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Having had to cancel this walk last year, and with clouds of further Covid Omicron doom rapidly descending, it was a pleasure to host this walk for 20 participants, plus Andrew at the pub awaiting the installation of a new knee, but sadly minus Paul with a stomach upset.
The route was familiar, albeit I made a couple of small navigational errors. From the car park south of Tideswell, we set off more or less on time at 10:30, and were soon rising above Tideswell Dale on the path to Tansley Dale.
The weather was fine and we were all in good spirits. Gatherings such as this one have been few and far between for the last couple of years, and thankfully everyone had registered negative Covid lateral flow tests before joining us today.
Tansley Dale was showing signs of recent high rainfall as the weather brightened.
Don managed a couple of long slides on the descent, and whilst the rest of us enjoyed an elevenses break supplemented by Sue's chocolate caramel shortbread, he appears from the next picture to be practicing his forward roll technique!
We were soon ascending towards Wardlow, meeting a lone runner taking part in the Litton fell race who had been misdirected by a marshall, as a result of which his lead had been increased by over a mile..
Then I climbed a stile that the fell runner should have used but that wasn't on our route. Some deja vu, as I'd made the same mistake in the past. This resulted in a rare picture of our professional back marker, who accidentally found himself stalking along in an unfamiliar position.
The sun came out as we continued towards Crossdale Head. The stiles are a bit tight here; Julie got stuck for a while, but we were making good progress and we arrived at the Crispin in plenty of time for our one o'clock lunch booking.
Jenny and I, between us, took a few snaps of the assembled gathering. I think all 21 of us feature in the next few pictures. Well done, Jenny.
Nobody complained about the absence of a quiz, and the food was excellent, as ever.
A couple of hours later, we bade farewell to Andrew and set off towards the Monsal Trail, our customary afternoon route, suitable for chatting and for walking on through dusk into the darkness of a December afternoon.
An advance party waited on the Monsal Trail whilst nearby cyclists sped back towards Hassop in the last remnants of daylight.
The Monsal Head viaduct afforded the chance for a final couple of snaps before light levels descended towards night time levels.
Eventually, torches were deployed, the pace slowed, and we ambled on happily towards the car park and dispersal to various parts of the country, some folk having made long journeys to join us today.
Here's the route - 15 km with 400 metres ascent, taking quite a while at a leisurely pace.
Thanks everyone for coming along; that was a most enjoyable day out. The Crispin excelled itself and I think everyone is happy to re-book it for next year. I'd like to do it on Sunday 18 December 2022, a week later than this year, so that those who want to take part in the Tatton Yule Yomp 10km race can do so on 11 December. Let me know if you would prefer 11 December and if most people want that, we'll forgo the Yomp.
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