Sunday 20 March 2016 – The 31st Two Crosses Walk

The East Lancashire section of the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) organises this annual fundraising ‘Challenge Walk’. At £10 to enter (£7 for members) it’s hardly expensive and it should really draw more than this year’s 200 or so participants.

Arriving in plenty of time for the 8 am start from Tottington Youth Centre is a good idea as there’s masses of tea/coffee and toast and jam to get through, the first indication that participants don’t need to carry any food or drink on this walk as liberal quantities of both are available at regular intervals.

Outside the centre, Steve and Steve were raring to be off on the 25 mile route, whereas JJ and Alistair were happy to be ambling the shorter 17 mile route.

After a mass start, walkers quickly thinned out during the long walk up through slippery fields and over awkward stiles to Affetside, where there’s a long straight road to reach the first of the Two Crosses.

The origin of Affetside Cross remains a mystery, but it may well have been on a medieval pilgrims' route to Whalley Abbey. Our route turns left (to the right in the picture below), requiring a short diversion to view the cross at close range. Can you spot the 8 walkers in the picture?

After a long, fast descent, walkers reach Jumbles Reservoir, below which Norman's favourite stepping stones were, unusually, not blessed with his presence. Where was he?

It was a lovely sunny day, a nice morning to take a break at a picnic bench overlooking the reservoir.

This is the view from the bridge at the northern end of Jumbles Reservoir.

Ah, we found him. Norman was manfully helping John P to 'old man' the first checkpoint. He gave us jelly babies from a washing up bowl. He’s a generous soul but rather scruffy and not very active these days…

The railway line at Turton was only allowed to be built on condition that it was in a cutting and the bridges were castellated.

Don and Neil were soon found lazing in the sunshine near the point at which I left JJ and Alistair's route to embark on an extra 8 miles via Old Man's Hill.

Reg was part of the team that greeted walkers with lavish provisions from an interesting structure beside the A666 road.

Some bog hopping led to the Witton Weavers Way track, with good views towards Winter Hill which distracted me into a fall whilst I walked beside a red-haired lady called Louise. The palm of my left hand still has a hole in it.

Roger had left his bench at Old Man's Hill to briefly test whether his legs could still support his body and his dodgy eyes spot walkers at the furthest checkpoint, a track junction over 17 km and two and a half hours from the start. He’s the one in orange, having strayed briefly from his chair in order to insult participants as they stride past.

We then dashed off in an easterly direction to reach a pleasant but busy footpath beside the Turton & Entwistle Reservoir, from which the header image was taken.

Viv's team was hard at work at the Batridge Barn Car Park checkpoint, where I rejoined the 17 mile route (this was the 15 mile point on my route, after 3.5 hours, with 10 miles to go. Viv’s catering at this checkpoint is renowned, with her Greek salad a particular favourite amongst lingering walkers. I was told that JJ and Alistair had earlier consumed enough to fill a cow’s stomach.

All walks in this area seem to pass the Strawbury Duck. But we never go inside...

At Green Alders Cottage this deserted table sported a sign that reads 'FREE JUICE'. It was most welcome. Thank you.

Navigation after walking up a long hill was a little annoying, the footpath sign having sent me up a private driveway to Bisley Moor Side Farm.

Further up the hill, Orrel Cote Farm checkpoint was quite busy as I passed through on the way to Edgworth Moor.

The uranium mine at Edgeworth Moor Farm has resulted in genetically modified Aylesbury Ducks. I’m told that Norman was born near here. That explains a lot!

Despite there being lots of 'No Bikes' signs below Bull Hill, a ‘Jetwash-shop.co.uk’ van from Bolton and its occupants were disregarding these requests.

The route description is very precise hereabouts. It reads 'Pass rusting harrow on the left', from where there's a good view back to Winter Hill.

Just below Bull Hill, after 20 miles in 4.75 hours, I came across JJ and Alistair, lazing in the sunshine on the lovely day, at Barbara's naughty checkpoint.

The 'water' came in small glasses and was cloudy, but very highly flavoured. A nice tipple.

I joined the two reprobates (JJ and Alistair) for the rest of the walk. They were moving slowly in order not to ‘spill’ any Greek salad. We soon came upon the second cross - the Pilgrims Cross on Holcombe Moor.

The view from here across the valley above Ramsbottom, with its quarries and wind farms, is of a somewhat industrial upland landscape.

The 39 metre high Peel Tower, opened in 1852 as a memorial to Sir Robert Peel, soon came into view. Sadly it wasn’t open for visitors today.

The steepest descent of the entire walk is a slither down through Redisher Wood to Holcombe Brook, but today’s dry conditions made it seem much easier than usual.

The final checkpoint was at Spenleach Road, where Ken and Norman's barber shop (Norman desperately needed a shave) antics were briefly paused to distribute a few drinks and jelly babies, though Norman had eaten most of them.

At the finish: "Your choice, sir", Allan, master of the soup kitchen, poses the question...

Elsewhere, tea, soup, sandwiches (millions) and tasty desserts were all being downed. Here, JJ is seen enjoying a dessert before manfully downing his plate of sandwiches.

The ‘Number 1 Team’ spent the afternoon assiduously recording all finishers, issuing certificates, adding up numbers, and selling memorabilia.

Here’s my route. The red triangles indicate the checkpoints. My gadgets indicated statistics of 40.5 km, 800+ metres ascent, taking 6 hours 35 minutes (click on the image for a larger version).

There’s a slideshow – 43 images, click on the first one then click ‘slideshow’, here.

JJ’s excellent and perhaps more accurate report is here.

Thanks go to the organisers and the numerous helpers and marshalls who make this event an annual success.

Afterwards, it was a pleasure for me to visit John (an old work colleague) and Janet in Hawkshaw, and to enjoy some reminiscences. Especially good to see John looking better than he has been after some health problems. I hope you continue to improve, John.

Wythenshawe Hall Update

I went down to Wythenshawe parkrun on Saturday 19 March. The Hall is in a sorry state, protected now by a sturdy wire fence. The recent fire was apparently arson, started in several different places around the building in what appears to be an attempt to completely destroy it.

Very sad.

It’s such a shame that Oliver has refused to give evidence, despite a stern interrogation.

And the daffodils could only manage to whisper something incomprehensible.

Meanwhile, 206 enthusiasts turned up for the 229th parkrun at this venue, on a fine but dull morning. The usual gathering point being fenced off, a new position by a park bench was chosen. Yet another variation on the 5 km route was selected and the distance was verified by Alan Lamb. Well done Alan. The course was dry and that encouraged nearly 50 of the participants, including first timers, to run personal bests. Impressive.

The loudspeaker system at the start was working well (See the Paul/Andy double act below), but it was noted that a visit by the Lord Mayor to view the Hall, at about the same time as the parkrun takes place, revealed an ignorance amongst Town Hall staff as to the existence of parkruns that is shameful.

The results are here.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (14)

These are close ups from one of Sue’s photos.

Here’s the context picture – a garden wall:

Click here for the album of graffiti from the Southern Half to date.

How to Retain an Audience?

You need a good story. They woke up when I started to tell them about my appearance in Private Eye…

12/13 March 2016 - Rentahostel in Kington

It’s that time of year again. Sue W organises a ‘rentahostel’ weekend whereby about thirty of her old mates enjoy sole occupancy of a youth hostel, with volunteers contributing to the breakfasts and Saturday night’s meal. It all makes for quite an economical weekend, this year’s total costs amounting to less than £40 per person, despite some lavish catering.

About thirty ‘mates’ assembled on Friday evening in the Herefordshire town of Kington, mostly in the nearby and apparently very welcoming Oxford Arms, where the landlord was reported to be a star, and the food delicious. Sue and I had eaten at home and were late to arrive after our two and a half hour journey.

Saturday morning – whilst a small splinter group headed for the Black Mountains, a large group of over twenty walkers preferred to walk directly from the hostel. It’s an ideal place to start a walk, with many options from the town’s position straddling the Offa’s Dyke footpath and a number of other trails.

After a little debate, everyone seemed happy with a circular clockwise route starting with a walk up Hergest Ridge on the Offa’s Dyke path. Here are some of them getting ready at our youth hostel base, a fine building that until a few years ago served as a cottage hospital.

We strolled up the narrow main street of Kington, a border town that for business now relies heavily on its status as a walking centre.

The wild boar and fallow deer that roam the streets are culled by the local butcher and offered as ‘street kill’ to passing punters.

We paused to read a plaque that informed us that in 1892 only 1% of the town’s dwellings had a bath and tap, and none had a hot water system. It may also have explained that despite being only two miles from the Welsh border, the town has been English for over 1000 years. There’s more information on Kington here.

We ambled slowly up Hergest Ridge, admiring hazy views south towards the Black Mountains.

Monkey puzzle trees grow in a small copse near the summit. Perhaps the nearby Hergest Croft Gardens have something to do with their presence?

There's a good bench and a plaque in memory of a local lady who died in 2006, sadly at the age of fifty.

Jon and I shared the bench for an hour or so whilst the others caught up.

There were limited views through the haze as we ascended the ridge.

The ghost of a chap called Sir Thomas, and also that of the Black Dog of Hergest are said to haunt the area around Hergest Ridge. The Black Dog's sighting reputedly presages death. It is also rumoured to have been the prototype for The Hound of the Baskervilles, as Conan Doyle is known to have stayed at nearby Hergest Hall shortly before he wrote the novel. Phil was the only person to spot the dog*.

We duly reached a trig point at 423 metres, but this wasn’t the summit, despite its good views towards the Black Mountains.

Nearby, at 426 metres, there’s a jumble of rocks, just a bit higher than the trig point, with a distinctive ‘pointy’ rock signifying the summit.

Keith made a futile bid to reach the pointy rock (the high point is near his left hand), whilst GS strode on manfully towards the border with Wales.

I'd intended to go round the side of Hanter Hill (414 metres), but the troops rebelled and shot off up to the summit, from where Robin and Josh took time out to admire the view during their half hour wait for the slower contingent.

To the left was a vision over a Welsh quarry (Dolyhir), a highly industrial landscape.

A sharp descent brought us back down to Lower Hanter. The folk who had rushed up Hanter Hill had perhaps not realised that they were already quite high and the descent through gorse could be a little tiresome, so they elected to go around the next two hills, skirting both Worsell Wood and Navages Wood before 1pm. En route we spotted a pair of peregrine falcons, gliding gracefully beside a rock face. During the weekend we also saw many buzzards, a few red kites, a hedgerow of yellowhammers, a hillside of skylarks, siskins and many commoner species.

"It's lunch time" announced Sue, her eyes glued to her Fitbit watch, arriving after the people at the front had already started eating theirs.

After another half hour break (actually 31 minutes 29 seconds, 1 minute 29 seconds longer than scheduled – I’ve been reading ‘The Rosie Project’) we were ready to shuffle off again.

GS left us near here, after fields containing new born lambs, to skirt around Herrock Hill and dash back to the Oxford Arms to expand his waist line in front of a TV. (England 25 – Wales 21)

Five of us continued to join the Mortimer Trail, whilst everyone else tackled Herrock Hill (371 metres). Here they are, some of them following the ancient line of Offa's Dyke. We were puzzled by their desire to go over the top of the hill rather than follow the Offa’s Dyke path around the side of it…

Our longer but more staid route passed this lovely half-timbered farmhouse at Knill.

The path soon rose gently through pleasant woodland to the top of Little Brampton Scar, at the top of which we enjoyed a lovely stroll along the Mortimer Trail. The five of us decided to abandon Plan A (the long circuit via the Mortimer and the Herefordshire Trails) due to the many half hour breaks, and head back to Kington via Kennel Cottage, Rushock and Barton. It turned out to be an excellent and fairly quick route.

Here's what the twenty plus starters had been whittled down to - Martin, Ken, Edwina, Sue and Jon. Note that Sue had to stay with this group as I had her ‘supplies’, her rucksack having carelessly been left at home. Fortunately it didn’t rain, nor were her absent hat and gloves necessary.

Beyond a very light coloured buzzard on a gatepost and some bare fields with sheep in poor condition, we found Kennel Cottage also to be in quite a poor state of repair, but was pleasantly surrounded by snowdrops.

We finished the walk about ten minutes after the Herrock Hill group, touching on the Offa’s Dyke path then taking an old tramway route through the town to reach the hostel with virtually no tarmac.

Despite recent rain, today's walk was on a consistently dry surface. Here's our route - 23 km, 700 metres ascent, taking 7 hours including about 10 hours of breaks.

Sunday – after an enjoyable evening with superb food, capped by Richard and Jenny’s salmon with leek & mushrooms wrapped in puff pastry served with roasted veg, most of us assembled at the memorial in New Radnor for a modest Sunday stroll in the Radnor Forest, over the border in Wales.

The 21 metre (77ft) recently restored memorial was erected in 1864 to commemorate Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806-63), a barrister, politician, and man of letters whose family home was nearby. I wonder whether he enjoyed the luxury of a hot water system. From what I can find out about him I think he probably deserved the occasional hot bath.

Soon, around twenty of us were tramping up Mutton Dingle, with Hillhouse Farm standing out in an otherwise very hazy view. Closer to hand, Sue discovered the aftermath of a fatal accident. Out of consideration to my audience, I have decided not to show the maggot ridden skeleton of the deceased cyclist.

Near Whinyard Rocks we took a dogleg up to the 599 metre summit of Whimble. It was a lovely day, but views were very limited due to the haze.

Then we wandered along to the 610 metre summit of Bache Hill, after which we continued to slowly gain height on the way to our next target, Black Mixen (650 metres), marked by a trig point next to a communications mast.

I’d followed a good track to the summit, whereas the others followed a shorter but much rougher, perhaps pathless, route.

Then they took another cross country route to reach the high point of the day, Great Rhos (660 metres), whereas my knees preferred to use the nearby tracks.

There were hazy views down Harley Dingle.

Some folk had peeled off after Whimble. The rest of us peeled off after Great Rhos, leaving Keith and Carol to complete a longer circuit via some waterfalls.

Phil found what he took to be a submarine; he chatted at length to the crew through the periscope. They told him they'd been blown off course.

It was a steep and slithery descent to a Danger Sign that is marked on the Ordnance Survey map. Whimble is the distinctive hill on the right.

After a while, on a sunny afternoon in improving weather, we concluded the final descent to the ancient walled town of New Radnor. The roads seemed to be pretty much empty for most of our way home.

Here's my route - 16 km, 600 metres ascent, taking a little over 5 hours. Others took shortcuts.

There’s a slideshow (68 images) here.

The ‘Marilyns’ we climbed were Hergest Ridge and Great Rhos.

Previous ‘rentahostel’ weekends:
2015 – Slaidburn
2014 – Welsh Bicknor
2013 – Helmsley
2012 – Wooler
2011 – Eskdale
2010 – Caldbeck
2009 – Helvellyn (Part 1)
2009 – Helvellyn (Part 2)
2009 – Helvellyn (Part 3)

* – Phil has a vivid imagination. He spotted the dog from a remote spot in the Black Mountains.**

** – whose imagination did I report as being vivid? My watch seems also to have accelerated a little during our breaks this weekend. No offence is intended to anyone who may perceive themselves to be victims of such minor exaggerations that may have crept into this story.

Wythenshawe Hall Fire

It’s a sad day. This fire at Wythenshawe Hall, the venue for our Saturday morning parkruns, and a place with a long history, mentioned amongst many other things in this posting from 2014, has caused terrible damage to the building.

From this angle it didn’t look too bad.

But moving around the cordoned off area, together with a number of concerned local people, the scale of the damage became clear.

I’m sure everyone will join me in hoping that the Hall can be restored. We may need to search our pockets.