Thursday walk 12 June 2014 – Report

Andy Smith
Jun 12, 2014
A lovely sunny warm day with clear air and great views. Nine
of us met at the car park near Fairholmes. We took two cars
to transport us all up the Derwent Valley to King’s Tree
where the walk began. We walked to and crossed the old packhorse
bridge at Slippery Stones. Then it was up the bridle way of
Cut Gate, with a coffee break at the top of the steep
bit. On to the top of the pass where we left Cut Gate
at a large cairn and followed a thin and slightly boggy path
to the trig point at the top of Margery Hill, the highest
named point in South Yorkshire. One of the bogs swallowed
the tip of a walking pole, but it was soon retrieved by
dint of a bit of boggy scrabbling. Margery Hill: what a
delightful place to have our picnic lunch! At 546m (1791 ft),
the summit is reputed to be a Bronze Age burial mound, and
has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by English
Heritage. Brilliant views were to be seen all around.

After lunch we headed south past a small cairn marking the
highest unnamed point in South Yorkshire, marginally higher
than Margery Hill. From here we could see Howden Reservoir
and dam. The path headed down to Nether Hey, and an old
shooting road took us right down to the edge of Derwent
Reservoir. We enjoyed a tea break at a bench overlooking the
reservoir, in spite of being pestered by a greedy duck. The
final leg took us along the track to Derwent Dam and
Fairholmes. After agreeing that we had all had a jolly good
day out, some departed to sample the delights of the new cafe
at the Anglers Rest, Bamford, while others went to retrieve
the cars from Kings Tree.

7.5 miles 1360 ft of ascent.