Five gathered at Endcliffe Park to set off on the Sheffield Round Walk. It was a busy morning with joggers, bikers and dogs on extended leads, so a cracking pace was set to escape the crowds. I was hoping that the walking speed may even out but alas it did not! First point of interest was the WWII war memorial for the B-17 Flying Fortress known as MI Amigo. Following the River Porter through various sections of park we met Mike at Forge Dam, as arranged, and continued to the head of the valley. The round continued via Limb Valley and numerous stretches of woodland and green space on the south-west side of the city. After Graves Park we descended via the Gleadless Valley -passing Bishops House and in to the Sheaf Valley for a more urbanised return to the start. Plenty of trees and colours but perhaps missing that magical bit of sunshine to appreciate them in their full glory. Billed as 13 miles was a major underestimation. All of the gizmos ticking away clocked up over 16 miles. Twelve feet were certainly feeling it too. Well done team! Enjoyed the chat – I certainly know a lot about van conversions now. Must admit I went home to tea, white wine, hot bath and comfort food dinner but not in that order. Next week’s walk is as billed and not some wild mileage guestimate!!
Ali
Sunday Walk Report 27/09/20
Blue skies and a blustery wind welcomed the two groups of five walkers at Redmires Road. The journey began through the woodland of Fox Hagg, with short pauses for fungi photos and an exploration of a hidden culvert. After Rivelin dams and a babbling brook, we ascended to the Headstone. Here, Chris and Hugh summited via two separate routes. Traversing the moorlang above Oaking Clough, one group made good use of a shooting bluff for coffee, whilst the others strode on. We joined the far end of the Conduit, after passing some old military training trenches. At the small header reservoir one group stopped for lunch whilst the other investigated the now derelict Stanage Lodge. Onward from here we followed an unmapped but well trodden path to High Neb. The Stanage shelter-come- bus stop provided a useful location for a second lunch. Walking along the top of Stanage we admired the views and noted how many trees were changing colour. Next came Stanage Pole, the Roman road and Redmires. Here, the groups diverged in routes. One went over White Stones moor, whilst the other followed the reservoir shoreline – mainly due to a case of blisters. Back at cars, official mileage: group 1 = 10 miles, group 2 = 11.5 miles. A welcome refreshment outside The Sportsman before home. A day of “cat and mouse” or “hare and tortoise”, depending on perception. Great route, weather and company!
Ali
11,000 routes – WhiTicker’s Almanac!
So Linda spilled the beans on the WhatsApp group, and my little secret is out! I have been “persuaded” to write a bit about it!
Those of you that were around the CMC in 2015 will recall that I climbed my 10,000th different rock climb in July of that year, whilst on holiday in France. Since then, the majority of the next 1,000 ticks seem to have been acquired on trips to Europe, so when Covid turned up, I started to worry that the 37 remaining routes I needed to reach 11,000 might be harder to achieve than anticipated. The problem being, I have climbed extensively in the U.K. over the years, and there are very few options at an easy enough grade that I haven’t climbed already.
When we were finally released from lockdown, even climbing things I had done umpteen times before was hard work, but I did find 3 Diffs and an HVDiff at Castle Naze that had previously escaped me, and so began the chipping away at the 37. A trip to Back Forest (near The Roaches) was very discouraging, as I found that someone had cranked up the angle of the crag since I had last been there, as well as filling all the routes I hadn’t done with vegetation, and coating their finishes in green slime. After that, I struck gritstone off the list, and was pleased to get a really good Severe tick at Pleasley Vale (limestone). 28 to go!
A new strategy was needed, so we booked a campsite near Frodsham, for 4 nights, and headed over there in our trusty VW campervan. Cheshire might not seem a very obvious destination, but it was chosen for the reason that I had a copy of Cheshire & Merseyside Sandstone that I had never used. It contained a delightful-sounding quarry at Irby, in The Wirral – clean, quick-drying, south-facing sunny slabs, with the majority of the 27 routes in the Diff to VS range. Also there was Helsby – I had climbed here twice in 1975, but as we didn’t have a guidebook, I still don’t know what routes I did, so they haven’t been counted.
We duly arrived at Irby Quarry, and were mildly discouraged by a damp-looking west-facing wall, and some fairly extensive growth of gorse bushes at the top of the crag. However, the first section of the south slabs was clean and dry, and the top of the crag clear, so we set to, working our way up from Diff to VS, and thoroughly enjoying the slabby, technical climbing, with just adequate protection. A final Severe on the West Wall proved to be the greatest test of the day. I came away feeling quite pleased with progress, especially as I had managed a couple of VSs. 22 to go!
2020-09-08ImgMar0002 – the south-facing slab at Irby Quarry.
Helsby is the major crag in Cheshire, and is well seen from the M56 as you head to or from North Wales. My advice is – keep going! The crag faces north to northwest, so doesn’t get much sun until mid-afternoon. The sandstone rock is mostly black (or green with slime!), and mostly very steep to alarmingly overhanging. Just to help matters, it had rained during the night, and was very windy when we inspected the routes. Even getting around at the foot of the West Buttress was hard work, and we didn’t see a single route that attracted us enough to get the gear out. Instead, we flogged up to the top of Helsby Hill, where there was a superb view, and a sunny meadow with sheltering bushes where we had lunch. Suitably fortified, and with the sun now reaching the southern end of the Upper Tier, we finally got the gear out for a pleasant-looking 7 metre long VDiff called CB Crack. Appearances can be deceptive – this was the VDiff from hell! It latched on to you the moment you left the ground, and didn’t relent until you hauled out at the top – thank goodness those final holds were HUGE! Pat put in a valiant effort to remove my runners, but had no strength left for the remaining moves. We returned to camp to lick our wounds. 21 to go, but if they were all going to be like that, I would need the rest of the year!
2020-09-09ImgMar0007 – the Horrorshow at Helsby! – CB Crack is the overhanging flake in the centre.
Back to Irby next day, where we managed to find a few more routes that could be climbed without getting ripped to shreds by gorse on the finishing moves. Someone needs to go there with full body armour and some long clippers, because it deserves to be climbed on more often. 16 to go!
Friday saw us parked at the foot of Hellsby (sic!), but in a quandary. Conditions were similar to Wednesday, i.e. windy and grey, with hints of rain around. There was one other option – drive 38 miles in the wrong direction to get to Dyserth – Dyserth Castle Slab had some nice-sounding sport routes, and 3 of them might even be easy enough for the likes of us. The drive there was rapid, and the weather better there than at Helsby. Unfortunately it took us some time to find the crag, but I won’t go into that! It was well worth it, though, and I had soon ticked three more lovely routes, and we could return to Sheffield with only 13 more needed!
Despite my drubbing at Helsby, I didn’t feel I was climbing too badly, so a few days later we headed up to North Lancashire, to a campsite at Crooklands, on the southeastern end of the Lake District. En route we stopped off at Warton Small Quarry, but unfortunately it had sprouted an inordinate amount of vegetation, as well as getting steeper, since my last visit, in 2001. Working on the basis that these days sports crags get more traffic, we quickly adjourned to Barrow Scout Cove, where the easy routes were still quite hard, and the rest were for wall-rats. 11 to go!
We have been to Hutton Roof crag on several occasions in the past, but despite this, there were still a number of routes to “tick”. We had a lovely day up there, climbing the superb juggy limestone, but got rather more ticks than we bargained for, and these little bloodsuckers had to be removed with a specialist tool! Despite these attentions, we finished the day with only 2 more needed.
So, the great day was to be spent at Farleton Upper crag – quite a long walk-in at 20-25 minutes guidebook time, so longer than that for us. The routes were also a bit longer than the norm around here, and didn’t come into the sun until the afternoon. This provided the perfect excuse for a leisurely walk-in, and lunch before we got our climbing gear on. Route 10,999 was called Hurricane (VDiff), and turned out to be a superb and memorable climb – one helluva vdiff! Unfortunately, Pat strained something in her foot while seconding it, so sat out number 11,000. This was Typhoon (VDiff), which was also excellent, but not quite as fine as Hurricane. I abseiled for the gear, and then decided I might as well do Head Wind (Severe), just to get me on my way to 12,000! Back in camp, a nice bottle of Cremant d’Alsace provided a celebratory accompaniment to our Thursday night curry.
2020-09-17ImgMar0006 – Farleton Upper crag, with the lines of Head Wind, Typhoon and Hurricane in the centre of the photo.
My first recorded climb was in June 1970 (The Turnpike, Diff, on Alport Stone, solo up and down!), though I didn’t do the second until November 1971. I didn’t set out to count the routes I climbed, but recorded the names, grades, who I climbed with, etc and put a number beside it, starting naturally with one. If I was repeating a route, it didn’t get a number. So that it how I know how many routes I have climbed!
Those of you that saw my Desert Island climbs presentation on Zoom earlier this year will know that I found it extremely difficult to select 8 (or was it 9?) of my favourite climbs. As for favourite gritstone climbs, often the ones that I have enjoyed the most have been the ones that I would never want to do again – The Unprintable and Flying Buttress Overhang, at Stanage, come immediately to mind. Puppet Crack at Chatsworth was satisfying because I had failed on it previously. Wuthering at Stanage, Great North Road at Millstone, and Moyer’s Buttress at Gardoms are examples of great routes that I have been happy to repeat (though not too often!). At the end of the day, we climb to enjoy ourselves, and I got as much out of those three routes at Farleton as I ever did out of any Extreme routes that I climbed when I was younger and fitter.
See you on the crags!
Martin Whitaker.
Sunday Walk Report 20/09/20
Without sounding too Blightonesque “Five went a hiking” from Moscar along Derwent Edge. Clear views of the Kinder edges, blue skies and plenty of blustery wind ensued. We squeezed in a quick coffee stop and a detour to Lost Lad before lunch and then trudged down the track to Strines and Dale Dike Reservoirs. The difference in weather pattern in the valley was marked. In the balmy air, layers were shed, before a pleasant walk along the water’s edge, noting date plates and solid Victorian architecture. Climbing a little above Strines we found a welcoming bench at Holes Clough where we took sips of water. We found a delightful rhododendron tunnel and an old ice house at Sugworth Hall. The last half mile along the lane then took us to the cars. Around 11 miles – plenty to see, plenty of variety, plenty of good company! Thank you. Ali.
Thursday Walk report 17 Sep 2020
Six members and a dog gathered at Shatton for the first CMC Thursday walk (and the first CMC outdoor meet) since March. It was of course done in accordance with the BMC Covid guidance. It was a beautiful warm sunny day, perfect walking conditions, and with stunning views. We started on the road to Offerton, with views north over the River Derwent to Bamford and Stanage Edges. From Offerton we took the delightful bridleway heading northwest across Offerton Moor. Near the top we paused for a coffee break. The bridleway way took us to Shatton Lane which we followed past the Shatton mast around the head of Overdale, giving us views south over Abney to Bretton. Leaving the track we crossed a couple of fields to reach Bradwell Edge and yet another view, over Bradwell Dale and Bradwell village, with Mam Tor, Kinder, Win and Lose Hills etc in the distance. A short walk along the edge brought us to Rebellion Knoll, our lunch spot where we could rest and admire the views of the Hope cement works. After our picnic we rejoined Brough Lane. Our route was then past Elmore Hill Farm and along Townfield Lane back to Shatton. An excellent walk.
7.4 miles 1190 ft of ascent.
Andy & Rosy
Meets resumed!
Club meets have resumed. For more details, see message from Geoff Nicols on 15th September 2020
Covid-19 announcement; all meets suspended
Your committee has been pondering over the current C19 situation for a couple of days. After initially cancelling all indoor activities, we have now come to the sad, but inevitable decision to CANCEL ALL MEETS UNTIL FURTHUR NOTICE, pending government and medical advice.
However, we don’t want everybody to completely lose contact with each other or have nothing to do, so watch this space for future online activities etc.
Keep healthy and smiling
Paul Gibson
Meets Secretary. 23 Mar 2020
Meet report Sunday walk 22nd March 2020
Seven members assembled at the Birchen Clough layby for a 10am start. We set off down beside the stream to the Snake Inn then across the Ashop river to the path up beside Fairbrook. The meet leader was not as fit as he had thought he was, and at the top the group kindly decided to take the shorter route westwards along the edge to Ashop Head then down the Snake Path beside the Ashop river. This reduced the walk from 12 miles to 8, but was still enjoyed by all on a sunny, if cold, day. Dave C.
Meet Report Sunday 15th March 2020
Seven members met in the rain and set off from Buxton market place to catch the train to Whaley Bridge. There we walked as far as a cafe opposite the station and participated in some al fresco carbo loading, with a delicious selection of cakes and, disappointingly, lukewarm coffee. The rain had stopped! Off we set at 12 noon through the Memorial Park and alongside Toddbrook Reservoir, where ongoing work continues. After some boggy fields and a few trees we arrived at Taxal church. Upstream along the Goyt, a very attractive woodland path led to Errwood Reservoir where two convenient benches provided a lunch stop. The conspiratorial weather then decided to hail and emit a heavy shower just as we sat down. The onward fast-paced journey crossed the dam and ascended above Fernilee Reservoir along the old railway track, opening up into stunning open moorland. At the tunnel we trudged across the moors to then descend onto Bishop’s Lane. After a scolding about a well behaved dog off the lead, we headed across Cavendish golf course to the outskirts of Buxton. then through the Pavilion Gardens back to the town centre. This route is the final stage of the PD boundary walk, billed in the guide as 10.2 miles but various gizmos informed us that it was over 11.2 miles with over 1600 feet ascent. Great route with great company and ever increasing sunshine during the afternoon.
Ali
Walk Sunday 8th March 2020 – Report
11 people (including 4 from Derwent MC) did a quite good walk from Holloway. From Holloway we made our way down to the Cromford canal via the Dukes Quarry, once leased by Leon’s employer Wildgoose Construction.. Then up again for more views and back down to canal before a final pull up to Riber Castle which was built by John Smedley, mill owner. Smedley’s is still going and on Sunday we learnt that they are the manufacturers of the Queen’s knickers. Back to Holloway via the gorgeous hamlet of Dethick, home of the Babingtons, one of whom was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth I for plotting to put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne
A fitting International WOmen’s day walk as it passed the birthplaces of Florence Nightingale (nurse and statistician) and Alison Uttley author of a number of children’s books. She won a scholarship to Manchester University to read physics and in 1906 she became the second woman honours graduate of the university.
Apologies for those who came for the blip in map reading before lunch. Elen.