The Yorkshire Bridge Inn, Hope Valley - Saturday 7th June 2008 - Edale, Kinder, Ringing Roger and almost a Marilyn

John M. (in the 'Three Men in a Room') awakes with a start to find Fred wandering about the room with a pole (of the wooden sort!) but other than this there are fortunately no casualties .....from last night.
The forecast is for showers this afternoon according to the MWIS. As usual there are two walking parties, the A-Team and the B-Team.

Team A members are the two Johns, Mike, Steve, Chris, Paul and Martin (a surprise promotion to the A-Team for good behaviour).

Team B are Alan, Fred, Chris, Pete and Roger.

The A Team set off early to walk to Bamford Station via the old disused railway track from Ladybower to Bamford in order to catch the 10.36am train to Edale. The A team are pictured here at Bamford Mills just before crossing the River Derwent into the village.

After a stop off at Sweaty Betty's in Edale by Martin and Paul for sandwiches we climb up to Kinder via Grindsbrook Clough and walk back by Upper Tor, Ringing Roger, Madwoman's Stones to Win Hill and eventually back down to the Yorkshire Bridge Inn.

There were great views from the summit of Win Hill Pike.

The A+ team (Mike, John K.?) phone the remains of the A team to inform them they can smell "the barmaid's apron" from Win Hill Pike and therefore can't wait for the rest of the team! They take the steep but direct descent via Parkin Clough to the YBI. Steve, Paul and Martin bringing up the A Team rear take the longer but less steeper route via The Springs and Ladybower dam.

Back at the YBI, we think the B-Team must be already have arrived, had a drink and gone for a lie down as there's no sign of them. Or are they at the Ladybower Inn? Chris phones Roger to check and discovers they're still on their way back!

We estimate the A-Team walk was about 13 miles (13.5m by Steve's GPS but his, Paul and Martin's route involved a slightly longer descent). John M. questions Steve's maths this morning - 2 miles to the station + 9 mile walk = 13.0 miles (eh!)

Eventually, the B-Team arrive having allegedly undertaken a gut(or should it be Dam) busting assault course over Win Hill Pike and around the nether regions of Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs. Barbed-wired fences, we are told, are carefully negotiated (Tip for you guys: Next time, take a few bar towels to wrap round the barbs - I carry one all the time!). Let's just say it didn't appear to have been a good teambuilding exercise and since no photographic evidence was provided by them, it is still believed that they really got the bus back to the YBI!

A-Team walk :

• Martin fancies a round of Golf before getting on the train.
• Mike searches the OS map in vain for the peak of Kinder Scout!
• ..... and wants to know how a GPS receiver knows where it is (Unfortunately, life's too short!)
• Chris tells us the story of Fanny Green.
• Ringing Roger from Ringing Roger
  
• Paul stands on a Grouse (well nearly!)
• A bit of a detour to Hope Cross
• We just fail to bag a Marilyn by a few metres!

(Postscript: Actually Kinder is a Marilyn but with around 144 m of relative height, Win Hill is only a few metres short. I don't think we reached to actual summit of Kinder did we Mike!)

After dinner Martin leads the community singing in the dining room with - "Job's Worth" and "Who's pigs are these ..."
We are then politely asked to retire to the bar (so they can clear the tables!) and some of the other residents want to join us (surprisingly!)

Appropriately, we should be singing the Manchester Rambler ( written by Ewan McColl in memory of the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932) .. but no-one can remember the words . Find them here (Paul note the bit about the grouse!). Listen to a good version by John Tamms below.

The session finishes at 1.45am and the remaining few retire to the resident's lounge (or more like the resident's landing). Luckily the bar is shut as someone attempts to buy a bottle of whisky.

See the full photo gallery here