Flash geezer!

Tuesday came around again, and we decided to visit the highest village in England - Flash.
The weather man said......well, what did it matter what he said, we were going out, and that was that!
When we pulled up outside the Cat & fiddle pub, there was a weird whistling sound as the wind tried to tear lumps out of the car! We really thought it would be bitter outside as I opened the car door in my shorts and tee shirt, but to our surprise, the wind was, although very strong, about blood heat, so it was really comfortable. The sky looked a bit foreboding, but what the hell. A glance across Wildboarclough, (reputedly where the last wild boar in England was killed, but this is a myth; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildboarclough ),
showed Jodrell Bank in the distance (just). To the eye, easy to see that morning, but I thought you might need the assistance of an arrow - click on the picture for a larger version :-)

The cat and fiddle pub, always arguing with the Tan Hill inn, in Yorkshire, as to which one is the highest. Not a very good picture of it, but the condition were not good for pics.

Here she is, bless her, in her shorts, taking on the moors.

A look back shows just how remote the Cat & Fiddle is.
Perched on the top of the moors, it can be seen for MILES.

Looking ahead, we could see the murky shape of the Roaches.

........and a glance to the right showed the 'Cheshire Matterhorn', or Shutlingsloe, to give it its correct name.

Spoil heaps near the Danebower colliery - evidence of coal mining, now being taken over by the heather.

With us now following the Dane Valley Way, portions of the once boggy path had been slabbed, much to our delight on this VERY boggy day.

Soon we reached the beauty spot of Three Shire heads.

The Dane valley, beautiful but heavy with cloud today.

This is a swimming hole, just downstream from the falls.
Not very big, but what a lovely place to cool off and have a picnic in the summer.

The trees were getting ready for winter, the last of the berries looking tired and past their best.

Later on, as we climbed towards Flash, it began to brighten up.

Sue takes the climb to Flash in her stride.

We were surprised to see a large heard of Alpaca, mixed in with a few sheep.

A bit more climbing brought us to this sign that lets you know where and what Flash is.

Of course, the village pub has its claim too. Not the highest pub in England, but the highest village pub.

It struck us that the picture is sort of 'pirate-ish', or maybe a highwayman? Whoever, or whatever, he is, that gold he's got looks ill-gotten!

We left by a very pleasant lane. Now we were getting peckish, so started to look for a suitable place to take tiffin. That's Shutlingsloe in front again.

Roaches end and Ramshaw rocks. That SKY! Would we get wet soon? We lived in hope that we wouldn't, but of course we had all the gear if it came.
All around, we could now see sheets of rain in the distance. It was almost inevitable that we would get some. At this point, we were about an 2 hours or more from the car.

This is where we chose for lunch, not a bad spot eh?
Those two big lumps are the Reef Knolls in Hollinsclough, the one on the left is called Hollins hill, the sharp one is Chrome hill. We've climbed these many times, but never enough!
Beyond, and to the right, is the upper Dove valley.

We did a bit more climbing on very unclear paths until we reached 'five stones'.
I don't need to explain why it's called that!
On the left horizon, you can just see the Cat & Fiddle pub (no arrows).

Well.....what did you EXPECT???

We dropped down slightly, following the Dane Valley way, and saw the source of the Dane river.
After that, we followed this clear track and made our way back, via Derbyshire bridge, to the pub and a well-earned pint. As we sat in the pub and took our first mouthful - the rain started.
RESULT!!