Tittesworth Reservoir

In fairness you do get quite a bit for your £7 carpark fee at Tittesworth, than you do at other carparks. There is a rather nice Visitors Centre and the walking trails around the reservoir are well made. There were also a few outdoor games for the youngsters to keep them entertained. I was particularly intrigued by a large tilting board maze game called The Journey Of Poo (or something like that). The maze was based on a map that your poo had to traverse from your home to the untreated overflow outlet at the seaside. I guess the ball represented a turd. You then had to manoeuvre the turd through the maze by tilting the board. I had a go and after a few sloppy starts I was able to squeeze my turd through the colonic channels successfully to the sea, which is more than could be said for the youngster back at the carpark.

The trails were well waymarked with fingerposts around the reservoir. Unfortunately there were no maps and so it was impossible to figure out where you were and where the trail was going. Presumably a trail map was available back at the Visitors Centre or on their website. I followed the 'Reservoir Trail' on the assumption (correct as it turned out) that it completed a circuit of the reservoir. It turned out to be more of a woodland trail than a reservoir trail, since views of the reservoir were mostly blocked by the trees. It was nice woodland though, with plenty of birdlife and it made for very pleasant walking. There were also occasional open areas where there were wonderful views over to the crags of The Roaches and Hen Cloud. The hills looked surprisingly high and very impressive from this lowly position. I also sometimes got a view of Gun. This was less impressive. It just seemed like a gradual rise in the landscape and it was difficult to actually distinguish its top. 

Re-route To Meerbrook

The path around the reservoir wasn't on my 2020 OS map. It was difficult to know which of the tracks leading away from the reservoir trail were legitimate footpaths since there was no signage.  I had wanted to get on to a bridleway that ran further west of the reservoir, but I must have missed a linking footpath and so ended up just continuing along the Reservoir Trail. I came across a water sports centre halfway along the western side of the reservoir and this was busy with people enjoying the sun and strong breeze. 

I walked up the drive of the water sports centre to Meerbrook Road with the intention of making my back to my original route. This would have involved some road walking which didn't look that appealing when I got there. I decided to follow the pavement back to Meerbrook and noticed that it was possible to park along this road and save yourself £7. Well, I'll remember that for next time. At Meerbrook people were enjoying a drink outside the Lazy Trout. The pub was originally called The Three Horseshoes, but was later changed to The Lazy Trout to prevent confusion with the other Three Horseshoes pub, less than 2 miles away. The locals obviously lacked imagination for pub names in previous days.

Gun

I followed a single track road out of Meerbrook and then headed off up a farm track towards Wetwood Farm. The next stage, up to the open access land on the summit of Gun, involved some field hopping. The signage was there to assist the walker, but some of it could have been easily missed. At Wetwood Farm a wire fence prevented access to the footpath but it was easy enough to scramble underneath it.  I then had to traverse a couple of fields busy with cows, some  of them with young. Fortunately they didn't take an interest in me. A farmer's track eventually brought me to the curiously named New Zealand farm where I was thankful to cross a stile into the freedom of the open access land. A few minutes later I stood next to Gun's trig. Despite its diminutive appearance from below, there were actually some  great views from Gun's summit. I could see top of The Cloud over in the west, where I'd stood earlier this morning. The Roaches and Hen Cloud really grabbed the attention though. They looked like a huge craggy wave.  I now had a choice of returning to Meerbrook using the same route as my ascent or making my way back along a road. To be honest, neither of the options particularly appealed, but I really didn't fancy taking my chances with the cows again and so I headed off towards the road.

Return

The only good thing about the road route down to Meerbrook was that it was all downhill and so it was a quick descent. It was busier than I would have liked and I occasionally had to step on to the verge to avoid vehicles. I noticed that it had a fair selection of deep pot holes. I'd dread to hit one of those on a bike. It only took me about 20 minutes to get back to Meerbrook and it looked even busier at The Lazy Trout than when I'd seen it at lunchtime. There was a marvellous view down the reservoir as I crossed the road bridge to the carpark. Fortunately there were no defecating youngsters when I got back to my car and I was able to eat the remains of my bap with no distractions.

Gun wasn't the prettiest looking Ethel and I didn't find the ascent/descent routes particularly attractive. The views from the top were very good though, and this made the effort worthwhile. The woodland walk around Tittesworth Reservoir was enjoyable too.