Walk Summary
Visits the large stones of Owler Tor. A pleasant stroll along the bank of the pretty River Derwent. Spectacular views of the Hathersage Valley from Shatton Moor. Travel down the picturesque valley beside Highlow Brook.
Date: 21/11/2021
Length: 11.96 miles
Height Gain: 535 m
Terrain: Steep paths, boggy paths, grass path, stony track, lightly used roads, pavement alongside busy road
Navagation: Reasonable. Although there is some tricky navigation in the woods between Millstone Edge and the River Derwent. Careful use of map and compass required.
Start: Roadside parking near Fox House Inn
Route: Fox House, Owler Tor, Millstone Edge, Leadmill, Offerton Hall, Shatton Moor, Highlow Brook, Hazelford, Leadmill, Millstone Edge, Owler Tor
Map: OL1 Dark Peak Area, OL24 White Peak Area
Weather: Blue skies, sun, cold
Walkers: Nun
Gallery
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Owler Tor Rock
Captain's Log
Happy Campers
The roads were well gritted on my drive into the Peak District, but my car thermometer never registered below four degrees. Positively balmy. It felt a bit different though when I stepped out of the car and felt that northerly wind. Blue skies and a low morning sun gave the rocks at Owler Tor a reddish glow. Almost like a mini Uluru. As I stood on Millstone Edge to take a photo towards Hathersage I noticed a wild camper almost immediately below me. It seemed a strange place to camp since you'd be constantly disturbed by the traffic on the A6187. A man stood outside the tent. He seemed to make a point of not looking up at me. I'm not sure whether he thought I was taking a photo of him. I got my landscape shots and moved on.
River Derwent
A railway line runs along the Hathersage valley and my target for the day (Shatton Moor) was on the other side of it. You've got three choices for crossing the line: a bridge, a tunnel (under a railway bridge, really), or a line walk over. I decided to go for the line walk over on the way out and the tunnel on the way back. The colours of the landscape were gorgeous in the morning sun. I soon reached the Leadmill Bridge over the River Derwent, crossed it and started walking along the river side path. It went through Goose Nest Wood. It was certainly a wood but I didn't seen any nesting geese. The route followed the bank up to the stepping stones across the river. The last time I was here a family attempted to go across with a youngster. I was too nervous to watch them and so don't know whether they made it.
River Derwent Stepping Stones
Offerton Hall Pig
Pig's Eyes And Gliders
Near Offerton Hall a pig trotted over to me in a small enclosure. I noticed that her eyes seemed to be continually shut. I wondered if it had some sort of infection. I Googled the occurrence of 'pigs with closed eyes' when I got back. What I read seemed to imply that pigs do close their eyes more as they get older. Some also get so fat that folds of skin cover their eyes. So it may not have been an infection.
I was amazed to see that the apples were still on the tree at Offerton Hall. They fell off my apple tree months ago. A steady climb brought me to the top of Shatton Moor. There were some great views across and along the valley to Bamford, Stanage and Millstone Edges.
At the other side of the moor I commandeered a bench and had my lunch. I watched a glider take off from the airfield on Abney Moor. It reached a tremendous height before the ground cable was released. It was a strong northerly wind and it seemed to make no progress into it. Eventually it banked off, and with the assistance of the tailwind, disappeared quickly southwards.
Hazleford
It was a really pleasant walk down from Shatton Moor to Hazleford. The path followed Highlow Brook down the valley. In one of the woods I came a across half a dozen mounds of what looked like pine needles. These are in fact ant nests. There wasn't any action going on today (presumably because of the temperature), but during the summer I'd walked by them and they were swarming with ants. Somebody told me that they have been there for years.
My route took me alongside Hogg Hall...sounds very Harry Potterish. They had rather large wooden gates at the entrance of the hall, which was also pointed to by a Gatling Gun attached to a nearby tree. In retrospect, the latter might have been a CCTV camera. Makes you wonder what magic goes off at Hogg Hall .
Highlow Brook Path
Greenwood Farm Chiselled Head
Millstone Edge
I re-crossed the Leadmill Bridge and made my way back on a path that went under the railway bridge. The path went up to the large building which is Greenwood Farm. About a hundred yards south of the farm, a path branches from the farm road uphill into the woods. I noticed a curious chiselled picture of a head on a rock. The path continued upwards. Eventually I caught sight of the large retaining wall for the A6187. There are many paths through the ferns around here and I just chose one to take me up to the retaining wall. I eventually got to a wide grassy path that runs parallel with the A6187 and I used that to get access to the road.
I retraced my steps back around Owler Tor, to Toad's Mouth and Fox House. The day had darkened in the last half and hour and five minutes after starting my drive back home, drops of rain started appearing on my windscreen. Another perfect day.