W/C 26th July 2014 - Ogston, Cocking Tor, High Oredish and Brackenfield

I have passed through Higham a few times on my walks - usually on my way home and feeling very tired. On the west side of the A61, more or less opposite the Greyhound pub, is this intriguing gateway.

 The sign reads:-

PRIVATE DRIVE 

TO OGSTON HALL

NO RESERVOIR TRAFFIC

OGSTON HALL ESTATE

 There is also a very inviting Public Bridleway sign pointing down the lane. I finally decided to explore further.

Beyond the bottom of the valley and Ogston Reservoir, I had no idea where I might go. This made the surprise even more pleasing, as I stumbled across some very beautiful, remote countryside between Ogston Reservoir and Ashover. The area includes spectacular viewpoints. 

The overall route eventually took the form of a figure of eight, with a very small amount of duplication around Higham on the outward and return journeys - not entirely disconnected to the attractions of The Greyhound pub. Well - it was a hot thirsty day! The overall distance was around 30 miles.

Starting from home, I headed west along the A38 main road before north turning down Rookery Lane towards Huthwaite. The walk was continued via a footpath over an old colliery tip to the bottom end of Mill Lane.

The top of the climb provides a tempting view of the Derbyshire hills in the far distance.

I then followed the Blackwell Trail to Westhouses.

As I approached Westhouses on the recently-opened western end of the trail, the Derbyshire hills looked just that little bit closer. 

From Westhouses, I followed the country lane north to Shirland, passing the church just after I reached the main road through the village.

From Shirland, it is but a short walk along the A61 main road to Higham, where the gateway awaited me....

 Higham stands on a ridge high above the Amber Valley. This is the view to the south, from the top.

Ogston Reservoir quickly comes into view. This lane also gives a rare view of Ogston Hall, seen just to the left of the reservoir. From most angles, the Hall is shrouded by trees.

Near the bottom of the hill, the lane crosses the main Chesterfield to Derby railway line. For once, a train turned up at a railway crossing place just at the right time.

Looking back, the ridge on which Higham sits was still visible - but not for long.

The lane continues straight on into the grounds of Ogston Hall, which has no public access.

The public bridleway turns right for a short distance through some rather ugly buildings owned by the water company that owns the reservoir, before joining a very narrow country road called Hurst Lane. I turned left at the junction, taking the route closest to the reservoir  You do get a fleeting glimpse of the dam wall. There is no footpath along the waterfront.

The lane gradually descends to the north end of the reservoir. At first, the bank of the reservoir is filled with a thick blanket of trees. Gradually, this thins out to provide at least a glimpse of Ogston Reservoir.

The lane joins the  main B6014 road. I turned west at the junction, following the edge of the reservoir. The water was full of sailing craft.

Just beyond the turn to Woolley, I took a footpath north west along the upper Amber Valley towards Milltown.

 The path eventually turned into a trackway, joining a minor road near Dalebank, seen here near the bottom of the valley.

I carried on along a quiet country lane to Milltown,  turning left along a narrow lane in front of the Miner's Arms public house. This lane turned west, gradually climbing up a narrow side valley towards Ravensnest. This area was very quiet - not a soul or a car in sight anywhere! To the west and north west, the wooded slopes of Cocking Tor were very evident. I would soon be climbing this escarpment.

I turned right onto a footpath leading to Overton Hall. Looking back, the steep hill at Ashover Hay was visible in the distance.

Overton Hall is difficult to see from the path. This is the best view I could get of the buildings, which are shrouded in trees and stone walls.

Just north of the Hall, I turned left onto the path leading south to Ravensnest, up the side of  Cocking Tor. This was my last glimpse of the Hall and surrounding buildings.

The path south is well engineered, climbing gradually through the trees. The lower end is provided with paving stones.

Near the summit, the woodland suddenly opens out into a clearing. Quarrying and mining were carried out here in the past. From this angle, it didn't look particularly attractive!

I quickly realised the benefit of having a clearing in the trees though - the views here are magnificent! This was my first glimpse of the hills to the south.

Only a short distance further on, there was a far more panoramic view. I could clearly see Hardwick Hall in the far distance.

Further up the climb, Bolsover Castle was also visible - though both it and Hardwick are just small specks on the photographs.

Rather than follow the footpaths, I decided to fast track  along roads towards Brackenfield. The approach to Butterley was along a shallow valley.

The viewpoint at High Oredish was well worth a long pause to study the panoramic view.

This view is looking north towards the north end of the Amber Valley and Ashover.

To the east, Ogston Reservoir was clearly visible below, along with Bolsover Castle, and Hardwick Hall in the far distance.

A little further down the lane there is also a view to the south, with Charnwood Forest visible on the distant horison.

 I descended to Brackenfield, which has a large village green. This pump and trough are a reminder of the means of water supply in the old days.

The most impressive building on the green is the former school and schoolhouse.

Brackenfield church is a long way down the lane from the village.

From the church, I carried on  along a minor road to the east, before turning onto a footpath in the direction of Higham, clearly visible on the ridge in the distance.

The footpath passed through a couple of fields before I reached the railway line again. I saw a fox quite close by at this pint - but it hid in a hedgerow before I could get the camera out.

I began the climb up to Higham village - steady at first but steeper towards the top. I took one last view back across the valley.

From Higham, I decided to take a more northerly route than that taken in the morning on the way out. There are no suitable footpaths, so I followed a narrow country lane to  Morton. Here is the church.

Beyond Morton, I turned south towards Blackwell, along Love Lane. Here is the view south towards Westhouses.

This lane provides a convenient link to the Silverhill Trail, which I would take as far as Huthwaite.

Here is Newtonwood Lane bridge with the M1 motorway bridge just beyond.

I am only sorry that I have not explored the countryside west of Ogston Reservoir before now. The countryside is very beautiful and the views are magnificent. I am sure I will be back before too long!

W/C 19th July 2014 - Goyt Valley, Cat & Fiddle, Three Shires Head and Wildboarclough

Another excellent walk organised by the Sutton-in-Ashfield Ramblers took me north and west of Buxton, along the border between Cheshire and Derbyshire. The day began with low cloud and poor visibility, but ended in glorious sunshine.

The walk began alongside Errwood Reservoir, just off the A5004 road north west of Buxton. The previous day's heavy rain had left the hills engulfed in low cloud. The bottom of the valley was fairly clear though - as shown in this view of Errwood Reservoir, looking north down the valley towards Whaley Bridge. The hamlet of Goyt's Bridge is now submerged underwater here.

 The car park has information boards showing the facilities and the history of the area. This one gave details of Errwood Hall, our first destination on the walk.

To get there, we climbed westwards up a gentle track through woodland.

Now a ruin, Errwood Hall was built in the 19th Century as the family seat of the Grimshaw family. It was demolished in the 1930s.Here is an enlargement of the photo on the information board, showing what it once looked like.

As we approached the ruins, it was quickly evident that little is left, other than the foundations. This view shows the main entrance to the Hall, as it is now.

This view shows the south wall, viewed from what would have been the inside of the building.

Two useful links about Errwood Hall are as follows:

Furness Vale LHS   

The Goyt Valley Site

Beyond the Hall, we continued our climb, heading northwest towards the viewpoint at Oldgate Nick. Looking back, the Goyt Valley was relatively clear.

Looking forwards though, we were rapidly approaching the mist. Cats Tor is visible on the left.

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En route to the  top, we passed the Spanish Shrine. This was built by the Grimshawe family in 1889 as a memorial to their governess, Delores de Bergrin

Inside are a shrine and mosaics.

 Near the top of the climb, we joined the minor road up from the Errwood Reservoir. It was looking very bleak now, with poor visibility.

 The gentle breeze was blowing low cloud in from the west. We had been hoping for some panoramic views up here - but at this stage, things didn't look very promising!

We passed a sign to "Windgather". At Pym's Chair we turned abruptly south along the ridge towards Shining Tor.

 The rocks at Oldgate Nick were shrouded in heavy mist - so much so that we almost missed them altogether.

Way down below us, the the west, we got occasional glimpses of the valley beyond, but this is about as good as it got!

As we approached Shining Tor, there were subtle hints that the weather was improving. This is a view back along the ridge to the north.

We paused for a while at Shining Tor - the highest point in Cheshire. A few metres behind the camera is the Derbyshire border. Shutlingsloe Hill is just visible on the far left, with the main road from Buxton to Macclesfield down below us.

To the north, the view definitely seemed a little better.

A few more minutes and the view to the south was definitely improving. Shutlingsloe Hill (the pointed peak) was now relatively clear, with Macclesfield Forest on the right.

Moving on, we headed south towards the Cat & Fiddle. Here is another view of Shutlingsloe Hill, with Stake Farm on the right.

Finally, the Cat & Fiddle pub came into view - unmistakable, with that tall mast nearby.

From the main road, Shining Tor now looked clear and sunny, to the north.

 To the west, the Cheshire Plain was just visible in the far distance.

We left the Cat & Fiddle in glorious sunshine, which was to continue for the rest of the walk.

We passed the end of the path to Cumberland Brook and Wildboarclough, our eventual destination. We were heading there via Three Shires Head.

 We descended along Danebower Hollow to the A54 main road. This is the site of the former Danebower Quarries. A chimney related to the quarry is seen in this shot, looking south along the Dane Valley towards Three Shires Head.

Turning the camera to the east, here is a view of the old quarries.....

..and turning  further north, a view up the Dane Valley towards Buxton.

 Heading south down the Dane Valley, the valley briefly broadens out near Holt. This is a view looking northwards.

On the approach to Three Shires Head, the valley is steep and narrow again.

The falls and the bridge at Three Shires Head are a real gem. This is the view from the south.

Beyond Three Shires Head, the valley quickly widens out. We followed the path that curves round the south side of Cut-Thorn Hill to Cut-Thorn.

 Beyond Cut-Thorn, we headed north east through the gap between Cut-Thorn Hill and Birchenough Hill towards Crag Hall. The Dane Valley was now quickly receding into the far distance.

Beyond the A54, we  rapidly descended towards Wildboarclough through some beautiful woodland.

We passed Wildboarclough Church, an unusually squat building for a church.

Finally, we crossed the Clough Brook before turning south to the Crag Inn. A memorial to the 1989 flood disaster is embedded in the parapet of the bridge.

It was now very warm and sunny. So, a beautiful end to a very interesting day's ramble.

Many thanks again to the Sutton-in-Ashfield Ramblers for a great walk!