Another Golden Plover Sighting

Went for a walk up at Redmires last night and saw one of the Golden Plovers again.  Here's a very grainy blown up pic of the chap.

And some less grainy pics across the top reservoir at Redmires.

Redmires towards Stanage

Redmires top dam

Moors above the Head Stone

More CWT Preparations

I'm starting to get quite excited about this upcoming Cape Wrath Trail trip.  We're only doing the first 70 miles this time, cos we is wage slaves, innit.  And really it's the North to the Cape route, cos the other way looked less exciting.  Oh and we're starting from Glenfinnan to miss out a day of road walking and get into that wilderness experience right off but the plan is to try and avoid as much road as possible and maybe take in the Forchan* Ridge and The Saddle.

*I'm sure this will get called another name on the day.

My bottle of Avon Skin So Soft has just been delivered, which I have been reliably informed by one or two folk from north of the border is the best thing for warding off the midgies.  It's certainly very smelly and my skin is, well, oh so soft.  And there isn't a midge in sight - but then I am sitting in the office.

Also and even more exciting, was the arrival of my Ultra-Light titanium pot from Backpacking Light, accompanied of course by the usual bag of sweeties (jelly babies this time - thanks guys!).  It's soooo light.  If it were any lighter it would just float off.  Anyway, I can't wait to have my first meal out of that.




Took the rucksack and my son for a short walk round Burbage on Saturday afternoon, where we did a bit of geocaching and a bit of ice cream eating.  Both surprisingly good fun, don't you know. 

Geocache site somewhere at Burbage - not telling you any more than that!










As one further bit of preparation for this walk I've started running again.  I don't gain any real pleasure from this activity.  I'm worknig on the premise that pain now may mean less pain later.  Anyway, I mention this because I've just been out on a track up near Redmires and as well as seeing Lapwing and Curlew, I also got sight of a couple of Golden Plover, which I've never seen here before.

Derwent Edge and Strines

As preparations for Cape Wrath Trail in July (more of which later) I packed up the rucksack, drove to Cutthroat Bridge on the A57 and took it for a walk over Derwent Edge as far as Back Tor.

Ladybower Reservoir from Whinstone Lee Tor

The Wheel Stones, Derwent Edge

Then down the bridleway to the Strines road.  The car park at the road end of this track has been gated shut for over a year now because of logging.  Coming down the track I saw for the first time the extent of forest that had been cleared. 

Hollingdale Plantation (cleared) from the Strines track

Bluebell woods below Strines Reservoir

Across and up the road a bit is a track which winds its way down to a point between Strines and Dale Dike reservoirs.  The latter was the cause of the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 when the newly built dam burst.

The track climbs steeply (well for Derbyshire) up to a tower, now used as an empty tower, which is visible from the A57 when you come back into Sheffield from the Peak District.  It's one of those places that you see for years and never go to.  Funnily enough I'd seen it for almost 30 years and never visited it.

Whilst googling for the name for this tower I learnt of a mass murder in a house in the area, where the husband killed his wife and children and the nanny, and then ran off to France finally to be captured on top of the Notre Dame in Paris (by Quasimodo) or it may have been Rouen Cathedral (by Quasi's little known cousin).  Anyway, the tower is called Boot's Folly and was built in 1927 by Charles Boot.  Apparently there was a bit of stone left over from building a nearby house.  I guess this was in the days before Lego.

After the tower, there was some pleasant strolling through upland pasture with gambolling lambs and peewits getting a bit narky because I was a few hundred yards from its nest.  And then it was back down the A57 to the car, the tedium of which was broken by a short conversation with a Curlew who walk beside me, well about 50 yds away, which went something along the lines of

peewit peewit...currrrrlew
curl curl curl curl curleeeeeew
peewit peewit peewit curleeeeeew
peeeeewit

You'll note it contained a bit of Lapwing and roughly translates as

curlew: hello
me: it's quite warm today
curlew: yes but looks like heavy rain later on
me: oh right. see ya


which was surprisingly accurate. They know a thing or two about the weather do these curlew.

9.5 miles and 1800 ft of upness.