Sunday 28 April 2013

Manchester Weekender

Saturday
Distance: 12 miles
Weather: cold start, occasional shower
Birds of note: Greenfinches, wren, canada geese, mallards, moorhen
Rats: 1
Harpies: 1
Iron Man 3

We walked into Manchester along the Medlock Valley way, stopping for elevenses at Daisy Nook Country Park. We took a few scenic detours, in order to increase our chances of seeing interesting nature on the walk, as we'd been discussing the subject and had only been able to come up with a big dead fish as the most notable thing. We saw some 'things' swimming about in a little pond and lots of butterbur flowers. We later decided the cormorant from earlier in the year had also been quite interesting.

Sunday
Distance: 14 miles
Ascent: 450m
Weather: chill wind, mostly dry

We saw quite a lot today, including:
Swallows
Lots of honky canada geese
Cowslips and forget-me-not
Fieldfares
White (feral?) duck
Bees
Swan on nest
Very angry swan chasing geese
Geese running away
More moorhens
Heron
Friendly donkeys
Goats

Walked back along the Oldham Way, along the Rochdale Canal and Tandle Hill Country Park. We risked horse field as it has been quite dry of late. It was fine, and we had a little donkey meet and greet.

Photos serve as reminder why I carry a decent camera most of the time.

Sunday 21 April 2013

Oldham Way part way

Distance: 18.5 miles
Ascent: 800m
Weather: Sunny start, chilly wind on tops, drizzle turning to rain
Heard: Buzzard, skylarks
Seen: Rangers getting very excited about a buzzard, alpacas, lapwings and curlews, guinea fowl, goats, chaffinch masquerading as something interesting, mandarin ducks, squirrel, little lambs

We set off from home at quarter to 10 and it was sunny and quite warm. Over brushes Clough there was much excitement about a buzzard, and we actually followed the proper route of the Oldham Way, rather than just heading towards Denshaw on the paths we usually walk. There was quite a lot of snow left in the sheltered spots by the lanes and walls. There were a lot of song birds singing.

Through Denshaw past the new reservoir construction work, we started on the chocolate eclairs, bought for Offa's Dyke last year and not yet eaten, we decided they probably hadn't been out for many walks yet, given that the bag still seemed to be in good condition.

Over Stanedge Edge a chill wind got up, we past quite a few well wrapped up people and also quite a few dead sheep which was a bit depressing. Turning off the Pennine Way and on to the Tameside trail we went down into Diggle, and decided to follow the canal for a while rather than follow the Oldham Way around Dovestone Reservoir. The canal goes past a rather nice looking cafe at the Brownhill Countryside Centre which has just opened just on the outskirts of Dobcross and then into Uppermill and Mossley. There were lots of ducks and geese and a worryingly wobbly bike rider on a very narrow bit of tow path under a low bridge.

At Mossley we turned off the canal and made our way through Grasscroft and Grotton, then over the fields into Lees, in the rain, and back home.





Saturday 20 April 2013

Rishworth and Wessenden Moors

Distance: 21 miles
Ascent: 1000m
Weather: cool in wind, bright and dry
Seen: Kestrel, wheatears, lambs, mountain hare, small tortoiseshells, bad spelling.

Our plan to set off early was slightly spoiled by our chosen carpark being commandeered by a film crew with lots of trucks and trailers. So we had to drive a bit further and park along the A640 to set off from there. We walked over White Hill on the Pennine Way and through said carpark (there was a man combing his hair in truck wing mirror but I wasn't brave enough to ask him what they were filming.)

As we crossed the M62 footbridge a decision was made to make the walk quite long and head over Blackstone  Edge to the Aiggen Stone and follow Blackwood  Edge Road and go over Dog Hill. The path was slightly wet in places but nothing that couldn't be easily skirted by those not wearing waterproof shoes. We stopped for lunch by a rocky shelter and pondered what bees do for food up on Rishworth Moor at this time of year. We walked along the path of the old road until we reached the wall at Privy Clough where we met a couple of chaps with very large motorbikes contemplating their route. We left them there - contemplating that in a bog, a pair of walking boots is far more appropriate than pair of wheels with half a ton of bike on top.

Finding the steps over the wall, we headed down off Shrimp Hill down a farm track, seeing lots of little lambs and a flock of wheatears. The track went through the middle of a little hamlet, with comedy signs on their gates, and then under Booth Wood Reservoir, up a steep wooded hillside and on to a track which goes under the M62 motorway, at the farm in the middle of the carriageways. It must be a noisy place to live, but the farmer, whom we saw a couple of times, seemed very friendly.

We left the track and climbed the hill on open access land, crossing a couple of lanes, negotiating a footpath detour around Scammonden Reservoir and passing by a farm / scrapyard, before coming out onto Slaithwaite Moor.

Dropping down into Marsden (passing a lot of pissed up people heading for the station on the ale trail) we took a footpath over a tiny bridge, passed the church.We were still feeling quite energetic, so decided not to take the opportunity of a short cut back to the car, but  took the lane passed the factory and up the hundreds* (*maybe a slight exaggeration) of steps (complete with obligatory helpful people pointing out they were finding it much easier going down. Thanks) We took the lower level path around the top reservoir and crossed the footbridge. Up on Wessenden Moor navigation is easy, just follow the pavement, we saw a mountain hare, brown on his back with white winter fur around his tail, which we saw quite clearly as he scarpered.

Around Swellands Reservoir it started getting chilly as the sun dropped. The path leads around the water and then away to the west on stone slabs as it crosses the hill towards the A62 and the Pennine Way. The Way lead across Standedge and back to the car.



Saturday 6 April 2013

Windy Hill

Distance: 12 miles
Ascent: 350m
Weather: pleasant, sunny and no wind
Seen: Meadow pippets, ducks, blue sky.

With plans afoot (haha) for this year's big hike, we have started training again. This weekend saw us easing ourselves in gently, with a walk from Windy Hill, over Blackstone Edge to the end of Warland Reservoir and back - stopping for a couple of brews along the way.