Monday 17 November 2025 - Lantern Pike from Marple Bridge - A Bike Ride - plus bits

Paul and Greg kindly invited me to join them on an outing of about 24 km with 600 metres ascent, from the Brabyns Park car park in Marple Bridge at 10:30 on Monday 17 November.

It was a cool morning and Paul had been waiting for a while so he was a bit cold. We were all pleased, after about 50 metres of cycling, to find ourselves outside Libby's Café. Coffee and croissants. Excellent.

Once we got going, it was a short, steep pull out of Marple Bridge and over the top to Roman Lakes, then a pleasant undulating ride to Strines, from where our path rose steeply and I pushed rather than cycle, which the others bravely did. 

The light was lovely as I rose through the woods and reached more level ground where I took the picture above before heading on upwards.

We emerged in bright sunshine at the Fox Inn, where two scarecrows were taking a late morning break..

There were good views across the valley to the Marple area.

Posing for pictures near the Fox Inn

Our off-road route took us above New Mills, past Thornsett, to Birch Vale. Here we joined the Pennine Bridleway and a very steep climb. Even Paul and Greg had to briefly dismount. Otherwise they were managing well, and seemed quite happy to wait every now and then for me to appear. On this section I chatted at length with a couple who were in the area on grandparenting duties, with time to climb Lantern Pike before school pick-up duties.

This path up the Pennine Bridleway near Birch Vale is steeper than it looks!

Eventually we reached a high point near the summit of Lantern Pike (which we didn't visit), and descended briefly to the picnic spot that Paul and Greg have used in the past. It was fenced off with 'No Entry' signs. So we free wheeled a bit further down and enjoyed our lunch in a field near Blackshaw Farm.

On this sunny but cool day there were quite a few folk about, on foot and on bikes. I envied the electric bikes as they serenely passed me as I was stumbling along.

 Thanks for waiting, guys.

We proceeded on a mixture of tarmac and earth, to re-join our outward route half way between Strines and Roman Lakes, after some vicious descents made quite difficult by the glaring low sun that was at times literally blinding. At a ford near Rowarth I think Paul and Greg may have got wet feet. I may be slow, but I managed to keep dry feet there. They remained warm and dry, whilst others may have likened theirs to blocks of ice!

The sun was shining nicely on the viaduct at Strawberry Hill, from where it was an easy ride back to the car park.

Here's our route - familiar to Paul and Greg, so no navigational skills required - it's about 24 km with 600 metres ascent, taking us about 3½ hours, maybe half an hour longer than usual due to my slow pace.

An excellent outing in lovely weather.

Before we go - a few catch-up pictures that don't warrant separate postings:

De Quincey Park on 14 November

Wythenshawe parkrun #640 on 15 November - views from the rear

I did pass a few folk, to finish in position 206 out of 260 finishers. Full results are here.

It was good to see our neighbour, Darina, and her daughter Ruqayyah, volunteering at the run. 'D' is on the right below.

Later on 15 November, a visit from Mike and Sarah and Isabella for lunch.
It was good to see Isabella enjoying last year's Christmas present.

Oyster fungus on a sycamore tree in Pickering Lodge Park on 18 November

- supposedly edible and tasty

13 November 2025 - Another Postcard from Chile (4) - Summit Day and beyond

First light on summit day

Summit day was a couple of days ago, and they are now on their way home. Here are a few pictures via WhatsApp and Facebook - not in order.

The captions are from Sue, and her heading is as follows:

Yesterday three of us summited Licancabur, reaching 5924m at 9am, having started at 4600m 2am. At dawn, it went from cold to absolutely freezing, with a wind, perhaps minus 15 to 20C with windchill. It was worth it, with amazing views of the Andes and Lagunas Verde and Blanca.

This ascent is dedicated to my father, who died in February. Being breathless for 10 hours is nothing compared to the years he spent living with the breathlessness caused by heart failure, with stoicism and few complaints.

Looking north during one of our few rests

Laguna Verde contains copper and arsenic

Enjoying the warmth on our last break before the summit. L to R is Cristobal (Cris), our local guide, Nati (from El Calafate in Argentina, our high altitude guide), Nicky and Dan.

The crater and its lake from our high point

Start of the descent, past patches of penitentes, high altitude snow formations I hadn’t seen before

View into Bolivia (we were the wrong side of the crater to see down to San Pedro)

On the summit holding the Bolivian flag (we had to stay just over the border from Chile)

The Wiphala flag that represents the native people of the Andes

Just three, out of the 14 clients, made it to the summit.

OS Locate confirmation of our altitude, the highest I’ve been

The steep descent was fabulous - loose scree and small rocks made it very fast!

Pychnophyllum molle, tiny flowers on a low mat, around 4600m

A welcome sight after a 10-hour circuit

Even more welcome (once we’d escaped Bolivia) was a swim in the hotel pool in San Pedro

Jenny and Richard at 4800 meters, the highest they have ever been

Winding down, Santiago, and a few snaps before going

 home...

Well done, everyone. It sounds like a great trip.

Monday 10 November 2025 - GM Ringway Trail Stage 14b - Barrow Bridge to Blackrod

As last week, this was a 'catch-up' walk for Paul and Jeanette, and Andy also took the opportunity to make his first appearance on these GM Ringway walks. We walked the complete stage on 14 October - diary entry here, and last week's effort from Bromley Cross to Barrow Bridge is recorded here.

We caught the 10:33 train from Piccadilly to Bolton, followed by a £10 taxi ride to Barrow Bridge, where we finished last week. That enabled us to start walking at 11:15, through the village of Barrow Bridge, past pretty cottages accessed by bridges over the Dean Brook stream.

At the start (photo courtesy of Andy W)

We continued to the very end of Barrow Bridge Road, soon crossing a bridge and climbing the 63 steps that were used by miners in days gone by.

After climbing up to above the height of the Barrow Bridge chimney, we entered Smithills Estate, the largest site in the country that is managed by the Woodland Trust. As previously, we took the well designed riverside diversion, after taking advantage of a picnic table at the junction for a rather late 'elevenses'.

Photo courtesy of Andy W

Photo courtesy of Andy W

The optional path that we took passed the bench pictured above and emerged at a unique stone tramway with signs and sculptures recalling the industrial past, when many different industries operated in this area.

The tall chimney near where we started could still be seen (far left below) in the distance, as we looked back across the skyscrapers of Manchester to the Peak District beyond.

The gentle ascent of Winter Hill passes the monument to the Winter Hill Mass Trespass of 1896, now waymarked as being on a selection of official walking routes, including the GM Ringway Trail.

The cloud was descending and waterproofs were needed for over an hour for the first time on any of these GM Ringway walks that we've been enjoying since we started on 13 February.

As on our previous visit on 14 October, it wasn't worth a diversion to the summit trig point, given that there would have been very little to see from that point. This time cloud had descended almost to the base of the mast.

We wandered down the access road, with the Two Lads viewpoint ahead, and Rivington Pike to our right.

We by-passed the fenced viewpoint of Two Lads, seen below in the background as we ambled down the hillside to reach Georges Lane at the Pike Snack Shack, which was unsurprisingly closed.

After a short stretch along the lane, a right turn took us into Wilderswood, where we soon found a tree to shelter under whilst we enjoyed our lunch. 

Lunch! (photo courtesy of Andy W)

After this, waterproofs remained on, but the rain eased to become a very light drizzle. Our path led between walls that were skilfully constructed and certainly built to last.

Beyond new housing in Rivington, our route lay beside the River Douglas for a while before following red signs through a farm at the end of Squirrel Lane and taking a track towards the M61 motorway.

 

A footbridge over the railway indicated that we were close to the finish of our walk.

Our roundabout route went up to and across the Blackrod by-pass, then along a footpath parallel with that main A6 road, before  descending a cobbled path to re-cross the road and head for the station platform, with Rivington Pike well and truly doused in cloud ahead of us.

We had just a few minutes wait for the 3:32 train to Deansgate and the Metrolink tram home.

Here's our 15km route, with 340 metres ascent, taking us 4¼ hours.

We've already walked Stage 15, and Stage 16 is planned for Wednesday 19 November. Here's the 'topwalks.com' flier:

GM Ringway Trail - Stage 16 - Wigan to Leigh. Meet at Wigan Station at 11:07 on
19 November for this sixteenth 17km stage of the 20 stage circuit of Greater Manchester.
Arrive on the 10:27 from Victoria.
Return to Manchester by regular V1 bus service from Leigh.

PS
Rather than bothering with a separate (or no) posting, and with TGO Challenge vetting duties falling behind, here are some Common Ink Caps and some autumn leaves from De Quincey Park, near home, yesterday afternoon.