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Some photos of the mudness from Martin
23rd November Thursday walk meet report – Multitudinous Moments of Mudness!
16 stalwarts and 1 dog assembled at the Alport parking, although one person confessed to having nearly gone to Alport Castles by mistake! Torrential rain the day before had laid the groundwork for conditions underfoot, and early morning sunshine attracted the good turnout.
Rain arrived just as we set off, and was accompanied by a strong westerly wind. The Meet leader had carefully reconnoitred two different versions of this walk, and had initially selected a version with the least amount of mud, but had then chosen a third version with a slightly more logical section that remained un-reconnoitred. It was this section that, in the words of the then President, provided the muddiest walk of her life. Judging from the curses and expletives, other people enjoyed it too!
All went well initially, and a coffee break was enjoyed in the shelter of some woodland near Cliff Farm. Here the Meet leader finally put his waterproof on, thus ensuring a virtual cessation in precipitation for the rest of the walk. We passed the water troughs below Anthony Hill, and progressed into un-reconnoitred territory, past Rock Farm, to a moderately sheltered lunch stop next to a minor road (Mawstone Lane).
It was the next section of footpath, so innocently clear on the map, and almost non-existent on the ground, that gave so much “enjoyment” to so many, and ensured that the Meet leader may not live this down for some time. He is very grateful to Sean for hauling Pat out of the bog!
Dry land was eventually achieved, and as if to celebrate, the sun came out and we enjoyed wonderful light as we crossed the meadows to Bradford Dale. The latter provided easy and picturesque walking, with a high level variation at the end. Thanks to everybody for coming, and I’ll try to do better next time (take that as you will!!!).
Martin.
Hi everyone, here is my twopenn’orth on the Evening Meets Programme.
First of all, I must confess to having attended zero evening meets this year, despite having done plenty of climbing. This is mainly due to spending a lot of time away from Sheffield, and to preferring daytime climbing when we are around the Peak. As Dave P. indicated, a lot of us retirees have a different set of climbing criteria now that we are not working all day.
So perhaps it is time to re-name the EMP as the Midweek (Climbing) Meets Programme. The idea of a fixed day (Tuesday is the obvious choice?) has worked well for the Thursday walks programme, but climbing is rather more weather dependent, so there needs to be greater flexibility. This is where the message board can be very useful – Dave’s suggestion of a meet coordinator, perhaps a volunteer for a particular month, is definitely worth trying. A climbing venue could be designated by the Meets Programme, and once the forecast for the week ahead is known, the day could be adjusted, if necessary, by the co-ordinator.
I agree that there is a need to be more specific when choosing locations on the Edges, and that limestone needs greater representation, especially the new sport-climbing crags, and the easier traditional ones. But there is nothing wrong with Stanage (except on busy weekends!).
It is interesting that all the people that have responded to Paul’s email (so far) are free to go out during the day, and are probably less interested in evening climbing – we have done all that over the last 30 years or so! Also, the midges are a big disincentive (another plus for the limestone?)
I shall look forward to hearing more on this subject at the AGM., and hopefully we can arrive at a satisfactory solution.
Martin.
