Setting off from Vallouise

We are heading into sun drenched mountains with maybe no phone signal for some time.

Bye for now, and apologies for the dummy posting.

Wednesday 5 September 2012 - GR54 Day 5 - Monêtier-les-Bains (1495m) to Vallouise (1166m) via Col des Grangettes

Approx 20 km with 1200 metres ascent, in 7 hours 45 minutes including breaks totalling 1 hour 30 minutes.

We award top marks to Gite Le Flourou and Pierre, its genial host. The facilities were excellent and the food was great. All for under €50 per person, including beer and wine.

By 8.30 this morning we were on the road again in brighter conditions with the sun secreted behind the Serre-Chevaller mountains. Kev's GR54 guidebook talks about today's path passing through a 'sorry area' of ski pistes, bulldozed tracks and other eyesores that make this the ugliest section of the walk. So after ten minutes, instead of heading into this 'sorry area' we kept to the right and headed up an amenable forestry track beside the Torrent le Grand Tabuc.

It took us an hour to reach the end of the track at 1825 metres. From there a delightful and superbly graded path delivered us back into the Écrins National Park and high into Vallon de la Monragnolle, with fine views across to the remains of the Monetier glacier and the sunlit peaks of Montagne des Agneaux (pictured - top).

Sadly, high cloud obscured the sun before it rose high enough to enter our line of vision, but it remained warm, dry and windless. T-shirt weather for me, though the others donned something warmer at times.

At about 2340 metres we arrived at a junction where the path to our left headed over a minor col and into the ski area to rejoin GR54 on its route over Col de l'Eychauda (2425m). Those averse to a bit of easy scrambling should probably take this route.

The five of us spent the next 40 minutes climbing steeper ground, initially on a good path over scree, and for the final 150 metres or so on a narrow, vertiginous path with good hand holds, to reach our high point of the trip to date, the 2684 metre Col des Grangettes where the other four are pictured (middle).

The descent on the south side of the col thankfully presented no difficulties, and we soon reached the turquoise waters of Lac de l'Eychauda. From here onwards we met a string of day walkers ascending to this beauty spot for lunch.

Our own lunch was taken on the descent into the Vallon de Chambran, from where the view back to our route down the cirque looked quite dramatic.

Over five hours after deserting the GR54 route, we rejoined it shortly before reaching the buvette at Chambran, where we enjoyed coffees, served by a small child in a free-range chicken zone.

Duly refreshed, we continued onwards towards our destination for a pleasurable couple of hours on good paths, with fine views down to the Vallouise valley once we had lost the views (pictured - bottom) back along GR54's route to Col de l'Eychauda.

Once in Vallouise, Gite l'Aiglière was soon located (4pm) and Denis and Maryline provided a most welcome pot of tea.

Since our arrival the cloud has dissipated and the weather bodes well for tomorrow.

Comments:

Thanks Chrissy for your comment. I'll be looking at your blog for inspiration for 'Postcards from Timperley' when I get home.

Helen, sorry to hear it's raining in Ottawa. You have misunderstood my comments re the weather, which is actually very good. We've had no storms and in five days' walking it has drizzled from high cloud for just a couple of hours, hardly wetting us at all. Have a great time in Newfoundland.

The View from our room
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Tuesday 4 September 2012 - GR54 Day 4 - Refuge de l'Alpe de Villar d'Arene (2077m) to Monêtier-les-Bains (1495m)

Approx 13 km with 400 metres ascent, in 4 hours 40 minutes including breaks totalling 1 hour.

Stale bread featured in today's breakfast menu at the Refuge (pictured - top), but never mind, we fuelled up sufficiently to reach the welcoming coffee stop provided by Chez Finette in Le Casset, and filling crepes for lunch in Monetier.

Yesterday's mizzle had just about subsided by the time we set off at 8.30 this morning, but the summits were still in cloud and a degree of protective clothing was in order by the time we reached our high point of the day, Col d'Arsine (2340m) an hour later. On a good day the short walk up to the Lac du Glacier d'Arsine from here may be a worthy diversion, but in today's dull weather there was no great enthusiasm for that.

The descent to Lac de la Douche saw another walker hurry past us whilst marmots scurried for their burrows, chamois viewed us cautiously from afar, and dippers hunted in the streams and pools (pictured - middle) that bordered the path.

On a less cloudy day the Cirque d'Arsine would have provided a stunning backdrop to this descent. Today a shepherd and two large white dogs (patou - a Tibetan breed) typical of the area were tending a large herd of sheep, some of which had very young lambs.

We followed the milky waters of the Petit Tabuc stream as they gathered volume and the path widened as it entered woodland. Some day walkers were encountered on the approach to Le Casset - there are a few people out and about, if not doing a hutting route like ours.

An easy stroll beside the river delivered us to Monêtier in time for lunch after a short wander around the village.

A lazy afternoon followed, in our spacious room for five at gite Le Flourou, from the window of which the bottom picture was taken.

Thanks again for your comments, hopefully some sunnier pictures will follow over the next few days.

Later, after an excellent meal despite the polenta, we can confirm this gite is, as described by Kev, very friendly, and unlike last night's (albeit friendly) refuge they have taken the trouble to light a fire.

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Monday 3 September 2012 - GR54 Day 3 - Le Chazelet (1786m) to Refuge de l'Alpe de Villar d'Arene (2077m) via Col du Lautaret

Approx 19 km with 950 metres ascent, in 7 hours 40 minutes including breaks totalling 2 hours 30 minutes.

Superb paths under cloudy skies, with light rain in the afternoon.

After an adequate breakfast at Gite Chez Baptiste we set off at 8.45 under skies which would remain cloudy all day. We were the only people staying at the gite apart from a young French couple who today planned to walk to the lakes we had enjoyed yesterday.

Otherwise we saw no other walkers apart from the foursome who are staying at this refuge - we met them earlier when they were looking for the parking spot from which to walk up here.

The top picture is of le Chazelet, from the road up to the Oratoire Ste Anne, a small chapel, from where layers of cloud partly obscured the view down to the Romanche valley.

From the chapel we descended gently to Les Terraces, one of the many small villages in this area. From there, a good track led directly to the metropolis of La Grave, where luncheon supplies were obtained and we enjoyed a lengthy 'pre-elevenses' with the chatty proprietor of the Le Serac Hotel.

The GR54 route would have taken us unnecessarily over a 300 metre bluff, so we followed Kev Reynolds' suggestion and took a perfectly acceptable alternative through the Romanche valley and up to the pretty village of Villar d'Arene.

From here we rejoined GR54 for its beautiful valley section to the bridge at Arsine. Then it would be a relatively short walk up to today's lodgings, so at Susan's suggestion we now adapted our route to visit the Botanical Gardens at Col du Lautaret.

So we headed off up the GR50 path, which very amiably chose an easily graded route far enough from the road to feel reasonably remote, and led us to the well provisioned Col du Lautaret which leads on to the cycling mecca of Col du Galibier.

Sue and I went inside for omelette and chips whilst the others munched their bread and cheese outside. We observed their increasing layering before they eventually took refuge in the café.
It had started to drizzle.

After an hour in the comfort of the café, we decided to explore the nearby Botanical Gardens. Luckily it was out of season, so the usual charge of €6 was waived. Our visit (pictured - middle) revealed a host of Alpine flowers from all over the world, with a surprising number still in flower. A wonderful place. A small exhibition of drawings by flower artists was also interesting, revealing heavy involvement with Grenoble University since the founding of this and other similar gardens in the late 1800s.

Eventually we dragged ourselves away and headed along the path, which contours beautifully around the mountainside (pictured - bottom), with great views even in the light rain, to reach Refuge de l'Alpe de Villar d'Arene, hidden deep in the mountains, by 4.30pm.

Whilst Kev's guidebook insists that it is essential to book this refuge (and indeed it may be to enable them to judge their catering needs), today there are just four others staying here - Michel, Helene, Jean-Luc and Evelyn - the French foursome who we had encountered looking for the car park. They are using the refuge as a base for some day walks. Both they and the lady guardian were very jolly.

Dinner took place after the goat had been milked and involved the disposal of several rabbits, mainly by Roy, washed down with red wine as usual. Cheese (excellent Brie) followed, then creme without the caramel, accompanied by some local dessert wine, shared with our French friends, in celebration of Susan's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Susan.

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Sunday 2 September 2012 - GR54 Day 2 - Clavans-le-Bas to Chez Baptiste in Le Chazelet

Approx 17 km with 1300 metres ascent, in 7 hours 10 minutes including breaks totalling 1 hour 20 minutes.

An excellent mountain day in continuing fine weather.

Agnes and Manu, aided by six year old Maritsa, provided all we needed for a good breakfast at the Auberge du Savel, and we left their cosy establishment at 9am for the 100 metre descent to the Ferrand Torrent and its communal watermill.

A well graded path then led to the touristy village of Besse-en-Oisans, where lunch ingredients were purchased and sun tan lotions were applied.

Sadly, as it was the day's only opportunity, a consensus that it was 'too early!!' meant that we failed to linger for an early elevenses. Perhaps yesterday's rip-off experience at the Refuge du Col de Sarenne has put everyone off. I hope not.

Anyway, we were soon enjoying the effortless ascent of a perfectly graded path up to the 1902 metre Col Nazié. Susan, Roy and I had to wait there for ages as Sue and Ken had been distracted by such sights as Yellow Mountain Saxifrage, Field Gentians, Knapweed, Eyebright and Alpine Toadflax, all new to Ken.

We reassembled for the ongoing ascent (pictured - top).

Eventually Col Bichet, with its large wooden cross, was reached. Snow covered vistas glittered in every direction, with the 3465 metre peak of Roche de la Muzelle prominent to the south.

A cool northerly wind suddenly assaulted us as we emerged onto the grassland of the Plateau d'Emparis. We moved on quickly down to a stream at 2160 metres, where we decided to add a 'lake loop' to our itinerary.

Thus we left GR54 and set off towards Lac Noir, soon pausing for a leisurely lunch with fine views in the shelter of some large rocks.

Lac Noir is a superb viewpoint; Lac Lérié, a bit further on, is even better - with brilliant views (pictured - middle) across the deep cut of the Romanche valley to the lofty heights of La Meije (3982 metres) and a splendid array of other peaks and glaciers.

There were quite a few day walkers around Lac Lérié. It was good to see them taking advantage of the sunny afternoon. One family had brought their small pet cat along. We left them searching for it in some marmot holes under a rock.

Sunlit Le Chazelet soon came into view (pictured, bottom left of the lower image) and after an easy descent we reached our gite, Chez Baptiste, at the very respectable time of 4.10pm.

Beers on the terrace followed, as we took turns under the hot shower, until spots of rain from a different sort of shower - not to mention the cool northerly - finally drove us indoors.

Alan R and others - thanks for your comments. We hope the expensive hot drink episode was just a minor blip. At least they were Large Hot Drinks!

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Saturday 1 September 2012 - GR54 Day 1 - Bourg d'Oisans to Clavans-le-Bas

Approx 20 km with 1400 metres ascent, in 7 hours 50 minutes including breaks totalling 1 hour 50 minutes.

An excellent first day in weather that belied the forecast showers and wind.

Bourg is a pleasant place, full of cyclists attempting some of the classic Tour de France climbs such as Alpe d'Huez and the Col du Galibier (thanks Robert for your card btw).

Today's extensive market also brightened up the town centre. Shortly before we braved the streets of Bourg the rain kindly eased, leaving us with the minor inconvenience of damp pavements on which to commence our journey.

After some entertainment from Roy, who thought he had wet himself - but it turned out to be a leaky Platypus, we started steeply up a rock face littered with wires that some would argue were unnecessary.

This brought us past Autumn Crocuses and Solomons Seal to the fleshpots of Le Châtelard, namely Hotel la Fôret de Maronne, just in time for elevenses.

The owner, Frank, a Belgian exile, explained that the reason we hadn't seen any other walkers on this fine Saturday morning was that we had chosen to visit the area 'out of season'. Fine. We'd understood GR54 to be a popular and challenging undertaking. We encountered no other walkers on today's well graded paths. Frank commented that Alpe d'Huez houses some 37,000 (do we really believe that?) occupied beds in the height of the winter season, and that his restaurant serves over 100 lunches every day at that time. We may well have been his only visitors today.

After elevenses we continued past a vintage Simca Aronde and through some pretty hamlets before dropping down to Pont Romain in the Sarenne gorge.

It was then a long but easily graded walk, initially past old mill paraphernalia, then through pleasant woodland where we found a bench for lunch. That was because the nearby Auberge de Combe-Haute was shut, its summer season being from mid July to mid August.

Soon after that we moved above the tree line and headed gently through open country (pictured - top) up to the heady summit of the 1999 metre Col de Sarenne, about the height from which overnight snow had receded this morning.

A cold wind (today's temperatures didn't exceed 10C) encouraged us to seek the warmth of the nearby Refuge du Col de Sarenne, where we received a warm welcome and were relieved of €25 for five hot drinks, twice what Frank had charged.

The descent to Clavans (pictured - bottom, below an impressive slab of rock) was steep but easy, undertaken in the company of a dozen or so vultures.

A wrong path was taken - my fault - resulting in a direct descent to Clavans-le-Bas and missing the excitement of a visit to the Cimitiere des Huegenots.

The Auberge du Savel was easily located, at 4.50 pm, just before the arrival of a long awaited shower, and we were soon enjoying our own en-suite showers.

Dinner was acceptably appetising, if not exceptional - soup, pasta and veal, tart - and the house red was agreeable. Any residual jet lag was disposed of by way of an early night.

Grass of Parnassus graced much of today's route and is undoubtedly 'flower of the day' - but don't expect many such accolades as most of the remaining Alpine flowers are definitely past their best.

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Tour of the Oisans - Getting to Bourg d'Oisans

Thanks go to JJ for taxiing us to T3 at Manchester for a leisurely 10.10 departure on our BMI flight to Lyon.

We hope you enjoy your trip to Spain, JJ.

Hopefully JJ will be providing further commentary on his own exciting activities at adventures-with-jj.blogspot.co.uk/

The little Embraer 135 got us safely to Lyon, where it was cooler and cloudier than in sunny Manchester.

Susan and Roy duly appeared on time from the direction of Zurich, and the 3pm bus to Grenoble that we'd booked ran smoothly and on time.

Grenoble bus station, in rain, was the scene of some confusion as we queued for 25 minutes to get tickets for a bus to Bourg that we could just as easily have got from the driver. Anyway, we caught it in the nick of time, then spent the next 45 minutes in Grenoble's friday afternoon rush hour. It's not a pretty city.

Racing driver tactics, supported by blaring raucous sounds from the bus radio until reception faded, enabled our driver to recover 15 lost minutes, and by 6.15 we had been dropped off in Bourg d'Oisans more or less outside Hotel des Alpes, our chosen lodgings for the night.

A stroll around Bourg revealed a rather damp Alpine village, pictured, and Roy, Susan and Sue posed for me outside the hotel. The rain, and the fact that it was well past beer o'clock, soon drove us indoors.

Ken, who had travelled from Ottawa yesterday, materialised an hour later having repeated our bus ticket queue scenario in Grenoble, and our now quorate international quintet happily chomped its way through everything that Hotel des Alpes could throw at us.

The weather hasn't quite realised that we've arrived. It's raining hard, and occasional glimpses above us reveal lots of fresh snow at low levels. Just as well that we start walking tomorrow, and not today...

Comments:

Gibson - have a great trip - I'll catch up with your own postings in a couple of weeks.

Alan R - shame about the rain in Gairloch, but hopefully it washed the midges away!

The picture of Sue is from five years ago - you'll recognise some more familiar clothing over the coming days...

Helen - I'll get back to you in a couple of weeks when we've returned from the Écrins.

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Prologue

Tour of the Oisans – the GR54 round the Écrins

We are on our travels again. 

Hopefully on BD1343 to Lyon by the time you read this. 

We plan to walk around the Écrins by way of a 13 day ‘hutting’ tour.  Our itinerary is here.  The weather forecast is good, as is normal for this time of year in the Alps.  It’s an International Expedition, with TGO Challengers Susan and Roy joining us from Glastonbury, Connecticut, and Ken is popping over from Ottawa.

I’ve not replaced my phone since our E5 trip, so postings may be brief, and I may have difficulty in picking up your comments.  I’ll try, though.

The route is one of Kev Reynolds’ favourites.  We are looking forward to it.

The picture above was taken at the Col de Chavière, in the Vanoise region, on 1 September 2007. 

That’s about as close as we’ve been to the Oisans, which have appeared enticingly in the distance on a number of our Alpine trips.

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Wednesday 29 August 2012 – An Evening Walk from Redesmere

Andrew’s ‘Deepest Cheshire’ summer’s evening series of walks concluded with this stroll from Redesmere, where we caught the last rays of sunshine just before starting at 7.30pm on a sunny evening.

Redesmere is next to the extended village of Siddington, and this posh set of steps, commemorating the Queen’s diamond jubilee, lead from the lakeside up to the village hall and a pristine bowling green.

Andrew lives next door, in Lower Withington.  As an erstwhile Parish Councillor he’s always been puzzled as to how Siddington has managed to gain so many Best Kept Village in Cheshire awards when his own parish fails miserably to win anything!

The haziness in the above picture isn’t deliberate.  Whilst my Canon Ixus 105 has recovered from its dunking earlier in the year, the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired, so a replacement is imminent.

The three of us followed a little loop through the village, emerging at the church, which was consecrated in 1521.  It was originally timber framed, with wattle and daub infilling.  In 1815 the walls were encased in brickwork to help support the heavy stone roof.  Parts of the church were later painted to resemble the many timbers that remain encased.

Sadly, we were unable to gain entry, but Andrew assured us that the church is currently full of corn dollies.  That’s another story, worthy of a posting in its own right.  As is the tale of two WW1 Canadian airmen who befriended the villagers after making an emergency landing in the vicinity.  They returned several times, but on their first post war visit in June 1918 they sadly crashed and were killed, to be buried side by side in the church yard, next to their friends, the Nield family.

We continued through fields in increasing gloom, and were delighted to discover that one farmer at least had been generous in preserving the right of way through his crops.

Night fell, but the nearly full moon meant that torches were needed only once or twice, to negotiate our way through particularly boggy sections and to find our way across an electric fence – no problem with that as we were happy to be on the other side of a large herd of cows.

Here’s our 8.5 km (5+ miles) route, which took somewhat less than 2 hours, after which we adjourned for a welcome beer, etc at the Blacksmith’s Arms in Henbury.

Thanks go to Andrew for providing this excellent little route.

The Train from Platform One Departs at 15.20 Precisely

We don’t usually travel far on Bank Holidays.  Today a walk to Walton Park to catch the 15.20 train to London was all we could manage.  Simon, Kate, Oscar and Jacob came along.  We bumped into Trisha, one of my old work colleagues, looking very well with a big bump and her soon to be expanded family… Hello Trisha!

The London train arrived back at Walton Park at 15.23.  A very quick trip, but everyone seemed happy and the fares were quite cheap really.

Happy Days

Wednesday 22 August 2012 – Bury Forest with the LDWA (aka ‘An Irwell Valley Walk’)

It was a pleasure to join ‘The Plodders’ today after quite a long break.  They have been doing, amongst other things, the Irwell Valley Walk from the river’s source to the point where it imminently mutates into the Manchester Ship Canal.

The 50 minute tram ride from Timperley to Bury was very pleasant in the sunshine, so I was somewhat surprised to find others dressed in waterproofs.  No matter, I’d brought the sun with me – a fact that some of the assembled masses failed to notice until their waterproofs were about to be ripped to shreds in Bury Jungle.

Anyway, we lined up for a mug shot – two Rogers, John, Don, Reg, Phil, Little Ann, Peter, Jim, Bernard, Dennis and Alan, if I’ve got that right.  Then Reg set off purposefully in search of the River Irwell.  We couldn’t see it, but we could see the Metrolink line to our left, so “we must be roughly right”. 

“We need the canal towpath” announced Reg - “it’s just down there, you go first, John.” 

“What, through that forest?”

“Yes, here are some wire cutters, and would Bernard please pass his walking stick.”

We spent some time in this short section of jungle, with its spiky brambles and stingy nettles.  There was a vertical section, lined with brambles, nettles and Himalayan Balsam.  So what to hold on to, given that the innocuous Balsam doesn’t exactly provide a solid grip?

The jungle exited into a flat field, but as you can see from the following image, two strands of barbed wire could easily rip the knees.  We couldn’t really complain about the wire, as we weren’t exactly on a path…

After rescuing Little Ann, who had tried to hitch a ride in Bernard’s rucksack, from the depths of the Jungle, we managed to extricate all 13 of us and find the canal towpath, where we were buzzed by grey wagtails and were closely vetted by some puzzled looking swans.

Little Ann, apparently dazed by her Jungle experience, paddled into the middle of the canal with my camera to take the following picture.  Thanks Ann, I didn’t tell anyone you thought the grass in the canal was dry!  You seemed a bit dazed and may not even recall the episode at all…

The next pair of swans seem to have had a (re)productive summer.

Eventually, Reg got bored with the towpath and took us down a track under a tree viaduct.  Those of us who didn’t bother with hats got sunburnt.

Incredibly, we spent some time on the Irwell Valley Sculpture Trail without finding any sculptures.  We did however find a few rocks on which to enjoy a speedy lunch and a second round of brownies.  Eventually a rather dilapidated piece of ironwork sculpture appeared, and Reg breathed a deep sigh of relief when he finally located the River Irwell, which he then insisted on crossing several times.

The fleshpots of Salford were gained in the vicinity of The Crescent.  Some of these have seen better days.

St Philip’s Church, constructed in the Greek Revival style in 1822 from ashlar stone, still seems relatively intact.

During the speedy lunch, Reg had been busy ordering a second lunch of sandwiches, salad and lots of chips at the Mark Addy, which we needed in order to provide our beers with something to wash down. 

Here’s an approximation of our 20 km (12.5 mile) route, which took us about 5 hours.  Bury Forest is positioned somewhere between points 2 and 3, but its exact location remains Reg’s secret.  The River Irwell turns into the Manchester Ship Canal at some indeterminate point just beyond the Mark Addy pub.

There’s a slide show with more ‘Forest’ pictures here, and my Garmin gadget track of the route is below:

Tuesday 21 August 2012 – An Evening Walk to Werneth Low

On a warm evening in Compstall, Sue and I were joined for a beer by Graham B, whilst teams of bowlers aimed for their targets on the pristine green behind The George.

It seemed a shame to leave, but Alistair, Colin and Helen turned up, eager for a walk.  So off we set, heading alongside the lake in Etherow Country Park.

The golden orb was soon lost behind the horizon, bringing to attention the need to carry torches on evening walks from now until next April or May, though some got away without them tonight.

I hadn’t walked the paths before, and hadn’t carried out a recce, but as expected Graham B pretty much knew the route up to Werneth Low.  It was still light enough for this self timed picture looking back down to Compstall.

Werneth Low hasn’t previously featured on these pages.  I’m not really sure why not, as it’s a fine viewpoint right on the edge of the Peak District.  Judging by my map it’s also on a European Trail – path E2, albeit not signed as such, and it’s fair to say we didn’t meet a trail of E2 backpackers snaking across the countryside.  A couple of dog walkers were our only encounters tonight.  Apart from the curious cows.

The War Memorial dates from 1920, whilst the ‘Low’ part of the name of this place dates from long ago - ‘Low’ being the North English word for a hill.

After I’d handed out some brownies – the first batch for a couple of months, we continued our circuit in increasing gloom along a very muddy track.

“I’ve not been here before” announced Graham.  Alistair, Colin and Helen also live close by, and they hadn’t taken the planned route before either.  So we fumbled our way along the lanes and paths in a southerly direction (Alistair takes an award for being the only one of us with a compass) as it went completely dark and torchless Sue was glad of the carrots I’d fed her for tea.

At one point the path disappeared, but a short stretch of jungle revealed a welcoming (unless you had a dog, we didn’t) gate with a yellow arrow that led us to a barking farmyard.  I always get nervous in such places at night, especially when, like now, an array of blinding lights is activated, but over the years our evening walks have scared other people more often than we’ve been scared ourselves.

I was quite pleased to find that we were somehow still on a path when we passed under some power pylons and reached a stile at a point that I knew was only 100 metres or so from the road.  But in the dark wood I then missed the path and led everyone across a boggy field from which a barbed wire fence had to be climbed in order to escape to the pavement.

I’m sure the ‘off path’ experience did no harm to anyone’s thirst, which was quenched a few minutes later back at The George.

Here’s our route – 8 km with 300 metres ascent, taking 2 to 2.5 hours.

 
Another very jolly evening – it was good to see you all.

Will and Geri get married

We had a lovely time at Will (my nephew) and Geri’s wedding in Northampton yesterday, and very much enjoyed our day with my brother Dave’s family, some of whom appear above.

I've uploaded just a few snaps, taken mainly by Sue outside the church - here.

Have a great honeymoon, Will and Geri, and we hope to see you all soon.  (Some readers may remember Dave and Toby from last year’s Christmas walk up Shutlingsloe.)

Butterflyfest

This image, taken on 6 July 2011 near San Giacomo in the Maritime Alps, was entered in the Austrian Alpine Club’s 2011 Photographic Competition, and gained the Nature Award.

I reported on that trip here.

But there was a serious faux pas on my part, as the photo now appears to have been taken with Sue’s camera.  I’m in trouble, especially as ‘Butterflyfest’ won the ‘First Time Entry’ category, beating ‘Reflections’ (indisputably my picture), which was Runner-up in that category.  So this year’s entries will have to be submitted in Sue’s name, but will be up against Paul, who is about to depart for Mayrhofen and takes better pictures than we do….

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Tuesday 14 August 2012 – Nether Alderley

After a long break from evening walks due to other commitments, we chose a great night to resume this activity, meeting at the Stag’s Head in Great Warford for a beer in warm sunshine before heading into the fields of Cheshire as the sun wandered down towards a seemingly flat horizon.

This was Andrew’s route – thanks for organising it Andrew – an exploration of the footpaths affected by the new A34 by-pass around Alderley Edge.  In fact the paths don’t seem to be greatly affected, with bridges and road crossings, as well as a footpath alongside the by-pass, enabling walkers to follow more or less the same routes as they could before the by-pass was constructed.

Here we are beside a bridge over the big road, with its cycle/pathway clearly signed above Gerry’s head.

It was a good turnout on a warm summer’s evening.

After crossing the by-pass we strolled through overgrown paths (“pass the dock leaves” asked Sue) to Nether Alderley, where Neil and Christine Hamilton used to live next to the fourteenth century church, pictured above and below.  This well proportioned building utilised stone from Alderley Edge and slates from nearby Kerridge in its construction all those centuries ago.

It was good to be joined by Pete and Gerry (en route from the Lake District to Bath), Mary (now working in Warrington), Mike (on holiday and taking a break from rebuilding his kitchen), and Paul (on his way home to Buxton).

They were all privileged to witness a lovely sunset, during which a quirk of optical refraction delivered a fine view of the Matterhorn, beyond the shimmering waters of the English Channel, on this calm summer’s evening.

It was more or less dark by the time we regained the beer garden of the Stag’s Head for further indulgence and entertainment provided by the annotations made in by Sue and me in Allan Hartley’s guide to a walk around the Zillertal Alps.  The book was handed over to Paul, and will no doubt provide entertainment during his forthcoming visit to the area.  It must break all records for errors in a Cicerone guide book!  Hopefully Paul will update the book, as it’s five years (just before this blog started) since our visit – a great walk from Mayrhofen by the way.

Here’s our 8 km route.

And here’s a route showing the line of the by-pass, though Google’s ‘satellite’ view still doesn’t include that feature.

There are evening walks next Tuesday (Etherow), and the following Wednesday (Redesmere), should anyone wish to join us.  We’d welcome your company, but it’s getting to the time of year when a torch may be a useful piece of kit to bring along!