tonight.