Author Topic: Mel's meander 13/10/19  (Read 2525 times)

Sleepy

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Mel's meander 13/10/19
« on: 13:11:12, 15/10/19 »
I believe Mel's writing her own TR as she's the only one with many photo's but I've a bit of time on my hands so I thought I'd post "my version of events"  ::)


This meet came about because I'd planned another meet that, sadly, no-one could make it to and as Mel seemed disappointed to be missing out, how could I refuse?


Over time a few joined the meet, namely Rob goes walking, tom83, Pleb and matt10791 and eventually the weekend loomed, as did the rain clouds  ::)  which seem to be a feature of my meets so, join at your own risk  ;D


As I work nights and enjoy camping, I tend to head for the hills the afternoon beforehand and camp the night to avoid too early a start. This weekend being no exception, I arrived at the campsite as the light was just beginning to fade and got my tent up on the only patch of grass I could find that wasn't waterlogged (thankfully I had the whole site to myself) before getting my evening meal organised - steak fajitas  8)  very good they were too! All the other tasks done, I settled down to a few cans of ale called "doom bar"  I hoped the name wasn't a bad omen - it was maybe a good thing I'd only taken three though; it was quite moreish!


While I was making my way through the first can the evening's entertainment arrived;







He (or she) wandered about in "my" field for over an hour, I've only ever caught a fleeting glimpse of one maybe two or three times in my life despite spending a lot of time outdoors and here I was with one at times 8 feet away for over an hour..... and only my phone to capture the moment!! A fox entered the field too but saw Brock was about and did a swift about-turn, never to be seen again  ;D  eventually I decided to walk up to it and get a better picture but as I crouched no more than three feet away, both of my knees cracked and the badger was gone before I got my photo  :-[ 


I slept quite well, surprised how warm the night was and the rain started around bedtime which I find quite relaxing as long as it's not torrential. The local owls were a bit of a menace, they seemed to be having some kind of disagreement - I'd have preferred them to have it elsewhere to be honest  >:(  The morning brought yet more rain and I opted to simply stuff my tent into it's bag for now as I'd need to dry it when I got home. It was about this point where I realised I hadn't picked up any bread rolls when I stopped for shopping on the way last night! My bacon sarnies had suddenly become bacon in tortilla wraps  :-[


All too soon it was time to head to the meeting point where I was sure I'd find Mel with a brew on, if I was really lucky she'd maybe even have a stove, kettle and hot water to spare  ;)  but, sadly not - no Mel (the lady in the car beside me said it wasn't her  ::) ), so no kettle and no water  :-\  and no pleb or Rob but I was a bit early so no problem. I finally got a signal on my phone and had a bit of a windfall of messages from all three forum members, and it sounded like Mel was having to paddle her car through her local town  :D  I think she should consider herself lucky that she didn't need her snorkel or flippers!


Once we were all present and correct, we got on our way. Thankfully the rain had virtually stopped and Mel's cheery disposition brightened things up considerably  O0  I was keen to hear what had become of many of the forum members I used to know but sadly don't seem to be around any more, I'd love to see many of them return. Another hot topic was how Ladybower was all but empty this time last year yet it's as full as any of us had seen it now!


With such pleasant company and surroundings, the time passed remarkably quickly and we were nearing the end of the walk when I realised the "plugholes" would probably be doing their thing so we hatched a plan to go see - considering they're only a few hundred yards past the carpark. I think Rob goes walking thought we were pulling his leg that a huge reservoir would have a plughole  ;D  I waited until he'd seen for himself before I explained it's just a nick-name;





And that more or less drew the meet to a close, it was a pleasure to meet you all and I hope to see you all again soon  O0




Now, a final note about meetups as I feel it's a shame how quiet the meetups board is these days; After you've met the criteria, which isn't difficult, all are welcome in the meetups board. You don't have to be a pro to post a meet, we're all friends here - you can discuss what you're trying to do and ask for a bit of support from other members! If you're fairly new here and can't see the meetups board you need to request access to it;


The Meetups board is now accessible by request only. If you have been a registered member of the forum for more than 30 days and are also a Jr. Member or higher (>25 posts) then click HERE to go to the page where you can request access to the board.
« Last Edit: 18:12:22, 15/10/19 by Sleepy »

Strider

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #1 on: 15:11:39, 15/10/19 »
Thanks for posting that Sleepy, I've never seen a live badger myself.  Agreed, it would be great if the meetup board were a bit more lively
Not all those who wander are lost

fernman

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #2 on: 17:54:25, 15/10/19 »
A nice wite-up Sleepy, enjoyable to read.

@ Strider: if you see badgers when you're driving at night they look like small grey sheep with very short legs!

Sleepy

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #3 on: 18:10:07, 15/10/19 »
thankyou both, here's to the next  O0

Mel

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #4 on: 23:52:38, 15/10/19 »
Brilliant pre-write up Sleepy  O0   I never realised you actually got pictures of the Badger – the second one needs to go in the “what about the other animal photos” thread.

 
Not sure who this Mel with the cheery disposition is though…
 
So, well, yes.  Originally Sleepy posted another meet and my thought was “ooohhh, a walk I would be able to do”.  But, after checking my diary…. fully booked  :(   I mentioned this in the hope that it would at least show there was interest in a meet like this, but, as is often the case, other commitments get in the way.  I think Sleepy threw a few other dates into the air and I plucked out the 13th October as being okay.  And so a new meet was born.  I didn’t quite expect to get it named after me though  :o

 
My intention was indeed to get there early, have a cuppa and my breakfast whilst I waited for everyone.  The reality went more like; setting off on time to accomplish this and then being diverted round various streets due to localised flooding (it was heaving it down and had been all night).  Fair enough, I wouldn’t have time for my cuppa and breakfast when I got there.  And then, THEN (for those of you who know the Hull area), I got to the Prison roundabout and onto Roger Milward Way (which is a dual carriageway – important point) THEN to be greeted with road closure signs in 800 yards.  Fab.  Trapped on the dual carriageway with no turn offs.  So I sat there, assuming there was a diversion and temporary lights, something ANYTHING.  After about 3 days I got to Victoria Dock roundabout to discover that it was from there to the other side of Myton Bridge which was closed and we were all being herded over clanking bridge and into the Old Town’s one way system (yippee).  Why on earth they couldn’t have put the diversion from Prison Roundabout and herded us up the Old Hedon Road instead I just, quite simply DO NOT KNOW.  Sorry, that bit should have been in the Small Rant Thread  :D
 
At last, I was on my way.  Driving conditions were grim with standing water on the A63 and the road spray plus the rain making visibility practically zero..  Then I turned my wipers on…
 
SatNav took me via Rotherham and Sheffield (which was nice) and I finally found a spot to pull over and text Sleepy to let him know I was running late.
 
Scoffing the banana part of my breakfast as I pootled down the A57 and arrived at the car park to see 3 soggy figures stood forlornly in the rain.  I leapt out of the car, apologised profusely for being late, phart-arressed about a bit, got my feet on and finally, we were off.
 
Oooh, the views  :smitten:    Despite the mizzle and murk to see hills, cloaked in autumnal colours, tis a wonderful thing.  I think I managed about 100 metres before I had to stop and take a photo!

 
 
 
We got halfway across the second bridge when I, having been convinced I’ve walked “around here” before, asked “what’s that hill there?” pointing at what I now know was Bamford Edge.  Sleepy obligingly unravelled his map from its case to inform me of this.  There then followed a quick lesson in map origami and the pressure was on for him to get it all folded back up to how it was with 3 pairs of beady eyes watching.  You wouldn’t have this problem with an electronic map….
 
Eventually, we got off the road and onto the permissive path on the western side of the upper “prong” of the reservoir.
 
Time for a group photo:
 
 
 
Hot topic number one – fitness and age.  Somehow this ended up with Rob taking a guess at my age.  He is now my New Best Friend.  Sleepy left it about 3 seconds before bursting my youngness bubble and piping up with “that’s right, it’s always good to guess well below what you really think”.  Yeah, thanks for that  ;D   Pleb (sensibly) kept quiet.

 
So, with Sleepy on the Naughty Step we continued along the mud track.  And then, a voice piped up; “one point four seven” (or something) it said, randomly, out of nowhere.  Rob looked a bit sheepish and ‘fessed up it was his new watch talking to him.  There followed a “hard sell” sales pitch as he tried to flog me his old fitbit type thingy.
 
Hot topic number two – which forum members have you met.  I was quite surprised when names (past and present) kept popping up and I was “yes, I met them on such and such a meet”.  Thinking about this later, I’m quite surprised at how many of you guys and gals I have met – all thanks to forum meets (go on, you know you want to join one/start one)  O0
 
We kept spotting “green things” half buried in the ground:
 
 
 
Hot topic number three – what are they?  The writing on them said “DVWB” which we decided stood for “Derwent Valley Water Board” and similarly decided they were “something” to do with the reservoir.  Hey, there’s nowt gets past us you know  ;)
 
We wandered through lovely, leafy woodland sporting some fine autumnal colours:
 
 
 
… and had a bit of a discussion of how grim it would be “up there” (the Hurkling Stones on Derwent Edge) in today’s weather:
 
 
 
Apologies for the splodges in the pic, I guess my camera lens still isn’t fully clear of the Shacklesborough Sheep Poo  :-[
 
Arty-farty pic:
 
 
 
After negotiating the hardest part of the walk – the steps down and up near the aqueduct – we arrived at Fairholmes where the option for a comfort break and cuppa was declined by all.
 
Hot topic number four – an activity which involves cars, parked, in lay-bys.  Pleb took the lead on this conversation and knowledgeably updated us with what interior light, headlamp or indicator setting meant what.  Oooh, Plebbles, you durrrrty dawwwg  :o
 
As we headed around the corner we were confronted with this.  Derwent Dam:
 
 
 
Wow.  It was in full flow and just….wow  :smitten:
 
I stepped off the righteous path to go and have a closer look and, just, Wow (with a capital wobble-yoo).
 
Some pics:
 
 
 
So women are okay to bathe then?:
 


 
The Three Amigos were stood patiently waiting for me:
 
 
 
Easy quiet lane walking now:
 
 
 
Looking across the reservoir to the side we’d just walked:
 
 
 
Hot topic number five – flora and fauna.  We kept spotting these small, dark purple berries.  I wondered if they were blackcurrants or something:
 
 
 
… so I ate one.  No, they’re not.  And I’m still alive.
 
Herein started a berry-nibbling session.  Everything we passed, we nibbled on and discussed the correct way to identify if something is poisonous or not, apparently a procedure none of us were following.  We didn’t nibble on the Yew berries though  :buck2:
 
Arrrgh, quick topic hijack – I’ve just seen the first Christmas advert on telly  :knuppel2:


Back on topic….
 
We wandered past and eeee-nORmous bracket fungi and I can’t believe I didn’t get a photo of it  :(
 
We also wandered past the “Effluent Sampling Point”.  Although we were sampling the fruits of Mother Nature’s labour, we decided against taking up the kind offer.
 
It was about time for a snack stop and The Law of Sod came into play.  Not a suitable place to sit was to be found.  The only bench we spotted was occupied by other people.  How dare they!  Anyway, we loitered long enough, taking photographs and reading the info board (and discussing Hot topic number 6 – what the area looked like before it was flooded) for them to feel uncomfortable and move on.  Excellent.  Not only did we have a nice seat to sit on but they’d dried it off too  O0
 
Our lunch stop view:
 
 
 
Info board:
 
 
 
From here it was a relatively short walk back to the road and, soon enough, one of the bridges came into view:
 
 
 
Some nice mossy stones on the hillside (me likey mossy stones):
 
 
 
Once back at the road we retraced our steps to the car park, but not before me sampling a bright red berry of some sort.  Eeeeeauuuch, ye gods it was sour.  I’m still alive.  After googling “sour red berries” it came back with Cranberry?
 
And then our detour to see the plugholes (as mentioned by Sleepy):
 
 
 
I've not seen them in action before so this was quite a treat  :)


As we returned to our cars it was time to check the mileage.  Posted as a 6ish mile walk we were all gobsmacked to find we’d actually walked 9 miles!  At first, Rob thought his new talking wrist gadget thingumabob maybe needed calibrating but my dedicated GPS phone with ViewRanger app is pretty accurate and confirmed it was 9 miles.
 
I certainly didn’t feel like I’d walked 9 miles, that’s for sure, and I feel quite chuffed with my little self for doing so with no tendon ache whatsoever and only “normal” hip/thigh muscle fatigue.  We all agreed it must have been the good company and chat and chuckles that made the miles pass effortlessly  :)
 
Hopefully Rob and Pleb will add any photos they took too (no need to write War and Peace like I have if you don’t want to  ;D ).

 
So there you have it.  A Walking Forum Meet.  For those of you who’ve never been on one, please, don’t be shy.  Let’s get forum meets going again  O0
 

Sleepy

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #5 on: 06:11:17, 16/10/19 »
phew.... not many photos of me  8)  and Mel's right; don't be shy..... I AM shy and I just organised and attended a (..nother) meet so you've no excuse  ;)


Thankyou for writing it up Mel and for not letting on just how long it took to fold that bloomin' map back up  :D


And, apologies for my poor estimation of the mileage; perhaps I need calibrating!  :-\  sounds unpleasant.....




Where next? I do have one up my sleeve in the white peak but can do requests too  O0




A final note, don't eat random berries kids; Mel's from Hull, they're not normal up there...mere mortals would probably have died!  ;D

Jac

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #6 on: 08:11:06, 16/10/19 »
Really good TR and the photos are excellent - autumn colours are only just starting down in the wild west.
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

pdstsp

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #7 on: 08:32:30, 16/10/19 »
Looks a great trip - made the most of the weather!  Love the badger pics - never seen a live one in the flesh.




Rob Goes Walking

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #8 on: 08:40:54, 16/10/19 »
I did think you were all pulling my leg about the plughole! You didn't come across as shy Sleepy you were really talkative which was nice.

Nice TRs guys, will add the photo of our missing compatriot, Mel wasn't in the group photos so here she is looking very clued up with her map :)

More forum meets? Sounds good. Mel suggested I do one to go conquer the Loughrigg steps but who would come? Guess I could try, can always go on my own if there's no interest. Hard to fit it all in these days I'm always doing something...


Ridge

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #9 on: 08:54:50, 16/10/19 »
Great pics and reports. I still think of there as a local walk even though I left Sheffield in 1986.


Sleepy, never had a Boom Bar before? Really. I'm shocked.





vghikers

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #10 on: 09:07:29, 16/10/19 »
Great report, it's not often we have seen the dam and plughole flowing really well.
Quote
Somehow this ended up with Rob taking a guess at my age.  He is now my New Best Friend.
If we ever meet I'll keep quiet, I'm hopeless at that!  :)

Nice badger photo, speaking of which, if you are in a tent beware their acute sense of smell: I've heard tales from (I think) the Brotherswater campsite where a camper was awakened by a crunching sound and found the tent porch  ripped and a half eaten packet of biccies. Another where the bacon rashers were gone and a stripey bum was seen legging it into the bushes.

Dovegirl

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #11 on: 09:21:10, 16/10/19 »
Enjoyed the reports and photos     :)    Lovely autumn tints

fernman

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #12 on: 09:40:51, 16/10/19 »
What a report! Or, correctly, reports plural. Best I've read on here for years.

Nice to see that in spite of arriving late Mel still had time to do her hair and make herself look beautiful  :smitten:

The black berry was dogwood. Fuuly agree that one shouldn't sample random things, it could have been deadly nighshade for example  :o



Strider

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #13 on: 11:49:12, 16/10/19 »
The black berry was dogwood.

Is that the one where you feel ok for three days then get the apocalyptic sh**s ?


Great report Mel :)    I think them green orbs are weights to stop the reservoir blowing away in high winds.
Not all those who wander are lost

Sleepy

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Re: Mel's meander 13/10/19
« Reply #14 on: 12:39:04, 16/10/19 »
Is that the one where you feel ok for three days then get the apocalyptic sh**s ?


Great report Mel :)    I think them green orbs are weights to stop the reservoir blowing away in high winds.


 ;D  Very good  O0  A quick google confirms the green things cover valves, and they're there to let air out of the pipes...... they could be weights too of course  ;)


If we ever meet I'll keep quiet, I'm hopeless at that!  :)



I was only being cheeky - I'm good at getting myself into trouble, particularly with the ladies  ::)  Suffice to say I certainly don't expect the years to be as kind to me! Though one can hope  :) 

 

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