| The start of this walk isn't the easiest place to
find if you are not familiar with Glossop. The easiest
way to find the start is to follow the A57 out of Glossop
towards the Snake Pass. Just before you leave the town
and after a small roundabout there is a road on the
left called Manor Park Road that is sign posted to Old
Glossop and Manor Park. After about half a mile there
is a road on the right called Shepley Street, if you
continue to the end of this road you'll get to a turning
place, parking is allowed here although do bear in mind
to stay as far over towards the stream side as possible
so lorries can turn in the turning area.
Follow the rough track that is a continuation of the
road and follows the banks of the river. You will pass
a few buildings and farm on the left. After about a
kilometre you will get to a stile over the wall on the
left hand side of the track. Go over this stile and
then turn right following the path uphill for the start
of the ascent of the Lightside ridge. The path is very
obvious at first and is also steep in places but the
terrain itself is easy going underfoot. The terrain
as you ascend Lightside will go from grass field to
heather and then eventually as you reach the top of
the ridge you will suddenly be in the wonderful world
of peat on the Bleaklow Plateau.
Old Glossop Track
|
Yellowslacks Valley
|
The Bleaklow Plateau is very similar to its neighbour
Kinder in the distance. Most of the plateau is above
2000FT high and at one point near Blealow Stones is
actually the furthest point east in England over 2000FT
high, a fact I didn't believe until I researched it
myself. It is often referred to as most strenuous and
toughest walking terrain in Britain. Many hill walkers,
even Alfred Wainwright, actually hated the place. You
either love it o hate it though and lots of people love
it. A huge expanse of boggy peat and outstanding stone
formations, the hags and groughs of Bleaklow are impossible
to navigate in bad weather. I myself have been lost
on Bleaklow and it was one of the worst experiences
I have ever had in my life. The area is most certainly
somewhere that has to be taken seriously. However all
that said Bleaklow has its charms in its solitude, its
wildlife and its amazing outcrops of rock. The one thing
that differs it from Kinder is its lack of footpaths
and people. It is a wilderness.
When you reach the top of the Lightside ridge the path
becomes fairly faint and disappears in places. You can
use the ridge as an indicator to where you should be
heading or alternatively, to your right there are huge
cliffs dropping into the Yellow Slacks valley. Using
this edge may be a useful navigating using the 'hand
rail' technique, in other words keeping a linear object
to one side and following it. After walking along the
path for about a kilometre the path then heads East
towards the top of the Yellow Slacks valley where the
Yellowslacks Brook falls sharply from Dowstone Clough
into the valley underneath a famous outcrop called Dog
Rock.
Wain Stones
|
Bleaklow Head
|
The path now follows the left side of Yellowslacks
Brook for about a kilometre passing the splendid waterfalls
and then disappears into the quagmire of peat as things
start to get seriously boggy. What I tend to do at this
point is head for Hern Stones. These stones make a for
a great place to assess your next move in bad weather
and also get you up high so in good weather you can
see where your heading next, which is not always possible
when walking through deep peat groughs. So to get to
the Hern Stones simply keep following the stream as
it creates a straight hand rail for you to follow to
the Hern Stones which are located about a kilometre
South East of the Yellowslacks Brook waterfalls.
From Hern Stones on a good day you should be able to
look North and see Bleaklow Head and most visibly the
Wain Stones. Notice also the bulk of higher ground to
the South West of Hern Stones which is Higher Shelf
Stones that will be visited later in the walk. To get
to the Wain Stones and Bleaklow Head you have two options.
You will need to return to the Hern Stones after you
have detoured out to Bleaklow Head, in bad weather I
would suggest a discreet Hansel and Gretel approach
and create natural markers for yourself to help on your
return. The most exciting way to Bleaklow Head is to
had North and very slightly east across the boggy terrain
straight to the Wain Stones. However another option
is the Pennine Way, which although not visible from
the Wain Stones is actually creeping through a deep
stone filled grough about 200 metres to the East. The
Pennine Way will lead you directly North then to Bleaklow
Head. Bleaklow Head is a strange summit with just a
huge pile of rocks for a cairn, no trig point and a
huge wooden stake which seems to have sit idle for some
yeas. The Wain Stones are situated only about 30 metres
to the west of Bleaklow Head.
Higher Shelf Stone
|
Overexposed Memorial
|
To head towards the next objective of the walk Higher
Shelf Stones, you should retrace your steps back to
the Hern Stones either by the direct route or by the
Pennine Way. Using the Hern stones as a stepping stone
between Bleaklow Head and Higher Shelf Stones means
that you have a recognisable feature and also have a
possible familiar escape route if required via Yellowslacks.
Once you reach the Hern Stones you can assess the situation
again and in good weather as said before looking South
West from here the higher ground of Higher Shelf Stones
and its white summit trig point are visible. In bad
weather head in a South to South West direction for
about 600 metres to reach the highest land of Higher
Shelf Stones.
Higher Shelf Stones provides some surprising views
especially westwards on a good day. At 621M high the
highest point is marked with a trig point. Higher Shelf
Stones is however not famous for its surprising views
but more for its sad memories of those who lost there
lives just 25 metres East to North East from the trig
point. Once you find the crash site of the US Air Forces
Boeing B-29 Superfortress 'Overexposed' there is no
mistaking it for any other. The vast area that the crash
site covers and the amount of remaining wreckage is
relative to the enormous size of these huge war planes.
Next to the wreckage is a memorial plaque that reads..
"IN MEMORY Here lies the wreckage of B-29 Superfortress
"Overexposed" of the 16th. photographic reconnaissance
squadron USAF which tragically crashed whilst descending
through cloud on 3rd November 1948 killing all 13 crew
members. The aircraft was on a routine flight from RAF
Scampton to American AFB Burtonwood. It is doubtful
he crew ever saw the ground."
Plane Engine Wreckage
|
Under Carraige Wreckage
|
From the crash site you now need to head in a South
East direction. This will take you over tough ground
with plenty of boggy areas and dangerous holes covered
by long grasses. You have two options now. You could
keep heading in this direction until you meet the Pennine
Way which you will after about a kilometre and then
follow it South for until you reach the top of the Doctor's
Gate path. The other way which is great in good weather
is to not get as far as the Pennine Way and head down
into Crooked Clough over rough pathless terrain making
sure to cross the clough to the South side before it
gets too wide, from that South side a path skirts the
top of the valley and eventually reaches a huge gate
at a messy part of the Doctor's Gate path. Whichever
way you choose to go down or round Crooked Clough you
will end up at this point where these two paths meet,
from here you can look right up Crooked Clough, in front
to Higher Shelf Stones above Gathering Hill or down
the Doctor's Gate valley.
Crooked Clough
|
Shelf Moor from Doctors Gate
|
Follow the clear and obvious Doctor's Gate path down
the valley. It is about 3 kilometres until you reach
Mossy Lea Farm, the path is obvious all the way down
except for one tricky bit about a kilometre before Mossy
Lea Farm where the path seems to disappear into a bog.
Just before it disappears into the bog take a path that
stems off just before the bog and goes above by about
10 metres the normal path, which you'll see below suddenly
appear again out of the bog. This path your now on will
link up with the normal path further up. You will pass
Mossy Lea Farm and then follow the track all the way
back past the Lightside stile and back to Old Glossop. |
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Duration
: 5.5 Hrs
