26/03/2017 Sunday Car - Caldervale / Witton Country Park

B Walk - Caldervale & Bleasdale with Chris Metcalfe 

7 miles (11.4km) with 250ft (76m) Total Ascent

Meet at the Mill Square (free parking), Caldervale (Sat Nav: PR3 1SP Map Ref: SD 534458), ready for the usual start time of 10.30am.

Starting at the Mill Square (free parking) our walk will take us from Calder Vale to Bleasdale and part of Claughton. The walking will be relatively easy with a mixture of country roads, farm tracks and (possibly) some field walking as well. On my first recce. the fields were absolutely saturated and virtually impassable in many places so I may avoid fields if no improvement by the final recce. Depending on the weather there will be extensive views across the Fylde with the Lake District to the north and Liverpool Bay to the south. There will be toilets at lunch and at Cobble Hey cafe in the afternoon. Hope you can join us.

C Walk - Witton Country Park with Roy Smith 

6 miles (9.7km) with 300ft (91m) Total Ascent

Meet at main car park off the A674 (Sat Nav: BB2 2TP), ready for the usual start time of 10.30am.

From the main car park we head past the Visitor Centre and climb towards Billinge Wood. Moving out of the wood we walk along the top of what are known as the Yellow Hills, so named because of the covering of gorse bushes on their southern slope. Along this stretch we pass the Wainwright Memorial, a memorial to Alfred Wainwright who was born in Blackburn in 1907. Continuing gradually downhill we make our way to the River Darwin, at Hoghton Bottoms. We follow the river for a short distance then, moving away from the river, we follow farm tracks and minor roads eventually arriving at Pleasington Priory. From here we make our way back into the Country Park. We now follow the Witton Weavers Way back to our starting point.

15/03/2017 Stroller - Rivington

Rivington with Roy
2 to 3 miles with Little Climbing

Each Mid-Week Stroller walk has a destination providing a venue for drinks / snacks / meals etc and starts at 10:30am.

Meet at main car park at Lower Barn, Rivington (Great House Barn, Sat Nav: BL6 7SB), then afterwards at Lower Rivington Barn Cafe.

12/03/2017 Coach Walk - Castleton via Peak Forest

March

8:00 Start with 17:30 (5:30pm) Return

A Walk - The Great Ridge with Dave Colbert

12½ miles (20km) with 2,600ft (800m) Total Ascent.

The 'Great Ridge' divides the rolling limestone uplands of the White Peak to the south from the higher millstone grit country of the High Peak to the north. This walk will see us traverse the full length from Rushup Edge to Lose Hill.

Starting from Hayfield, famous as the starting point for the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the 1930s, we follow the valley of the River Sett to eventually ascend Famine Hill (1,552ft/473m), not an appropriate place to stop for butties. Continuing along the high ground we climb the slightly higher South Hill before getting to 'grips' with Brown Knoll (1,867ft/569m) and its infinite wetness.

A lengthy descent then takes us south-eastward across the Manchester to Sheffield railway line deep underground in the 2 mile long Cowburn Tunnel before we swing round to Rushup Edge, a surprisingly narrow ridge for the Peak District. Beyond a nick in the ridge lies Mam Tor (1,696ft/517m), known as the 'Shivering Mountain' given the propensity for its precipitous south-east face to slip on a frequent basis. One such landslip closed the main road from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Castleton permanently. Our traverse continues to Hollins Cross, Back Tor and finally Lose Hill (1,562ft/476m) before descending to Castleton via Losehill Hall.

B+ Walk - Lose Hill, Hollins Cross & Mam Tor with Val Walmsley

10 miles (16.1km) with 2008 ft (612m) Total Ascent

From Castleton we head along Hollowford Road east to Losehill Hall and then north east to Losehill Farm from where we ascend to Lose Hill and a viewpoint. We then head west, passing Back Tor, Hollins Cross leading to the high point of Mam Tor. Then descend to Winnats Head Farm and passing Blue John Cavern, Cliff Cavern & Speedwell Cavern to reach Goosehill Farm. We then take a path south west to Limestone Way and follow this back down Cave Dale to Castleton Dark Peak Centre. 

B Walk - Mam Tor with Barry Mather

7½ miles (12km) with 1700ft (518m) Total Ascent

We leave Castleton south up Cave Dale. High above on the right can be seen the remains of the 11th Century Peveril Castle. Following the Limestone Way we leave Cave Dale and follow a track north heading for Mam Tor and after a short climb we arrive at the top. Mam Tor is also known as the Shivering Mountain due to layers of unstable slate causing land slips. We then proceed to Hollins Cross and on to Lose Hill. With all the serious climbing done we return to Castleton via Losehill Hall.

C Walk - Cavedale with Tony Ingham

6 miles (9.7km) with 800ft (244m) Total Ascent

We head north out of the village along the Hollowford Road. At the road end we turn west and follow a path which passes Mam Farm and leads on to the road heading south which finally closed in 1979 after years of landslips below the "Shivering Mountain" (Mam Tor).

It is still a footpath and we continue along it to the Blue John Cavern where we can tarry awhile before following a field path to Winnats Head Farm. We go west for a short distance to Windy Knoll before turning south again past Oxlow House to eventually join the Limestone Way. This takes us north east through Cavedale, below Peveril Castle, and back into Castleton where there are plenty of tea shops and pubs.

09/03/2017 Thursday Car - Mawdesley

B Walk - Mawdesley with Tony Ingham 

9.5 miles (15.3km) with 500ft (152m) Total Ascent

We meet in the Rectory field, School Lane, Mawdesley, (Sat Nav: L40 3TG), ready for the usual start time of 10.30am.

The main feature of this walk is the climb up Harrock Hill which, at around 450ft, is by far the highest land in an otherwise very flat landscape. We will find a derelict old windmill at the top, quite a contrast with three modern wind turbines which we encounter later in the walk on Mawdesley Moss. Other places of interest on the walk include Cedar Farm Galleries, the now disused Black Bull pub dating back to 1580, the small village of Andertons Mill and the Cliffs Farm Outdoor Pursuit Centre.