Saturday 28 March 2026 - TGO Challenge Reunion at Hayfield

After a parkrun at Wythenshawe, (results here) Sue and I had various jobs to do before heading to the Sportsman Inn at Hayfield where a TGO Challengers' reunion meal was on the menu.

Everything's a bit of a rush at present, so this entry comprises just a few pictures from a 5.5 km walk from the inn. We thought we might meet Graham Brookes's contingent who were on a full day's walk, but they were much later. Sadly no pictures of ourselves or any of the 30+ attendees on this occasion. We were too busy chatting to remember to take any 'people pictures'. I'll try to catch up with a few folk over the next couple of weeks.

As we dropped down to the river, a noisy robin caught our attention.

The River Kinder was in a good mood, and hopefully the resident heron found something to satisfy its hunger. It's not quite the time when baby mallards can satisfy any hunger, but there is frog spawn for any heron who's desperate!

We took paths to the east of the river, all the way up above Kinder Reservoir as far as Peak & Northern Footpaths Society's sign number 285.

The weather had cheered substantially from the downpour that we had driven through on the way to Hayfield, with nice views towards Kinder Scout.

The turnaround point offered views of the reservoir that would soon be diminished by fresh spring foliage.

A steep descent returned us to a riverside path that we followed before joining a tarmac lane near the disused sheepwash.

The sheepwash was relocated from further up the valley in the early 1900s, when Kinder Reservoir was built, and it was positioned under an ash tree that is now about 150 years old. It provided shelter from the weather for the 500 or so sheep that regularly bathed here in a cocktail of chemicals.

This pleasant amble - 5.5km with 120 metes ascent - brought us back to the inn in plenty of time for an excellent meal, served very efficiently. It was good to catch up with a few good friends.