Author Topic: [Trip Report] A Ladybower Circuit(ish) Win Hill and Crook Hill  (Read 3992 times)

Dazza

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Note: This walking report contains my humour, the occasional prevarication, exaggeration and definitely contains nuts.

Date of Walk - 15th August 2009
Conditions - Drizzle, Rain, bit heavier rain, drizzle, cloud then some sun!
Distance - 9.5 Miles over path, moor and field
Sunburn factor - None. New cowboy(ish) style headgear sorts that out. Now I just feel like I should have some six guns pardner.
Dog factor - Present.
Krypton Factor - Whatever happened to that?

This walk came about at fairly short notice, mainly due to the Met Office not being able to make up their minds. So Friday night we decided to go even though we expected some rain. After much scouring of Memory Map I couldn't make something up that

a) Wasn't Dovedale (We're going back cos it's a nice walk but not during the summer hols)
b) Monsal dale (not pleasant in the wet)
c) More than 6 miles.

Whilst I was blazing a trail across the Dark Peak, in a virtual sense, I noticed Crook Hill. Now cloud was expected at 500m for a chunk of the day so I didn't want anything too high. Crook Hill looked ideal. But how to get a walk in around 8miles without much road walking? Ahh I know we'll take in Win Hill on the way. It was obviously a tad more than 8 but I just didn't tell my walking bud  ;D

Just kidding course I told him... Afterwards... when I realised I'd miscalculated.  ;)

So we parked up in the Severn Trent Heatherdene car park and waited for the now moderate rain to subside - as there's no point getting soaked and then getting into waterproofs. Plus it had been raining on and off for the past 30 minutes, gladly it was more off than on.  After about 15 minutes it stopped and brightened up a bit. So whilst one of us got into boots etc I took the dog a brief walk to warm him up and buy a car park ticket. Well as there was no machine to pay for parking I can only suppose it was free!

Heatherdene has some great facilities with some excellent toilets. The only ones I've seen better were at Dalby Forest and you have to pay to enter Dalby. On the way back from using the facilities, almost in keeping with the 'Wierdest Things' thread, were a group of youths wandering around in varying states of undress, getting changed for some watery activity on Ladybower no doubt. Not the kind of view I was expecting to see, which brings me to my first image.


Route courtesy of me, OS Map courtesy of crown copyright.
You expected semi clad folk? Shame on you! It took a lot of effort not to come over all Frankie Howerd in the run up text I can tell you.


From the car park you could see our way back - Not exactly Yorkshire Bridge and Crook Hill.




So we started in fine condition, rain just gone, some a distance away but the wind was strong so if it did hit us we'd not have to put up with it long. I was, of course, 86% wrong on this.

Still for the novety factor we ended up walking across the reservoir embankment (the GPS had a mad minute and at one point we were walking in the middle of the res though). Some interesting iron work and slightly different view for us at least. The water level was very low as well. Still a 'top up' was threatening in the distance.









The wind was blowing the rain from the showers in the last picture onto us. It was a strange feeling having rain beating your left hand side whilst the sun warms your right. No rainbow though  :(

We decided not to attempt Parkins Clough in it's entirety due to the short hairy legged one, so as we made our way around Ladybower the rain came. Drizzle at first.

Then heavier rain.

Then drizzle again.

We made the woods though. I'd deliberately included lots of 'we can escape to the trees if it rains' bits purely for this purpose. Unfortunately the trees are too far apart here to actually give much shelter. So we got midly moist.

After around 40 minutes of drizzle and slightly heavier rain it appears the rain had decided to stay. So we started to put the waterproofs on. Well you can guess what happened. Ofcourse it stopped raining. So as we started climbing up to Win Hill it was to an awful lot of wind, but sunshine (on a rainy day etc etc).






When we eventually got to the top you could see the sun breaking through in places, but low cloud surrounding the areas we were heading towards. Still trees had been planned so we had some cover (as long as they were close enough together ofcourse) if we needed it.

From Win Hill.
















Usually you would keep to the path here but so we were near the tree lines for rain related escapes we decided to cut across the moor instead. There were paths and it was an easy walk, even if the dog did occasionally disappear as the heather engulfed him. Still, it made him smell nice.






Eventually we made it to the woods around Wooller Knoll and sat down for a sandwich or three.




Whilst chewing we did have a great view of the way ahead.




Eventually the path (one of which is on the map but doesn't exist on the ground, thanks OS! Your fiction dept is truly legendary) takes you by a river feeding Ladybower. A pleasant contrast to moors and woods.






Soon enough we spy the approach to Crook Hill. Which looks disturbingly steeper than the OS map gradients suggest.




Steep? Very. From the bridge the foot path dips, then climbs a couple of hundred metres in half a mile or so. Not so much a sting in the tail as a kick in the *******. :D Also it is now pretty hot which added to the "fun".


Thankfully though the difficult and steep bit passes quickly enough giving you a view back towards Kinder and Black Hill/Bleaklow that wouldn't look out of place in the Lakes.






Lose Hill in the opposite direction looking exceedingly lush after it's cap of low cloud earlier.




In front Crook Hill. Originally we intended to go up, but it is walled off, and the farmer was around which kind of nixed that idea. The additional mile and half may have had some input as well.








Now for something a leetle bit arty (it's supposed to be dark, so don't adjust your set).




After that bout of pretension normal service is resumed as we get our first glimpse of the end of the walk. I don't know about you but it always give me a boost knowing that despite it being a great walk (and it was) the end and a cup of tea is in sight.




We had a few navigational choices to make though.




The end is getting even closer.




So far we'd walked the planned route. However we now had two opposing alternative routes! We took the alternative, alternative route (basically we went right)




Now we approached our penultimate bridge. At this point I was trying to remember if it had a pedestrian pavement or not.



It did! Which allowed me to get some excellent shots, especially as the sun sinking giving very different lighting from East to West. On the Bridge if I looked West the sun was reflecting off the water giving a subdued feeling. Looking East was like midday.








As we approached the car park I took a couple of final shots. Win Hill, Crook Hill and both together.








A fantastic and varied walk through paths, woods, moors, fells and hillside. Whilst the wind was a constant companion the rain kept off after the beginning giving us a fine days walking.

A slightly challenging but excellent route.


© Dazza 2009
« Last Edit: 23:15:28, 02/10/09 by Dazza »
Dazza
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These boots were made for walking so that's just what I'll do. After I've re-proofed them of course...

TheGUYuk

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Very nice trip report Dazza and some lovely photos.  O0

I have walked up Win Hill myself and around Ladybower Res. It is a lovely pleasant area with a charm of it's own.  People could if they wanted also tack a trip to Alport Castles via Rowlee pasture on to your lovely walk.

To think of all the many years I drove up and down the Snake road never thinking to get out and enjoy all the scenery.

Dazza

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Thanks.

I think Crook Hill onto Alport Castles is one we'll be doing in future. Alport Castles on it's own isn't quite long enough.

When we drive back from Edale I look at the maps afterwards and frequently think if we parked here we could....


Still at least that always leaves stuff for another day. Although I doubt I'll be on top of Win Hill when it's not windy. ;)
Dazza
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These boots were made for walking so that's just what I'll do. After I've re-proofed them of course...

genji

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Great report as usual, Dazza, and some lovely photos, especially the one from the top of Win Hill where the sky threatens to consume the ground.

So, Win Hill and Lose Hill - is there any significance to their names?
"pain is your bodies way of telling you that it is hurting"

Arenig

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So, Win Hill and Lose Hill - is there any significance to their names?

Peakbagger's ya man, he did explain this one to me when we were in Edale for the forum meet in June. Can't for the life of me remember what he said though.

BTW Great trip report and pic's Dazza, an area I am hoping to visit soon.
« Last Edit: 12:11:00, 21/08/09 by Arenig »
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vghikers

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Great set of pictures from a mixed day, that's one good thing about those highly changeable conditions - the sunny bits often have very clear views and good skies. I see the heather is at its vibrant best, I'm grounded at the moment and can't get out to capture it.

I've only ever seen a small flow of water down the Ladybower giant plughole and that was in a very wet spell, I don't know how fierce it can get.

radder

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Another great report dazza and some excellent pictures to  O0

Peakbagger's ya man, he did explain this one to me when we were in Edale for the forum meet in June. Can't for the life of me remember what he said though.
I knew the story but had forgot, but found this on the net.

Win Hill gets its name from the Battle of Win Hill and Lose Hill in 626. Prince Cwichelm and his father, King Cynegils of Wessex, possibly with the aid of King Penda of Mercia, gathered their forces on neighbouring Lose Hill and marched on the Northumbrians based on Win Hill. Despite their superior numbers, Wessex was defeated by the Northumbrians building a wall and rolling boulders down upon them.


Dazza

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I've only ever seen a small flow of water down the Ladybower giant plughole and that was in a very wet spell, I don't know how fierce it can get.


The mixed days can be the best, assuming they aren't too mixed.

The Ladybower plug holes can be seen in some flow courtesy of our own Mr Knipe:

http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,1060.0.html

As for the names a further expansion. Although the website calls this a legend so it may not be true.

"On the northern side of [Hope village], Win Hill and Lose Hill are very prominent features and there is a ancient legend about how they acquired their names from a battle in 626. Rivals King Edwin of Northumbria was camped on Win Hill and King Cuicholm of Wessex on Lose Hill. The army from Wessex was much the larger, so Edwin ordered his men to build a stone wall around the summit of the hill. When the battle commenced both sets of troops advanced, but the superior numbers soon started to push Edwin’s forces back. Once the order to retreat came, the Wessex troops sensing victory, charged forward, only to be crushed to death by a hail of boulders heaved down the hill by Edwin’s men to win the battle."

Of course the real question is if they're called Win and Lose Hill because of the battle, what were they called before?
« Last Edit: 21:09:43, 21/08/09 by Dazza »
Dazza
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These boots were made for walking so that's just what I'll do. After I've re-proofed them of course...

al123

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sounds a grear walk    we do a ride similar to that on our bike but its called the epic ride and from win hill we go down to hope cross then down to hagg farm then up and along to lockerbrook then to fairholmes for some tea and cake then up hagg side then down crook hill     its one of our favourite rides :)
duck tape fixes anything and everything!!!

 

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