Sunday, November 2nd                              Bleaklow Autumn Wander                                               

Attendees: Dave Shotton, Dave Wylie, Robert Clark, Mark Rothwell, Caroline Gay, Mark Garrod

The walk was called a wander because I reserved the right to change the route at will, or by default, and it only happened 3 times. Firstly we found a good path from the top of Yellowslacks straight to Higher Shelf Stones, missing out Lower Shelf Stones. The second was finding, for the first time, the direct path from Torside Clough and the Pennine Way on the north side of Bleaklow to Glossop Low. Finally a minor misdirection off Glossop Low then meant an easy trackless correction to get us to Cock Hill trig point. My Meet preview questions were will it be snowy [No], will we see any mountain hares [No again], and will we get any visibility at all on Bleaklow [most definitely Yes].  

We had a very prompt [3 mins early actually] start from Old Glossop, heading briefly up the valley before heading up the path that climbs up the northern edge of Yellow Slacks, leading us to Dowstone Clough. Our path then took us fairly directly to Higher Shelf Stones, the other side of which was our slightly sheltered elevenses spot. It was a cold wind, so even the occasional sun didn’t take the edge off the cold, but we were out of the cloud the whole time, and had good views of Manchester and the surrounding hills for most of the walk. We headed NE past the B29 crash site and down to join the Pennine Way. That then led us back up to Bleaklow Head and the Wain Stones, then north followed by west to reach the head of Torside Clough. The sheltered grassy patch next to the stream was perfect for lunch. The newly-discovered [by me anyway] path then left the Pennine Way almost immediately, and meandered across to moor to reach the top of Glossop Low at 481m. The slight zig-zag to Cock Hill and descending track  back to Old Glossop completed the round. Strava said it was 15.4 Km and 537m of ascent – gave us all time to also get home in good time and do those Sunday jobs that rarely get done.

Thanks to those who came.                                                                                      Mark

Apologies to those who signed up to this walk in February, only for a combination of circumstances to lead to the postponement till now. Strangely, the description below is unchanged. 

The wander is because I reserve the right to change the route, esp. if I get us all mislaid on Bleaklow in the cloud. The wonder is whether it will be snowy [anyone’s guess], will we see any mountain hares [hope so], and will we get any visibility at all on Bleaklow [probably not]. The planned route is the reverse of a walk I led in 2018. 

Meet at 9.15am for a prompt start at 9.30am from Old Glossop (grid ref 046947) with free parking on the road that runs alongside Shelf Brook, the stream running down from Doctor’s Gate. We will head up the valley for ~1km, then veer left [~ENE] to head up the path that climbs up the northern edge of Yellow Slacks, finally arriving in Dowstone Clough. We cross the clough heading initially south still keeping to the edge of Shelf Moor, then heading roughly east following the edge to Lower and then Higher Shelf Stones. Head NE to pass the B52 crash site and join the Pennine Way, which takes us to Bleaklow Head and the Wain Stones. Keeping to the PW we head north then west to reach the head of Torside Clough. About 1.5km down the Clough we turn left [SW], and head back uphill to reach the top of Glossop Low at 481m. A path/track then takes us over Cock Hill and eventually back to Old Glossop. I reckon it is around 16 Kms / 10 miles, but tough going at times. 

Ideally let me know if you plan to come along.   

Cheers,                       Mark