Day 1: 16th April 2016 - 3 Shires Head, Lud's Church, The Roaches
A forum meet organised by me. These walks were on my "to do" list so I decided to make a weekend of it. Myself and Deb stayed at a bunkhouse in Upper Hulme (£10 per night!). Set in a quite farming/industrial setting there's not much in the way of views. But, it's cheap and cheerful and I'd stay here again in warmer weather as it's a great base for walks in the area. We met up with 3 others who live relatively nearby for a cracking and varied 10 mile linear walk.
Some pictures:
 |
Ready for the off! |
 |
Lovely views over the surrounding countryside |
 |
Roy finding a rocky outcrop to "bag" |
 |
Handsome chappie |
 |
The bridge at Three Shires Head (the boundaries of
DerbySHIRE, StaffordSHIRE and CheSHIRE meet at this bridge) |
 |
Classic "3 shires" photo
with Deb on the Bridge and Dave in the foreground |
 |
Heading along the Sandstone Way |
 |
Snack Stop |
 |
Getting a bit squelchy under foot |
 |
Bit of easy riverside walking |
 |
Another rest stop |
 |
Nearly at Lud's Church now |
 |
But not before a bit of scrambling for Dave and Dom |
 |
Lud's Church
- a massive chasm in the landscape |
 |
Back out on the top and lovely weather |
 |
On the path to The Roaches now |
 |
Oh, I hope THAT weather misses us! |
 |
The sunshine on Shuttlingsloe |
 |
The start of The Roaches |
 |
Nearly on the top of the ridge now |
 |
Wonderful, gnarly gritstone rock formations
(which are fairly typical of the "edges" in the Peak District) |
 |
Enjoying the sunshine while it lasts |
 |
Yup, sideways sleet and snow ! |
 |
Deb and Roy with Doxey Pool behind |
 |
Looking down on Tittesworth Reservoir |
 |
Doxey Pool |
 |
The sun on Hen Cloud
(tomorrow's walk) |
 |
The sun on Ramshaw Rocks
(earmarked for another weekend) |
 |
Looking up at Hen Cloud from the road |
 |
A final toothy view of Hen Cloud |
A great day out that exceeded my expectations. Much more relaxed than the highly competitive Wales Weekend I went to and, as a result, my tendon only ached that night and was fine again in the morning.
Day 2: 17th April 2016 - Hen Cloud
Deb and me had tired legs today and we umm-ed and ahh-ed about actually doing this walk. However, once we got going, we decided to give it a shot!
Some pictures:
 |
The lovely village of Upper Hulme |
 |
Hen Cloud |
 |
Deb looking mighty pleased with herself |
 |
Hen Cloud.... bagged! |
 |
Looking down the rocky outcrops towards Tittesworth Reservoir |
 |
A final view of Hen Cloud from the road |
Another enjoyable day's walking and the weather was great. Just myself and Deb this time. I think this walk was only about 2.5 miles but it packed a lot of interest into those miles.