Watergrove Tops.

Watergrove is a reservoir and small country park situated just North of Rochdale. And surprisingly this was my first visit.

I parked beneath the great dam wall and checked i had everything in the rucksack. I hadn’t. No compass, but i had a GPS with me. But it had the wrong map in it. I had the Lake District map which was obviously no use. All i had then was an os map, which was the right one and the GPS which would give me my grid reference if i needed it that badly.

So off i started with the intention of walking the surrounding tops and not the circular reservoir walk.

Plenty of people were about, including dog walkers, horse riders, United Utilities folk and of course me with a rucksack.

Like i said, i had not been here before so walking at a brisk 3 miles per hour was out, i wanted to investigate the nooks and crannies of this historical area and generally get to know it a bit better and take in the views.

There is quite a history of people and industry in this area dating back to pre-historic times. A Bronze age barrow has been recorded on Hades Hill. Settlements were recorded as far back as the 12th and 13th centuries in the files of Whalley Abbey but the ruins of buildings that can still be seen today date back from the 16th and 17th centuries up until more recent times.

During the 16th century demand for wool and coal was high in this area and new farms were prevalent on the moors. Unfortunately with the building of the reservoir in the early 20th century most of these farms were abandoned and derelict. Some of the farm date stones and mullion windows have been incorporated into the dam wall for posterity and add some character.

I believe the above 3 images that show date stones and other architecure were from the buildings that were flooded on construction of the reservoir.

The tops of the hills contain lots of Bell Pits. Hand dug holes and chambers where coal of pretty poor quality was excavated.

The late 18th century saw the building of 3 water powered mills. Watergrove, Alderbank and Roads which provided work for the locals until the 1920’s.

The reservoir itself was built during the Cotton Famine years of the 1930’s and employed many of the unemployed workers of the cotton industry.

My first “Top” was called “Rough Hill”at 435 metres and so i set off along the top of the dam and along the east side of the reservoir. Lots of trees had been planted along the route with name plates at their base. This was “A life for a life” memorial forest scheme.

I passed a number of ruined areas, Little Town, Steward Barn and Lower Slack Farm.

Ruins of Little Town

Sheep now occupy Lower Slack Farm

The day was quite overcast although humid. There was no breeze but ominous dark clouds swept by and i wondered if i might get the odd shower soon. I kept checking the map to make sure i was on the right path. Numerous paths interlace and i thought it could be easy to go wrong. I was on Ramsden road, a corbelled route not dissimilar to Rooley Moor rd i have posted about in the past. The route splits where the Long Causeway goes NE and a second route heads off in a NW direction for Higher Slack Brook. My track was a muddy one, heading N and skirts the east fringe of Rough Hill.

A mountain biker was heading towards me but not overly fast. The route was boggy in parts and quite slippery. I looked for the falls shown on the map but there was nothing much in the brook. i reached the next split in the path at a confluence of two streams. Both hardly flowing today. I stopped for five minutes to take in the scenery and could make out a large excavator across the fellside. Turbine i thought, but i don’t know if this is true or not.

Taken with full telephoto.

Start of the track around Rough Hill

I stayed on the path for some distance around Rough Hill until i hit a fence line. I was hoping to get a glimpse of Ramsden Clough Reservoir but it didn’t appear from my vantage point unfortunately.

I retraced my steps and headed for the top of Rough Hill. The excavator had chewed up lots of the land on its way across the moor and made deep boggy furrows in numerous places.

I took a few photo’s from Rough Hill and Hedes Hill as the sky was darkening and a stiff breeze was blowing from the west.

Track skirting east of Rough Hill with Freeholds Top (454 metres) in background.

Excavator tracks at top of Rough Hill 434 metres.

Looking at Ramsden Clough reservoir. I think i have just picked up the edge between the pylon on the right and the central one but the reservoir seems empty. This was taken from Hedes Hill. 433 metres.

From Hedes hill i could see the quarry at Whitworth and the scale of it. We used to test our machinery in the quarry here, in prototype stage of development.

Large scale quarrying at Whitworth.

As i packed up the camera a chap approached from the direction i had climbed. It was the first person i had seen since leaving the reservoir circuit. Pleasantries given and away he went towards Middle Hill, my destination too. He seemed in a bit of a hurry, maybe it was the dark sky’s threatening. I stopped to look at the Bell pits and the stone quarrying and thought “What a mess”. I think stone is still being moved from these pits.

The quarried summit of Middle Hill. An Undulating mess at 400 metres.

Dropping down between Middle Hill and my next top, Brown Wardle Hill i sat down on a good piece of grass and had a bite to eat. I watched the chap i had seen earlier, picking his way across the moorland, then backtracking and starting off again. He seemed a little mislaid.

I looked for and found the boundary stone on Middle Hill with it’s “S” on one side and “H” on the other.

I wondered if it stood for Spotland and Huddersfield but i don’t know for sure. Anyone who may have the answer, by all means put me right.

The terrain between Middle Hill and Brown Wardle Hill is also pretty chewed up with quarry type tracks and it didn’t take long to reach the top.

Heading over to Brown Wardle Hill at 400 metres.

I came off BWH to the east and dropped down to the bridleway. I came across the chap from earlier who i thought would have been long gone. He was backtracking again so i asked him if he was ok. He said he was and that the knees were not as young as they used to be. I noticed he had a map with him and the reservoir was in sight and therefore he couldn’t get lost, could he?

Am i heading South? No. Are you sure? Yes. Oh well.

We both headed off South and along the bridleway to the crossing point with Higher Slack Brook. I’m not sure which way he went but as i skirted the west bank of the reservoir he ended up behind me when he should have been far ahead because i stopped lots of times to take photo’s.

Watergrove reservoir

The track back to the car has been provided by United Utilities. The old paths now overgrown and quite difficult to pick out. Although the map shows lots of routes the Utilities one is so prominent that the others will/have disappeared which is a great shame.

Considering this was my first time here, it opens up the moorland North across to Todmorden and i will be back to do more. A very nice walk.

There you go Martin. The map, so that you won’t need a guide.

MLD Duomid, Pole extender MYOG.

I bought a second hand MLD Duomid recently from Dawn. I knew it would be in good condition coming from her and it came with a solo Oookworks inner too. What it didn’t come with was a walking pole extender which you need to have.
I asked around a few people that have blogged about the Duomid and received a wealth of advise. Thanks everyone, you know who you are.
I decided to make my own but taking into consideration what Colin Ibbertson had wrote about the extending pole in bad weather.   And also the poles which were on offer from MLD and Backpackinglight UK.  (You can read Colin’s post here.)

I don’t use walking poles at all. I tried the idea years ago but we never got on and i ended up carrying them more than using them. So they ended up relegated to the loft.
I knew that i would have to use at least one entire pole and after searching the loft i could only find one. What has happened to the other i am at a loss. I weighed the pole and considering this Komperdell pole is ancient, it weighed 260 grams. Quite good i thought.

So i had a go at making a prototype with a piece of central heating copper tube and then when i had proven the right length, looked around for some aluminium tube to make it lighter. I had nothing suitable at home and the price of tubing at the DIY stores was too high. I had to buy a metre and i only wanted about a third of that. Eventually i came across a complete pole at GoOutdoors and it only cost £3.99. Strip it down and use the materials i thought. How they make this pole and sell it at a large markup is quite something in itself.

The central section of the new pole was a near perfect size to suit the pointed end of my Komperdell. It was quite tight and very little wobble under pressure. But i came up with the idea of how to make it a perfect fit. I wrapped the sharp end of the pole with cling film and then after positioning the extender tube, i filled it with builders expanding foam and let it harden. The inside shape of the extender now matched the shape of the Komperdell perfectly and it should prevent any wobble in bad weather.  I warmed up the small rubber bung that you get supplied with a pole in boiling water and i just managed to fit it over the exposed end of the extender tube so that it will protect the tent material when its located in the apex.

With a bit of pressure i managed to remove the handle from the Komperdell. After all, i will not be using it as a walking pole and therefore it is a bit superfluous. I cut the rubber handle down off the new one and fitted it to the Komperdell. This will give the pole its support on the ground. I can also refit the old handle if i ever need a walking pole.

Complete finished pole and extender weight. 280grams. Cost of extender £3.99. Time to make around 30 minutes plus overnight curing time for the foam. (It does dry quicker but i left it overnight.)

The walking pole extender at 27cm long complete with strengthening ferrule and protective bung.

The adjustable walking pole and extender assembled.

The reworked handle

A secret weekend Pt 3.

I had no plan to do a part 3 to our weekend. It wasn’t until arriving back home and walking through Manchester that i decided i would do a pt.3.

So why have i done it.

Well click on this link and have a look at the photographs i took just walking around the town of Chester. They are not altered images in any way and were not taken to emphasise the point of this post.
Link

What didn’t hit me full in the face until walking back home was how spotless Chester was. There was no litter, no overflowing bins, no overpoweringly smelly back streets. No fast food bags lying on street corners, no pizza boxes and fish and chip trays left on steps or walls or grass verges, no cans smashed on top of spiked railings. No office detritus pilled up in the road.
I could go on.

Walking back through Manchester from Piccadilly to Shudehill bus station i was ashamed to say this is my City. It was an absolute tip. The areas where visitors to our City would get their first impressions were a smelly littered disgrace and the walk in between was no better.

I could expand further but i’m sure you get the picture.

Manchester council need to send somebody to Chester and have a walk round with a member of their waste management team. Come back and implement how they control it. Because at the moment i think Manchester have become blasé and are now a blinkered lot. And please don’t tell it is just lack of money because Cheshire and Chester are in the same boat as Manchester. And they don’t have Arab Millions being spent in the town which must be saving the council a fortune.

I apologise to visitors who no doubt will be shocked at the mess and can only hope it improves quickly.

Just an example. Outside one of the most visited places. Printworks.

Cross roads of Cross St and Market St.

Just off Lincoln Sq.

 Well St. at the side of the Printworks. (Taken with Sheila’s phone.)

And on the bus going home.

A secret weekend Pt 2.

 The day was warm, sunny, no breeze and outside the crowds had yet to form on Chester’s Eastgate. Breakfast over Sheila had a plan. It’s going to be a walking day. Well most of it anyway.
First off the Town Hall Square then the Cathedral then the Roman City Walls which should bring lunch in the Roman Amphitheatre. After Lunch we head for the river and get the 2.30pm boat for a 2hr trip along the River Dee. Which will bring us back in time to get dolled up to go to Simon Radleys Restaurant.  Mmm, you didn’t mention stopping off for a beer somewhere i said. We can do that anytime was the reply.

So the Town Hall Square at 10.30am had a few people milling about but the touristas had not yet arrived in bulk. Quite a few Red coated pike men were about and some dressed up like Guy Fawkes. At this point we had no idea what was going on and then they formed ranks and marched off behind the Cathedral with an entourage of people snapping away with cameras. It was like a scene from the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Chester Town Hall

The Red Coated Pike Men. (and women)

We watched them disappear and carried on looking about the square. A beautiful building stood to the right of the town hall and i was surprised to find it was the ornate frontage of the Westminster Coach and car co. It hadn’t clicked at the time but i should have known with this being the playground of the Duke of Westminster.

 The frontage of the Westminster Coach and Car co.

We made our way the few hundred yards to the Cathedral. There are lots of leaflets in Chester letting you know that entrance to the Cathedral is FREE. They seem quite proud of the fact that it is FREE.

So when you go in, why are you channeled into a small area with a desk and a till and young ladies who tell you that it is FREE to enter but we WOULD like you to make a donation of £3 a head. You had to be pretty hard faced not to cough up and to be honest it is worth every penny, BUT its a cynical and belittling way of getting money from visitors. Typical of the workings of the Church. It left a nasty taste.

Chester Cathedral

Inside the whole place is spectacular. A camera, especially my compact camera cannot do the place justice. There is so much to see from the gardens and sculptures, the fretwork and stained glass, the grave stones and tiled floors and much much more.

I have put together my photo’s on the Cathedral Interior here for those interested. Click Here.

My opinion is that this Cathedral is better internally than York but externally York leaves it standing. We could have spent twice as long as we did inside. (About 1 hr) but we wanted to get onto the Roman Walls. Time waits for no man and this was our only full day.

Walking behind the Cathedral brings you within a minute or to to the walls. Amazingly the walls, built from Sandstone in about 100AD. They took about 100 years to construct and they replaced a previous mound and wooden palisade construction. Many changes have taken place and it wasn’t until after the Norman Conquest was the complete circle finished. Around the middle of the 12th century. The walls protected the old medieval city and are 3.2km long. 

Sheila holding up a Roman Lampost. Next to the Roman Galvanised tube fencing.

 Well as we got a little further it became obvious what the Red Coats were up to. It seems that we were not alone from Manchester as the Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote had penetrated the City Walls and had captured the land adjacent to the Cathedral. I bet they captured a few Ale houses too.
It must have been a very civilised battle as the next skirmish had a time of 12.30pm. I suppose that was to find out who was paying for the next round of drinks. Ah well.
The walls were walked and very wallish they were too! There’s lots to see from the walls especially the race course, the canal, the Roman baths, the river, plenty of pubs and an old grey Fergy.

 The Old Grey Fergy looking resplendent

Chester Race Course seen from the wall.

Having done the complete circuit we bought lunch and made our way to the Roman Amphitheatre to find a seat in the sun. And it was hot. We had only been there a few minutes when 3 of the numpty class made themselves nuisances and were quickly interviewed by the local bobby’s. Peace restored.

Behind the amphitheatre is the oldest church in Chester, St John’s the Baptist, which is being renovated and also there is a section of the original structure which is in ruin. Well worth a visit.

There is an oak coffin walled into the arch way and inside it it says Duft to Duft (Old English for the obvious Dust to Dust).

Again, we spent half an hour here and its all very interesting. The river trip was 2.30pm so we hurried off to the river. Passing a very busy and large John Willy Lee’s pub called the Boathouse, we gave it a wide berth. 

Finding the jetty for the cruises, Sheila popped over to have a word with the Pressganger’s while i had a sit down in the sun. She came back really disappointed. The 2.30pm boat had been rented out entirely to one party. There was no other boat going on the 2hr trip. How inconsiderate.

We found consolation in an ice cream apiece and passed the time with a walk up and down the river looking at all the very expensive properties which align the banks, then listened to a jazz band for a while.

It was all very pleasant and they had quite an audience by the time we headed off back into the city for a walk round the shops. We passed a pub called the Albion and the sign board made us laugh. We would have to find time to call in here later we said. It will just have to be done.

Brilliant rules of the house. A visit is a must.

Back at the Hotel our meal at Simon Radley’s restaurant (2 star Michelin) was so, so good and the service was First Class. As was the wine, albeit a bit overpriced to say the least. But it was a special occasion, wasn’t it Sheila!

Then back to the Albion for some proper vino plonko. It didn’t disappoint. Just like stepping back in time to the 1940’s. Friendly place and some real character.
Here are a few pics of the inside.

 The bar at the Albion

Naughty but nice

All too soon we had to say farewell.
The twins from last night would be waiting no doubt and so we dashed to the Boot Inn and yes they were waiting. Unfortunately this pub still lives by the opening and closing times from years ago. 11.00pm weekdays and 10.30pm Sundays. I havn’t come across these hours for so long it seemed very strange. But we still had 3/4 hr of chat about United amongst other subjects.  Denis Law met the twins and they showed us the signed photo. Such nice people.

Tony and Peter. Chester’s best.

A secret weekend. Day1.

 With my 60th birthday coming up next weekend Sheila very kindly decided that we should have a long weekend away on our own. She had kept all the arrangements very secret including the destination.
I was told what to pack and the fact that she said that i couldn’t take a rucksack or Aldi bag to carry my stuff in was a bit daunting. I got the car out of the garage but she said we won’t be needing it as we are getting the bus. It’s Manchester i thought.
Wrong. Getting off the bus at Shudehill station we then set off across town with me pulling this wheeled contraption that we had to dust off before filling it. Piccadilly train station was very busy on a Friday morning. I got my orders to wait and don’t look at the timetable board. Then we got on a train at platform 11.
Still no idea where the destination was we sat there for 20 mins before being told “engine failure” everyone off and get on the train at platform 1 for Chester. The bubble had burst. I think Sheila had done a great job of keeping it secret and a very nice surprise.
Believe it or not i have worked all over the world but i had never been to Chester. Only an hour away by car. Alighting at Chester’s lovely station, although it could do with a lick of paint, it was still architecturally pleasant. I had no idea of the destination.
Again i dragged this contraption across the city and within 15 minutes we entered the foyer of The Chester Grosvenor hotel with it’s two top hatted and tail coated concierge.
To say this is a stunning hotel would be an understatement.

The Chester Grosvenor, owned and named after the family of The Duke of Westmisnster.

On the way up to our room, number 322, we passed this magnificent chandelier. 

Sheila had a spa afternoon planned and i was told that during my time on the very comfy relaxation couches that i fell asleep and was snoring. Well anyone who knows me would tell you that couldn’t have been me! Hmm. It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon before pre dinner drinks and a lovely meal in the restaurant.

To walk our meal off we had a stroll through town before stopping off at a pub across the way called the Boot Inn. It was indeed a surprise to find a good pint of cask Conditioned Ale at £1.80. We sat next to a table of elderly gents and soon got chatting. It turned out that 2 of the gents were twins of 74 years and both had worked at the Grosvenor as painters and decorators. One had been there man and boy whilst the other had worked there in his later years. They were real characters, Peter and Tony, and were very proud of their association with the hotel. You must go and see the Westminster room we were told, its spectacular. They also told us a story of how during a fire practice the fire officer had told them to vacate the building, but they needed to finish painting one of the rooms before the guests arrived and so wouldn’t leave. That room happened to be room 322! How spooky was that. Our very room. 

We had a lovely evening and they asked us to come back in tomorrow. We had a meal booked in the Simon Radley restaurant tomorrow night and thought we might be a bit pushed for time but said we would try. 

Eastgate and what must be the most photographed clock in the world. 

The Grosvenor is on the right with the blue sign.

A great start to the secret weekend.

Its been a warm one. (So far)

 Our backpacks have been packed for around 3 weeks now. The plan was to do a long weekend hike in Cumbria. The weather forecast for our planned trip given the night before, was for a very hot day and not changing. Temperatures hitting 30C. We put a hold on the plan. Leave it a week i said and it will be raining. It didn’t happen, the following weekend was just as hot. Plan postponed again.
 It goes to show, and my blog reading list proves it, that few of us have been doing anything other than short walks whilst we have had baking weather. (There are a couple of exceptions, but i am generalising here). We moan about the lousy weather but more hikes are done in lousy weather. It just goes to prove we love rain really.

 We were getting cabin fever, even Dorothy, Sheila’s mum was keen to get out. It was decided that we would get the train and walk Todmorden to Hebden Bridge and onto Sowerby Bridge and get the train back. No hills and about 12 miles. This section of the Rochdale Canal is particularly beautiful as are the villages too.

 Breakfast was had in Todmorden across the road from the stunning Town Hall building. It’s beautiful outside but just take a look at this link here and here. I’m sure you will agree the inside is just splendid. The people of Tod should be very proud of it.

 The building was designed by John Gibson of Westminster. It was opened in April 1875. Set within the Tympanum of the deeply moulded triangular pediment impressive statuary is seen. Two central female figures linked in friendship are seated on a pedestal which is inscribed Lancashire/Yorkshire.

To either side groups depicting the Lancashire cotton industry and the engineering and agriculture of Yorkshire. Fantastic.

  Once on the canal we found the library lock wasn’t working and a narrow boat was moored waiting for it to be fixed. Sheila spotted it had an Aussie flag on the side and then a lady appeared impressed that it had been noticed. We had a chat about the cricket for a few minutes before bidding farewell and ill fortune for the result of the match.

 Stoodley Pike monument comes into view

 Not the usual Geese we normally see on the canal.

 One of the many old mills canal 

side and numerous chimneys are still to be seen. 

We had a light shower just prior to us getting to Hebden Bridge but it wasn’t enough to get the waterproofs on. But the sky was very threatening. Hebden was it’s usual self, very busy. But today even more so because there was a Vintage festival on in the park. We was going to go and have a wander round the park but we wasn’t going to pay £5 a head to get in. As there were numerous stalls and food vendors which we would have made purchases from we don’t think that paying for the privilege of spending money is very fair. IMO. 

                             

Pavement Painter

Back on the canal and heading east for Sowerby Bridge. It was getting very warm and we made numerous stops to take on liquid.

                              

There are many people living full time on the Narrow Boats here and around Hebden and although there are some quite unusual structures like the one above, there are also many that are an absolute eyesore and should be removed.

We stopped for a chat to the owners of a boat having just come through the lock and Sheila did the good thing of closing the locks for them.

I found this caption quite funny but others didn’t. I don’t know why! Ha

Just before we reached Mytholmroyd the towpath was closed for work being carried out. The diversion was through the town. I was glad i had taken a large scale street map. It came in handy.

Above is the war memorial that has recently been refurbished after it had been mindlessly vandalised. Eventually we found the canal again.

Looking back to the Old Brandy Wine pub in Luddenden Foot.

 Sowerby Bridge Lock known as “The Deep Lock"

 This marks the end of the Rochdale Canal. East of here it joins the Calder and Hebble Navigation.
It had been a good walk and after a quick couple of pints of shandy. Yes honest guv it was shandy. We caught the train back home.

The backpack is still leaning against the wall. Waiting to go.