WALK REPORT

BAKEWELL, July 1st 2007

A Load of Old Bull, But No Fear

The weekend before the July walk it rained. And rained. And rained. The forecast for the weekend of the walk was rain. Torrential rain. We wondered whether to cancel. The National Park Office in Bakewell said there were no restrictions, just watch the weather. On Friday we decided to stay with it. And Sunday was a lovely day for walking. As ever in the UK the weather, and its forecast, can be unpredictable. Enlightened guesswork, a necessary quality for all walkers.

The bus was less full than usual as many members were on holiday. Our group stepped down from the bus in Cromford with grey skies and slashes of rain. And in the best tradition of Oadby Hillwalkers we strode off uphill, past the duckpond and Scarthins bookshop, well worth a visit when its open, the bookshop that is. We climbed over the hill and down into Bonsall, a delightful Peak District village made famous as Cardale in Peak Practice. There we found the Limestone Way and climbed up on to Bonsall Moor.

We stopped for coffee looking back down over Bonsall. And the sun came out. Coats off. We walked west, south of Winster to Luntor Rocks. A shower. Coats on. As we rounded the corner a small group of cows blocked our way through a gate. They were sheltering a tiny new young calf and with them was a very large and ominously silent bull. Big Daddy. Some looked for another way but one of the group showed she was not scared. She strode through the cows, past the bull and over the gate. Us blokes had to follow, somewhat sheepishly. We followed the ridge path above Winster with great views across the valley. The sun came out. Coats off.

We reached Robin Hood’s Stride and paused for lunch. It was a busy spot. Youngsters on a DofE challenge were walking through. Another shower. Coats on as we sat on rocks vacated by another group of mature walkers.

We set off for Youlgrave in sunshine. Coats off. As we approached a wood south of Youlgrave another shower. Kumarron, (hope that’s spelt right), decided to brave it out. No coat. The clear winner of the prize for remaining cool under pressure. He also wore his sunglasses all day. Optimism in the face of adversity, another necessary quality for all hillwalkers. Thankfully it was a short and light shower.

At Youlgrave we turned east through the delights of Bradford Dale and into the bottom end of Lathkill Dale. We stopped for tea at Raper Lodge sitting on the bridge over the Lathkill in warm sunshine. From there to Conksbury Bridge and up and over the fields towards Bakewell and for some of us tea and tarts.

This was my first effort at leading a walk for the club. My thanks to the group for making it such an easy and enjoyable day.

CHRIS HUNT