Win Hill and Crook Hill – Peak District

18 June 2016

We made our way into the High Peak of the District for this walk. Our aim was to summit the two peaks, Win Hill and Crook Hill, which face each other from across the Ladybower Reservoir, and this we did via a 9.7 mile hike. We must be getting fitter as it was not as strenuous as we imagined it would be when we set off, although the Kendal Mint Cake did come in handy at one point!

The GPS track of this walk can be found on our ViewRanger page.

From the car park, we make our way along the reservoir, going past what I can only assume is an overflow system to help protect the local environment from any flooding from the reservoir. In my imagination, however, I believe it to be a cruel Game of Thrones prison for the unfortunate and the innocent. We cross the dam before entering the woods, finding our way through to emerge at the foot of Win Hill.

Enjoy the views for a while – a good excuse to catch your breath before the final push to the summit.

Kintyre Way – Deer Hill

6th May 2016

 

On the second day of our visit to Saddell Bay, we ventured out to follow a trail that Mike had picked out for us (out of the many he had stashed away). The trail would take us to the summit of Deer Hill and is a part of the Kintyre Way.

The GPS track of our route can be found here.

The summit of Deer Hill (or Cnoc nan Gabhar, if you’re feeling up to it) promised us glorious views to eat our sandwiches by, in what was a beautiful day. So off we started.

I’ve noticed that I always seem to be taking pictures of the backs of people when we’re on hikes and walks. Normally because I’ve fallen behind taking a picture of something else. As if to prove a point, here are some more pictures of people walking away from me, to go with the ones above.

I must have made a subconscious decision to try and get ahead to take some photos of people’s faces.

Maybe I’ll stick to backs ….

As I hope you can see from this selection of images, the views around this part of Argyll & Bute are truly beautiful, especially on a day like we had with the Isle of Arran providing the backdrop.

We got to the summit after about 2hrs 20mins and just soaked in the views, accompanied by some sandwiches (thanks Mike!) and some tea (thanks Karen!) and some cake (thanks Mila!).

 

Holmes Chapel – Swettenham

28 February 2016

This is an enjoyable walk that takes in some wonderful views around the Cheshire countryside, starting off along the Dane Valley Way.

GPS Track on ViewRanger

The route starts by crossing a long field which was quite muddy following the rains of Spring. Cut through a small wood and cross a brook before quickly coming out to open fields once more.

There is something about a lonesome tree that I just can’t resist to photograph it.

The track does pass along some farmland and one of the farmers seemed to be running a hunting/shooting trip that morning. We tried to keep to the official path, but at one point we were prevented from following it due to, well, a bovine blockade. We had to improvise and made our way around (there’s a tell-tale loop on the GPS track).

Shortly afterward, we are reminded that all gates should be closed behind us, under strict penalty if we fail to abide. Not sure if they would accept a credit card for the 40 shillings, we made sure the gate was firmly closed behind us.

Then we enter Swettenham, a nice little village with a nice pub for a pit stop. The Lovell Arboretum is by the Swettenham Arms, but we decide to leave this for another time. Our drinks are gratefully downed, and we continue to the end.