Ventures - Peak District Ethels

The 95 Peak District Ethels are hills over 400m, but include some prominent lower hills. The list is a tribute to Ethel Haythornthwaite who promoted the Peak District as Britain's first National Park. This Venture is to summit these hills.

Summary

The Ethels Venture was the first one that I started when I summited Snailsden Pike End on the 3rd of January 2022. 95 Ethels peaks? No problem I thought; I'll polish those off by the summer. A month later, I started my Wainwrights Venture that included 214 Lakeland peaks. Those might take me a bit more time, I thought. Surprising then that I finished the Wainwrights (12/05/23) well before I stood on the summit of my last Ethel, Musden Low (20/08/23). The Ethels shouldn't be underestimated. Although they are lower than the Wainwrights, they tend to be spread out. I only averaged 2.4 Ethels/walk, whereas I managed 3.5 Wainwrights/walk. The Ethels took me to parts of the Peak District that I never knew existed and has given me an abundance of ideas for future walks. A few of the summits were on private land and I was only able to legally stand at the foot of Wolfscote Hill and imagine what it was like at the summit. Overall, I found them a really enjoyable experience.

Favourite Ethel: Parkhouse Hill (see the Captain's Log of Earl Sterndale's Beauty And The Beast). It really is a mini-Matterhorn.

Least Favourite Ethel: Harland Edge (see the Captain's Log of Harland And Lees Question). Lees Moor, on the same walk, came a close second. The summit of Harland Edge required wading through thigh high heather to reach its summit. Lees Moor was in the middle of a Tree Troubler's plantation that was somehow prone to fly tipping.

Favourite Walk: It would have to be the one  starting from Earl Sterndale (see the Captain's Log of Earl Sterndale's Beauty And The Beast). The west side of the walk was so much of a contrast to the east side.

Detail