A Monochrome Day in the Peak District

The first foray out this year brought me in to contact with crisp snow in the Hope Valley in the Peak District.

I had decided to take a walk along the Longshaw Estate towards Hathersage, doubling back along the line of the Sheffield to Manchester Rail Line.

First though I stoked up on a full breakfast at the Grindleford Cafe, still in full spirit after the untimely death of its famous owner. I can remember Philip when he had a small shed on the Snake Pass, before he bought the station. Its sad to see him not there, but he lives on through the signs he put up around the place, especially the one about not asking for mushrooms, and his sons work.

Brunts Barn is the local Ranger centre and sits at the side of Padley Chapel, the remnants of a 14th century Manor House. Two priests were caught here in Henrys day and suffered the consequences.

I followed the track down towards Hathersage, at one point doing a very good impression of a tortoise on his back, as I lay felled by the ice and snow. There were plenty of people around so the humiliation was total which brought a smile to most, including me.

The track passes Greenhow Farm, a well looked after farmstead that looks down the Hope and Grindleford valleys. I could not belive that gorse that was still clinging on to some yellow buds in the snow. A welcome splash of colour in a very monochromatic world.

All in all a good day out. The weather changed just as I reached the car and within minutes Fox House and the road to Sheffield was almost impassable. I only just made it through. There were some idiots overtaking and pulling out, causing traffic to skid to a halt and then become stuck in the snow. Amazingly once Dore Pub was reached the snow disappeared and Sheffield was in dryness.

It was good to get out and about, as this last few weeks has meant looking after ill relatives, which effectively put walking on a hold.

I have been officially accepted on to the Peak District Ranger training course, which begins immediatley. So this will keep me out of trouble for a little while.


The Wapentac website had a good Christmas with excellent sales, the Wapenmaps catching the imagination of many people. Alison has been updating the site and started a new competition, FIND TILLEY. Have a look, you never know you might win a Wapenmap. Alison is also getting ready for the Outdoorshow at the NEC between March 26th - 28th which Wapentac have a stand. Wapentac has also started a Facebook site, we have no idea where it will go, so it will be interesting to see how it develops. So its all systems go, now that Christmas is over.