Fairholmes to Derwent Edge via Abbey Brook, 25th Feb 09.
Distance, 11 miles: Ascent, 1,000ft (ish!)
Weather: Changeable, but quite good for FebruaryPictures from the walk are in the photo section
After losing yet another battle with the early morning ringing of the alarm clock, I eventually trundled onto the Fairholmes car-park at 11:45, a mere three hours later than intended. By the time I'd got the boots on, paid for parking and slung the rucksack over my shoulders it was give-or-take midday. I'd estimated the route to be twelve miles, so a getting-on-with-it pace was employed.
The impressive Derwent Dam was soon reached, with a short but sharp climb up rough stone steps taking me from it's base to it's top, putting me alongside Derwent Reservoir. For the next mile and a half the walking would be easy and the scenery lovely. The reservoir sits in a bowl with ground on either side rising hundreds of feet. The lower slopes are conifer clad, with the higher ground coloured with heather and grass. A beautiful palette from nature. Just before reaching Howden Dam I swung right to begin the day's ascent, taking a path alongside Abbey Brook to eventually reach Derwent Edge.
The path is perhaps two hundred feet above the Brook, and from the path the ground drops away steeply to the brook. The Brook is recessed, and with the path traversing the banking rather than being at the top of it, a fine feeling of enclosure is created. If the path was at the top of the banking there would be views for miles in all directions. The ascent gains a little over 1,000ft of height over about two and a half miles, so the gradient is gentle. The path (and brook) twist and turn, providing new views at regular intervals.
All of a sudden a corner is turned and the walker finds himself on high level, flat moorland (shown as Cartledge Flat on the OS map). Visually beautiful, but the terrain looks a nightmare to walk on. Thankfully a limestone pavement has been installed and progress is easy, and without the risk of submerging into the peat. About a mile and a half later Back Tor is reached, crowned by a collection of large stones, themselves crowned by a trig-point. This, at 538m, is the day's high-point (in terms of altitude). The next three miles are mainly on limestone pavement, as the route heads south along Derwent Edge. To the left there is windswept moorland gradually falling away, and to the right there are the reservoirs with more high level moorland beyond. Punctuating the Edge are a number of surreal stone formations, whose descriptive names include Salt Cellar, Cakes of Bread and Wheel Stones.
Whinstone Lee Tor signals the end of the Edge and the beginning of the day's descending. Just over a mile later, and without difficulty, Ladybower Reservoir is reached. From a weather perspective it had been a walk of three thirds. It had been cloudy at the start, then it became wet, windy and cold as I walked in cloud along the Edge, but now the scene was lit with the late afternoon sun giving a lovely golden glow. Two miles of very pleasant road walking returned me to the car-park, a fine walk of weather, terrain and landscape contrasts satisfyingly completed.
