Saturday 9 August six of us completed a 12 mile circular walk from Low Bradfield. The sun greeted us for an 0930 departure. The first ascent led us to High Bradfield where we perused some of the gravestone inscriptions in the flagged pathway and then moved onto Bailey Hill for a wander round the historical motte and bailey remains, dating back to Norman times.
An ancient path then took us to the meadows below Agden Rocher. We found our way to the top of the crag and then walked its length, admiring the views over to Derwent Edge and Ughill Moor. The wind picked up here, and despite the warm sunshine, layers remained on!
A meandering descent brought us to the northerly end of Agden Reservoir, where we found a convenient bench and grassy bank for a snack break. Onward we walked, to Wilkins Hill and then through an old quarry site to Dale Dike Reservoir – where the banks of the original dam burst catastrophically in the Sheffield Flood of 1864. We followed the paths on the eastern side to Strines Reservoir dam and then ascended to the folly near Sugworth Hall. Colin provided us with an excellent potted history (built in the early part of the 1900s by a steel baron as a viewing platform to see the resting place for his late wife). A meander through the rhododendron bushes gave us an exit on to a country lane. Tracks and paths across Ughill Moor eventually descended to Blindside Lane where we followed the pleasant path alongside Dale Dike that feeds into Dam Flask. We arrived in Low Bradfield opposite The Plough where were forced to stop for a drink in the sunshine.! Thank you to the gang of five for a very enjoyable day. Ali.

Phil and I got to Aussois on the S side of the Maurienne on 23rd June, Seve and Charlotte 6 days later. Most people will be familiar with this set of hills from the ski resorts on the N side, such as Tignes. We started with a four day hut to hut walk, going over five passes. Wonderful alpine scenery. Flowers and marmots. A little snow on the passes, but not needing crampons. We explored 4 local single pitch crags. A variety of rock on four different crags. Did some tremendous via ferratas, especially in the Victor Emmanuel Fort complex and over the river L’arc gorge. I ventured on a 640 meter zip wire, 180 meters above the river. Exciting. A couple of exciting day walks. A second hut trip took us to the Femma refuge where Phill and I went up Mean Martin, 3,300mts. Our high point. A last hut trip took advantage of the free bus to Bellecombe, at 2,300mts. A walk to a hut, blizzard, and a second day contouring above the main Maurienne valley, with great views of the Ecrins.

Wonderful ice cream – we sampled all the cafes in Aussois. Very good municipal camp site. Lots is free in France – parking, toilets, via ferratas. Aussios was 20 minutes from a motorway which led directly to Calais – at a cost. A great venue with something for all. Geoff.
Geoff’s pics:

Mean Martin Vanoise

Via Ferrata

Steve’s pics:

On the GR5 above the Maurienne valley

Approaching the Femma Hut

Mean Martin from Col de Rocheure

Ten of us met at Ashford-in-the-Water, some of us having enjoyed a pre-walk coffee in the Aisseford Tea Rooms, for a 7.5 mile walk which took in historical features from Mesolithic to Modern. We began by spending a few minutes exploring the churchyard which has the stump of a 14thC preaching cross and (very) faint traces of the moat of a fortified house once belonging to Edmund Plantagenet, brother of Edward II. Passing the 17thC tithe barn, now a smart cottage, we crossed its contemporary, Sheepwash Bridge, and made our way along the river, spotting dipper and kingfisher, to reach the abandoned 18thC, water-powered corn mill at the foot of Great Shacklow Wood. Passing the exit to the Magpie Mine sough, constructed 1873-81, we made our way on to the foot of Deep Dale, once the site of a Romano-British settlement and close to the rock shelter in Demon’s Dale once used by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.
Monsal Head via the 19thC Headstone Viaduct was next, now regarded as a picturesque feature but when the viaduct and railway were built it was not universally popular – John Ruskin, the Victorian artist and critic, railed against the damage caused by its construction, declaring
‘The valley is gone, and the Gods with it; and now, every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton’
After lunch overlooking the dale and a brief, light shower of fine rain, we moved on for a spot of jungle bashing to reach Fin Cop, an Iron Age promontory fort in a commanding position overlooking the Wye. Modern excavation of its banks and ditches has revealed much older origins and grim evidence of a massacre of women and children during its destruction around 300BC.
Retracing our steps, we followed the field paths back to Ashford, grateful for the sunshine and cooling breeze which had accompanied us for most of the day. Thanks for your interest and company everyone. Steve.

7 hardy souls and 2 dogs braved the wind, rain and cold at Millstone with a further 3 heading to Lawrencefield until rain finally halted play at around 2pm.
It was definitely a wise decision not to head to Dovestone’s.
Thanks to everyone that attended
Kial

Seven people plus 2 canine friends met at Sett Valley Trail for a swift getaway at 9.30am. Soon we were ascending the steep slopes of Lantern Pike, where we posed for a summit photo. The original trig has been demolished and lies in a nearby field. We did not deem it necessary to find it! Crossing fields and following lanes and little used paths we began the next tick point of Cown Edge Rocks. Again, there is no trig point here either but we circumnavigated the plateau top twice so definitely completed. Under the edge there was evidence of small scale quarrying which provided an excellent lunch spot with views to Kinder, Bleaklow and beyond. Alas, inclement weather seemed to be chasing us, so I opted to miss Harry Hutt (the next trig and Ethel). We headed back down the valley with still more ups than we cared for, on a made up route to avoid repeating paths. Plenty of wildlife en route – horses, red deer, curlews, peewits and kestrels. A minor spoiler at the end – no cafe open in Hayfield past 3.30pm. But 11 miles completed at a good steady pace and great company throughout the day. Ali.

Alison’s pics

A group of 6 set off from Fairholmes in glorious sunshine. After ascending to Hagg Farm we took the flagged path over Rowlee Pastures to the towering gritstone pillars of Alport Castles – a massive area of historical landslip. (I resisted the temptation here to add another 4km along the ridge for a trig tick. This was for for the benefit of all – what a sacrifice!!) After negotiating chossy boulders we scrambled up the steep and loose slopes and then congregated on top of the final block for photos. We were not alone – the TikTokers started to arrive. The descent to Alport Farm gave way to a good track along the river. Crossing over the A57 at the confluence of the Alport and Ashop rivers we spotted some pools for a swim. and two enjoyed a quick dip before lunch. Not the most picturesque of spots but refreshing! The walk continued down the Woodlands Valley and then gained height again past Rowlee Farm. A final descent via the ongoing deforested area of Hagg Side then brought us back to cars. 10 miles – great company as always.
NB The route followed a recommendation from a Swim Walks book by Matt Heason – a newish purchase. I’m not convinced by all the locations he’s included but only more adventures can verify this. May try another this summer. Ali.
Chris K’s pics

We took Geoff’s advice to not eat goat stew and also bought ferry tickets in advance. On the way back we had 4 hours to kill in Mastichari, all well, relaxing in a restaurant until the time to go to the airport arrived. No taxis! Asked around, still no taxis. Missing the flight looked like a distinct possibility, until Julie spoke to a local lady who made 2 trips to the airport taking all 7 of us in her own car – legendary Greek helpfulness and hospitality!

Kostas and Kasia rated ‘Kos’ and ‘Symi’ at Ghost Kitchen, also the most fun route with an amazing roof ‘Le Pote Age extension’ in Arginonta Valley. Other highly rated routes were ‘In Vino Veritas’ and ‘Alani’ at Arginonta Valley; ‘Pornokini’ at Arginonta.

Teri and Steve cruised up the 10 pitch classic ‘Wings for Life’ so quickly that they ended up spending several hours in a restaurant on Telendos, it’s a hard life!

Julie’s favourite crag was Afternoon. She led several 5c routes, ambition is a 6a next time.

Tom led the unusual cave route at Arginota Valley ‘Bichon Direct’, ticking off one of his first outdoor 6b leads with several photo opportunities.

Kial and myself did ‘Three Stripes’ a 6 pitch 3* route just left of Sparticus, excellent, thanks to Kial for inspiring me to do it.

Milianos above the beautiful Vathy Valley is recently developed with good lines and unpolished rock. Steve (from Hebden Bridge) finished the day by making short work of leading ‘Bertie Baiting’ 6b+ which both Chris and myself managed to second.

Favourite restaurants included Manifesto, Anna’s tavern, Aegean and the veggie Kalymnos Experience. Best cocktails: Thyme in the Sun and Whiskey Sours at Mickies.

Teri summed it all up – an excellent first trip to Kalymnos for me. Already planning to go back! Bob

I met Andy and Julian in the departure lounge at Manchester. They were due to fly from Gatwick and had set off at 1.0am. They were delayed in a 3-hour jam on the M1 caused by a horse which the BBC reported as ‘uncooperative’. They would not have made the Gatwick flight so rebooked from Manchester. We met David and Linda out there and overlapped with Kyle for 4 days. Bob and mates from Newbury turned up towards the end of our week and Teri at the same time. Sharing a car for 4 days allowed us to visit more remote crags and match the conditions. This included a triple Julian on Julian’s birthday; climbing Julian 5b, on Julian crag – which was very good. Other crags included: Sea Breeze, Aargononta valley, Summertime, Afternoon, Kalydna, Prophet Andreas and China wall, just round the corner. China Wall’s not recommended – loose rock. The rest was wonderful. Holds you dream of. The one star routes would be three over here. Also, lovely spring flowers. We swam most days. The food was great. You need a doggy bag for Greek size portions. Beware goat stew. Tasty, but the after effects knocked me out for the next 3 days. Goat’s revenge. I only missed the last day climbing, which it rained on. Good to meet the Newbury team and hope to see them up in the Peak another time. Thanks to my climbing companions Julian and Andy for a great week.Geoff.