Edale to Bamford

Here is Sunday's walk from Edale to Hope Bamford. Yes that's right, it should have ended at Hope but we took a wrong turn (our speciality) and ended up at Bamford instead. Never mind. We got most of the walk right.

Our route

We headed away from Edale just after the Moorland Centre where I nipped in quickly to use their loo, hoping Sybil wouldn't do her Houdini act with her harness again. She hates being left alone; when we were in Horton after climbing Pen-y-ghent, she escaped from her harness before I even set foot in the cafe.

The Great Ridge

This time, however, she was still present and correct so we crossed the Grindsbrook stream and set off towards the moors. First we climbed through a series of fields with the Great Ridge to our right. Fields tend to mean sheep, so Sybil was fastened to my fantastic new walking belt to avoid any catastrophes. Being propelled in such a way, I soon passed several fell runners who appeared rather flabbergasted...no, not really. I still had to stop every five minutes to "admire the scenery", especially when going uphill, but she does help with my pace a little.

Soon we reached access land, and with it being winter and no sheep in sight I could now slow down a little as Sybil was given some freedom. We skirted around a hill and crossed a couple of streams before reaching Edale Youth Hostel. It's a rather lovely-looking building, and they are heavy on the outdoor activities. It's a shame they don't allow dogs as I wouldn't mind staying there sometime.

Edale Youth Hostel

We joined a bridleway and soon had to ford a stream. I found out a couple of weeks ago that the shop lied to me about my boots being waterproof, so I tiptoed my way across while Sybil just ploughed on through.

Shortly after crossing the stream we met three horses coming towards us. The first one Sybil could handle, but the next two elicited a series of squeals from her. I mumbled a couple of apologies in their general direction and hurried along by.

Sybil in Jagger's Clough

We soon reached a crossroads where we turned right and, the directions told us, headed towards Hope Cross. My eyesight must be failing me as I completely missed it, although the route was very busy with people and I was keeping an eye on Sybil. I trusted that we had passed it and kept on the track next to a conifer plantation, which was pretty boggy going at times. Eventually we left the hordes behind and had the path to ourselves again.

Onwards to Hope (and beyond)

Hmm, perhaps being on our own wasn't such a good idea. We trundled along the path next to the conifers and over a stile for a good while, before I whipped out my trusty directions again and realised we should have left the path back where the stile was. No matter, we had good views over Ladybower Reservoir now so I knew where we were. We had a quick lunch break while I took out my map, deciding that we should carry on down the path we were on to the top of Parkin Clough and head into Bamford for the train.  

The stile where we went wrong

Views over Ladybower

Rather worryingly, I could see up ahead several trees cordoned off by tape along with a couple of signs. Upon reaching them I read that apparently forestry operations were underway, and that we should cut through the wood to reach Parkin Clough.

Tape in our way

Relieved that we didn't have to turn back we joined the procession of people heading down the steep slippery slope to the shores of Ladybower, all of us clinging on for dear life as we descended. Once back on terra firma Sybil and I loitered around the reservoir for a while, killing time before our train was due.

Ladybower Reservoir

A fantastic day out. My New Year's resolution is to learn how to follow directions properly. Not sure how that will turn out...