Walking the watershed
THE rains thankfully held off for 13 East Cheshire Ramblers on a recent 12 mile walk in the High Peak.
Confidently led by one of the group’s newest leaders, Gillian Kay, the party set off from the lay-by near the former Grouse Inn on Chunal Hill near Glossop.
The first port of call was the unusually named hill called Harry Hut which is crowned with a triangulation station.
There is no sign of a hut at this location and the origin of the name is a bit of a mystery.
A left turn here took the party via Worm Stones, a series of sandstone outcrops on Shaw Moor where the group paused for some photographs.
After a morning break in the lee of a stone wall, the group were led via a series of field paths on the south eastern edge of Glossop to reach the A57 Snake Pass Road.
Rather than follow this road, a woodland path parallel was followed before joining another path which runs on the course of what was a Roman road and is now called Doctor’s Gate.
At a convenient and sheltered spot, a break was taken for lunch beside a modern footbridge.
The hardest part of the walk followed the lunch stop with an ascent which was boggy in places to reach the Pennine Way and the Snake Pass, which is on the watershed of England.
At least the next two and a half miles to Mill Hill was along a good flag stoned path which had been constructed some years ago to stop any further erosion on the thin moorland soils.
With the rain just holding off, it was now a steady descent back to the cars via Harry Hut but with one small diversion to view the remains of a World War II air crash site.
On October 11, 1944 a B-24J Liberator crash landed a few hundred metres west of Mill Hill.
Thankfully the pilot and flight engineer were only slightly injured and were able to make their way to the main road to the west where they flagged down a passing lorry driver.
For more information go to ramblers eastcheshire.org.uk.