Crowden
- Pennine Way - Oakenclough Brook - Laddow Rocks
- Red Ratcher - Dun Hill - Black Hill (Soldiers Lump)
-
Tooleyshaw
Moss - White Low - Westend Moss - Hey Edge - Loftend
Quarry - Crowden
It
was a great day for walking ... lovely wall to wall
blue sky (a little hazy looking to Bleaklow mind
you) and very warm for the time of the year. I decided
to travel to the north of Derbyshire for a walk on
the remote moors. As I was driving to
Crowden in Longdendale I just could not make my mind
up where I should head for ... would it be Bleaklow
(one of Angela's favourites) or Black Hill which
I had not visited before!! In the end I
picked Black Hill.
Starting
from Crowden Car Park (which was surprisingly empty
at 9.00am) I walked
by the camp site and eventually (after a left and
right turn) onto the Pennine Way. When leaving
the car park I noticed "one" wellington boot turned
upside
down on a post ... how odd ... did the person who
had lost this not realise he would have to hop
his way home!!! Interestingly there are also two
benches
with great Peak District poems inscribed upon them
(see below). The path from Crowden along the Pennine
Way is in the main very easy to follow except for
a very short section north of Laddow Rocks near
Red Ratcher.
It
is a reasonably gradual climb to Laddow
Rocks. Before arriving there one passes a lovely
waterfall at Oakenclough Brook. There were a
few climbers on the Rocks today. From Laddow Rocks
there are great views to Crowden Great Brook and
the moors
heading towards Black Hill. I met two runners
at
different times on the way to Black Hill ...
the first looked fresh and full of energy ... the
second
had to stop - he was worn out complaining it
was far too hot to run!!!! After Laddow Rocks I went
by Red Ratcher alongside Crowden Great Brook.
The
sides of the hill were red (as you might expect)
and the water in the brook a reddish brown. At
this point I had to cross some slightly boggy ground
and
also the path was a little indistinct. Not for
long though!! ... the Pennine Way returned with avengence
... a paved walkway to the summit of Black Hill!!
Today
the weather conditions were very clear so no problems
with navigation to the top. I could well imagine
this would be a place where you could
really get lost without a map and compass and good
navigational
skills. Be warned ... always be prepared for the
worst!!
Black
Hill stands at 582 metres (1,908 feet) and the triangulation
point (BM s.2958) is situated in an elevated position
with stones surrounding its base. Until recently
the base
was
bare of any stones and with no Pennine Way paving
slabs the area around the top was very boggy. Many
have described it as "A very Black Hill indeed".
Wainwright said "It is not the only fell with a summit
of peat, but no other shows such a desolate and hopeless
quagmire to the sky. Hopefully the new Pennine Way
path and the protected trig point should help the
surrounding area to a better and safer condition.
The official name of the summit is "Soldier's Lump"
which is a reference to the eighteenth century visits
of the Royal Engineer surveyors who first used it
as a triangulation point. An examination of the mound
in 1841 revealed the timber framework for the theodolite
which was used for the survey which began in 1784.
From
the summit and for most of the walk back to Crowden
the tall television mast at Holme Moss can be seen.
A south easterly direction should be taken from the
summit to shortly arrive at a fence and stile. Then
its following cairns through grough channels. The
thin path (indistinct in some places) crosses Tooleyshaw
Moss to pass White Low on its way to Westend Moss.
From Westend Moss the path starts to descend
down to a flat marshy area. where a reasonable path
continues back to Longdendale and Crowden. However
from here you can see the triangulation point on
Hey Edge. Take a direct route to this point minding
your step as you go. Hey Edge stands at 424 metres
(1,391 feet). Good views from the trig point (BM
s.2640) back to Westend Moss and across to Laddow
Rocks can be
gained. From here follow the ridge back to Loftend
Quarry (locally known as Moses Quarry) which employed
100 men producing kerbstones for the city of Sheffield.
Then its following one of several paths back to Crowden.
It
really was an enjoyable day out on the moors with
fantastic weather. Can't wait to get back to this
area again.
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