Captain's Log

Ice

My car’s thermometer never dropped below 1°C as I drove to the Redmires reservoirs to the start of today’s walks. Even so, the roads looked unnervingly shiny in my car’s headlights and so I kept the speed down and took it steady around the corners. I was rather worried about the last bit of the drive up Lodge Lane since from previous visits I’d remembered it being very steep and twisty. I got about 50 yards up the road and wished I’d never turned on to it. Ice was quite visible on the road and cars travelling in the opposite direction were creeping down the steep slope at a snail’s pace. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to stop and turn around and I was committed to going up. I’m not sure whether I was more terrified of the descending cars skidding into me or my car slipping into them. The steepest and most twisty part of the road was near to the top of the hill and it resembled a black ski run. I was following another car up the hill and I prayed that it wouldn’t stop and start sliding backwards. I experienced  a couple of skids, but much to my relief there was enough traction for me to crest the hill. Obviously, the gritters had found it too terrifying to venture up or down it.  

Today’s walk would start at the three Redmires reservoirs and head northwards to visit the rural landscape between the A57 and Bradfield. I’d return southwards over Ughill Moor and climb up to Stanage Edge where I’d visit the aircraft crash site of Vampire XE866. I’d then return to the Redmires reservoirs via the Stanedge pole. 

Head To The A57

The sun started peeking its head above Rud Hill as I started walking along the road near the reservoirs. I thought it might have cast some warmth on the proceedings, but it didn’t seem to have any effect at all; it was bitterly cold. I turned my back on its beams and started along a footpath following a water catchment culvert. The views opened out and from my elevated position I could see the western suburbs of Sheffield a few miles away. ‘It’s a lovely day isn’t it? I was up here earlier this week and you couldn’t see a hand in front of you because of the mist.’ An elderly chap who was walking the other way along the path had stopped for a chat. I had to agree; the day was stunning. The early morning sun was illuminating the moors in a golden glow. I wished him well for the rest of his walk. At a crossroads of footpaths, I turned right and left the culvert to make its own way along the contour of the hillside. I headed northwards before making a  short out-and-back to the impressive Head Stone. It looked almost orange in the morning sun. The path then dropped down to the River Rivelin and I followed this downstream on a pleasant woodland track. Today’s walk was a walk of two halves with the east-west A57 forming the split. As I was crossing the road, I noticed a policeman standing a short distance down the road, waving the approaching traffic to slow down. ‘Aye, aye something to see here’ I thought. I started walking across and nearly went arse over tit. Black ice! Crikey, I’d driven down this very same stretch of road within the last hour. Further down the road, I could see a car that had skidded and spun into a wall, damaging the whole front of the car. I said ‘Good morning’ to the policeman and I think he may have grunted a response. My guess is he was just going off shift when the accident got called in. 

Ughill

I field-hopped my way through damp fields to a road. A significant part of the walk north of the A57 would be on roads, but they were more or less deserted and pleasant to walk along. At Load Brook I witnessed how the other 1% live when I passed some very posh houses. A woman came out of one house and walked to the stables and I was surprised to find that she waved to me. I raised my hand to my head to doff my hat, but I’d forgotten that I’d got my hood up and so the gesture turned it to more of a salute. I stepped off the road and onto an enjoyable footpath with a wood alongside. Once the trees had stopped, the views opened up and I could look down the valley to the Damflask reservoir. I could just make out the boating club on its bank. Wellington MF627 crashed on the hillside here on the 17th October 1952. The cause was a navigational error and all three crew members survived. The crash site was about 400 metres from the footpath in some fields and so I didn't visit it. I reached Corker Lane and followed it eastwards before turning off on a shortcut field hop along  Wet Shaw Dike. I’d walked this stretch before and the clue to the type of terrain is in its name; it was a very boggy path. In very wet conditions it is probably worth just sticking to the road. The detour would be a bit longer, but a lot drier. As I turned off on the track over Ughill Moor I passed a couple of females who had binoculars strung around their necks. It reminded me to keep an eye out for some wildlife. Half a mile further along the track I came across a fellow standing behind a stone wall with a hubble telescope of a camera lens at the ready. ‘Seen anything interesting?’ I asked. ‘There’s about 60 Golden Plover in the next but one field. They keep getting disturbed…probably by your approach’ he replied. I apologised and walked on. On the descent from Ughill Moor I found two dead sheep next to a stone wall. I wondered if they had been victims of the recent stretch of bad weather. For some reason Moscar Cross Farm reminds me of Steptoe and Son’s house. It really needs a few Wombles to tidy the place up. I turned on to the track to Moscar Lodge admiring the view westwards to the rolling hills of the Pennines. It delivered me back to the A57 and I made it safely to the other side without slipping on ice. 

Vampire XE866

A bitterly cold westerly blasted me as I climbed up to the north end of Stanage Edge. The footpath was very boggy, but the gritstone rocks provided islands of dryness. I walked about 300 metres beyond my coordinates for the Vampire 866 aircraft wreck before I realised and so had to retrace my steps. The site was at the huge boulders of Crow Chin and I had to descend on a footpath to their base to get to the exact location. I then spotted a small plaque that had been screwed to one of the boulders halfway up the edge and so I climbed up to inspect it. As expected, it was a memorial to the two flight officers (Paul Redvers Jones and Derek John Brett) of No.4 FTS RAF who lost their lives here during a training accident on the 7th of August 1957. It is unknown what caused the crash. I climbed back up on to the top of the edge and continued my journey northwards. 

Return

It got slightly less boggy as I passed the trig at High Neb. It is a tremendous view looking northwards from High Neb. The edge looks like the crest of a massive tsunami. It seems unreal, almost like a painting. I stopped for a break to drain the last of the coffee in my flask. Although the sun was out, the wind chilled me and so I didn’t hang about. My next objective could be seen on the top of the moor, Stanedge Pole as it is named on the OS map. I’m not sure why the OS labels it as Stanedge when the cliff edge is called Stanage. Even an information board at Stanedge Pole itself calls it Stanage. One of the Ordnance Survey’s mysteries. The route to it followed the Long Causeway, an ancient roadway that linked Sheffield with the Hope Valley. The old paving stones are still visible over long stretches of it. The occasional stone has recent graffiti chiselled on them, which is a bit disappointing. There is even more chiselled graffiti on the rocks that support the wooden pole. The pole itself is supported in a metal frame. Presumably this makes it easier to replace when it rots away or gets struck by lightning. For once the wind was at my back as I descended down the continuation of the Long Causeway towards the Redmires reservoirs. The water alternated between light and dark blue as clouds scudded across the sun and cast their shadows. It was still cold when I got back to the carpark; the day had never warmed up. 

Thankfully it had warmed up enough to melt all the ice on Lodge Lane and my descent to the A57 was made without incident. They’d also removed the crashed car that I’d seen earlier this morning and cars were speeding along as though it never happened. It had been a perfect day for walking; great light for photos and a chill that made walking a pleasure. There is a nice variety of landscape on this walk and even though it was almost 13 miles long it didn’t feel too taxing.