Friday 9 September 2011

A bit of wind!

Again, we went two weeks without a day off, so we were more than ready to blow away the cobwebs. Thing was, the weather forecast was AWFUL. Heavy rain and high winds, they said. We pottered about in the morning, and when we finally got out and drove to Upper Burbage bridge and parked up, the rain was really beating against the windscreen. It was at this point that Sue realised that her waterproof trousers were in her other sack. What to do? We sat for about 15 minutes, and amazingly, it stopped! I made a decision, we booted up, and we were off. The idea was, with it being late(ish), we'd walk along Stanage edge as far as we could in the time we'd got, and come back.
Please remember, you can view a larger version of any of these pictures by clicking on it. Click on the 'back' button to return to the blog.
 
This was the dreary view along Burbage rocks, we wanted a nice, sunny day!


 Oh well, our spirits were soon lifted as we got the air in our lungs, and the breeze in our hair. It was GOOD to be out again :-) We could see the start of the edge ahead, and our pace quickened.
The heather was just past its best now, but it still looking lovely, even though the light wasn't very good.
 Once up on the edge, we could see the whole thing in front of us. WHAT a draw! The sky didn't look that promising, but I hadn't forgotten MY waterproof trousers, so it was ok :-)
In no time at all, we were at the trig point. Super views from here today. 
 The mighty Stanage edge, with the run of Win hill and the Lose hill to Mam tor ridge behind.
 We could hear a very pronounced whistling on the edge, so we walked over to investigate - we soon found out it was a VERY high wind, I estimated gusts of around 50MPH. This is Sue, 'discovering' it for the first time.
 Really loving it now - and enjoying it too.
 Until a REALLY hard gust blew her over (and I almost joined her).
Of course, once we'd started, we couldn't stop and spent about an hour 'playing' in various hot spots along the edge. You can see us by clicking here;
 
A lot of women fuss if they get a hair out of place - Sue likes NOTHING BETTER than having hers blown by the wind (and me too). When did you last see a happier face?


 The sweep of Stanage, always a moving sight.

 Looking down towards Hathersage (which you can't see, it's just over the ridge).
 We even got a little bit of blue sky, which we NEVER expected today. "Enough to make a sailor a pair of trousers", my Mum used to say.

 However, looking over Castleton, we could see the rain falling.
The 'great ridge' of Win hill, lose hill and Mam tor.


 Some of the gargantuan rocks on Stanage edge.
 Weathered and wind-cut, these rocks have been here for millions of years, facing whatever is thrown at them. They show the scars of time.
 They are also good for millstones, or were. The 'industry' died suddenly, and many stones were abandoned, even seemingly finished ones.

 These remnants of a bygone industry litter these gritstone edges.
Tired, windblown but happy, it was time to go, but today would be remembered for a LONG time to come. 

2 comments:

  1. What an amazing place! And how wonderful that Sue shares your same adventurous spirit! I am drawn to the millstones....would love to see them someday.

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  2. If you EVER decide to come and see them Deborah, let me know, and I'll pinpoint the best place for them. In one area of Stanage, they are stacked like CD's in a rack - it's amazing that they were just abandoned! You can see a couple of pics here on one of my very old blogs postings; http://pearlsofthepeak.blogspot.com/2007/01/stanage-edge-walk.html

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