27 December 2016

Rushup

Unusually for 2016, no famous people died on Boxing Day. Consequently, I thought it would not be too disrespectful to treat myself to a two hour country walk west of Castleton. I  dropped our son Ian off near Hathersage where he had arranged to meet up with an old friend before travelling out of The Hope Valley and along Rushup Edge towards Chapel-en-le-Frith.

Though bright, the day was windy and cold. Fortunately I had brought along my fashionable red thermal hat, fingerless gloves and my Hull City manager's coat. I must have looked a "right div". That's a slang term derived from prison life. Apparently low status prisoners of the past found themselves putting cardboard dividers in boxes so they became "divs" - now used as a term of mild abuse for stupid or stupid looking people.

Anyway, when suitably attired I plodded along a track that leads eventually to a hill called South Head which you can see in the picture below. The light was sharp and beautiful and I snapped more than forty photographs on the walk but I have only picked two to share with you. 

The picture at the top is of Bettfield Farm - an upland sheep farm. On the horizon you can see the head of a railway shaft which ventilates The Cowburn Tunnel. This connects Edale with Chinley and is just over two miles in length. I have travelled through it several times for it is on the most direct rail track between Sheffield and Manchester..

The days remain short and though I would have loved to walk an extra three miles as planned, I decided it was wiser to curtail my route in order to avoid  tramping across sheep pastures in darkness. Never a good idea. Isn't it always best to see where you are going?

18 comments:

  1. A great antidote for all that Christmas food - a good bracing walk. Well done you. Hope your Christmas Day was a good one and the best wishes for you and the family for the New Year.

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    1. Hi there Helen. We had a nice Christmas with our grown up children, daughter's boyfriend, my sister-in-law and nephew. I send similar New Year Wishes to you and Tony.

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  2. This sounds like great weather for a good walk.

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    1. I waited for you Red but you failed to show. I wanted to plod along listening to your memories of Canada's northern lands.

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    2. Well, I'll just have to do something about that.

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  3. You certainly are a walker, Yorkie. Is there ever a day you don't go a-roamin' in the gloamin' or whenever?

    A nice way to ponder on the happenings of the year almost past...and wonder what the next has in store...

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    1. I try hard to avoid walking in rain. One of the reasons I love to walk is that I know it is probably lengthening my life - keeping the blood pumping.

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  4. How far did you walk Mr Pudding? I would love to be able to do a jaunt like that but just haven't got the stamina. It would be nice to escape the Christmas melee for a while.

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    1. It wasn't a really long walk Sue. I would estimate four miles. I urge you to go out and plod, exploring your local countryside via public paths. You must be kidding about stamina! All that cycling you do!

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    2. I can cycle forever but walking hurts my back after a while.

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    3. When I was in my 20s, I was a runner for a few years. I could easily run a few miles without any strain, but on the rare occasion I got on a bike, I would be sore all over and I had no endurance whatsoever. Entirely different muscles, I suppose.

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    4. If I ever ride a bike my butt feels like it has been chewed upon by a shoal of piranhas.

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  5. I love all the shades of green in those two photos. It's my favorite color and all those varying hues of it make my eyes happy! :)

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    1. The colours were divine for December.

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  6. The second photo with the horizontal and vertical line gets the Soup Award today...

    Alphie

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    1. I accept this cherished Soup Award with humility and joy.

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  7. I enjoyed seeing some of the beautiful countryside. I look forward to our next hike to see more.

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  8. No perhaps not on Boxing Day but any other day it seems! What a tremendous , lovely and solitude landscape that is!!!! How lucky you are, Pudding, to be able to walk those hills and dales. When I look at those pictures I tend to forget the state of things in the world and rest my soul in the beauty of Gods creation. May you have a bright and wonderful New Year!!!!!!

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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