A weekend at Dovestones

Silva simi light review.

The Silva Simi is a small lightweight lamp. Made originally for cycling.

I found it to have a number of other uses than what it was designed for.
The lamp itself weighs only 16 grams and that includes the two cr2032  batteries that power 3 LED bulbs giving off 17 lumens.
The light has two functions, constant or strobe.
Battery life is stated at 100 hours when on strobe and 24 hrs on constant.

The case and clip is tough plastic with a silicone strap. Waterproofing is IPX6 std which is splashproof.
Size, 30mm diameter x 20mm thick.
It's available in white light or red light. The white light is what i have.

I found it to be an excellent tent light, easily fastening to my roof clip, giving off plenty of light to cook, read and find gear in the rucksack.

With it's stretchy silicone strap it is easily fitted onto a walking pole handle, illuminating in front of you and warning any oncoming traffic of your presence.

It can also be fastened to the front or rear of your rucksack, again for those night hikes.

It doesn't take much imagination either, that with a piece of 3mm bungy cord you can turn this into a lightweight head torch and because it is designed for cycles, the light is adequate.
Oh yes. You can also use it on your bike.

For such a tiny piece of kit I think it's fantastic and has now replaced my trusty Petzl e-light.
Cost is quite variable and worth checking out prices on numerous websites but max price is around £7.
 I paid £2.99 from Dash4it in conjunction with a map purchase.

You may also be interested in the Silva Tyto light which is similar. Click Here.

Circuit around Dovestones.

We had a few hours to spare and decided to have a walk around Dovestones reservoir. Upon arrival the clagg was really low. We had no gear to head off into the clouds but at least the reservoirs were clear. With slight mizzle we bravely left the car and headed off in an anti clockwise direction or for those who have only known digital timepieces that's going right to left. For those who don't know their left from their right please stay off the hills.

Its quite a busy old place with very few parking spaces left at 10.30 am. The walking is easy and the scenery is lovely when its not covered in mist.
Here are a few photo's from the walk.

 Dovestones reservoir.

 Doormouse

 Dovestones below Yeomans Hey.

 Looking across Yeomans Hey reservoir.

 Crossing over at Yeomans Hey Reservoir.

 Skylark

Looking back towards Greenfield Reservoir

Route just about 4 easy miles.

Delph and Castleshaw circuit.

Saturday 27th May 2017
This weekend was our Wedding Anniversary. Two years gone so quickly.
We booked a hotel we knew and liked and not far from home.
Anyway we went to Delph, and so i planned a circular walk just in case we fancied doing one.
It was a scorcher of a day and a walk had to be done.
Delph is a small village within the control of Oldham. It's a lovely place with a good atmosphere and lots of old mills and interesting buildings relating to the industry of wool spinning and printing.

Our circuit started at the excellent Old Bell Inn which is in the Guinness Book of records for having the most bottles of Gin, and proceeded through the carriage archway that used to be Lumb's Mill, then followed the River tame into the village centre passing numerous smaller mills and workshops on route.
At the bridge which carries the main King Street,  there is a cottage with a high water level stone which shows the water height from the floods of 1872.

Spot the height stone.

Following closely the River Tame, this valley is a delight to walk, especially on such a sunny day. Fields full of wild flowers dominated by lush green and yellow. Beyond Pingle Mill the huge old stonework of Linfitts Mill can still be seen hiding away in the undergrowth. These mills and this whole area would have been alive with activity during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many signs of industry can still be seen in the leats, sluices and filled in mill ponds. A number of old water wheels and mill stones can also be found.

Crossing the tame and climbing up to a car track, passed three old cars in need of restoration tucked away in a barn protected by a Doberman.

 The Tame valley

 Name that car? *

The unmistakeable Rolls.

We walked through a small hamlet just south of Slackcote which again was a joy to view. Renovation of the buildings done with a sympathetic eye. Across the busy and fast Denshaw Rd we crossed pretty meadows alongside a newly mowed cricket pitch and up to the now redundant church of St Thomas at Friarmere built in 1765 which has been in our view on the skyline for a while.
The Royal Oak pub next to the church was unfortunately closed, we were too early for opening time.

 Stones from Linfitts Mill

 Cricket ground with the church on the skyline.

 Lush Meadows of clover and buttercup dominating

 St Thomas Friarmere at Heights.

Royal Oak Pub at Heights built 1767, two years after the Church.

We had a meander at this point, taking a right at the pub instead of going to the left, it was quickly rectified and the mistake only cost us 5 minutes.
Just passed the pub we took a stile on the right that led us down to Grange and the minor road that gives a view to our next objective of Castleshaw reservoir and the Roman Fort to it's right.

 Looking back towards Delph.

 Looking back up the minor road from Grange. Our route is over the stile on the right.

Castleshaw Reservoir.

Following the minor road on the east side of the reservoir and turning onto Dirty Lane we entered the gate which leads to the Roman Fort (remains off). This is worth a visit alone if you like this kind of history. Built about AD.79 and abandoned about AD120. There are a couple of information boards and the footings of the walls, courtyards etc can be made out. Excavations were carried out in 1897 and in 1907/8.

The area of the fort.

Leaving this most interesting area we ascended the hillside to meet up with the A62 road near to Saddleworth Hotel at Hunters Hill. At this point the sky was increasingly becoming black. The thunder was rumbling around but no lightening. Heavy droplets of rain splattered the wide track and also our shirts. Our pace quickened but luckily the cloud was heading in the opposite direction so apart from getting slightly damp we didn't use waterproofs. The breeze increased too and it wasn't long before we could see the rain falling were we had been 10 minutes earlier.

 Along Harrop Edge.

 Here comes the rain again.

 Looking down into the Diggle Valley from Lark Hill Lane.

 W.H.Shaw Mill with the canal and railway just beyond.

Lark Hill Lane descends from harrop Edge to Diggle, it is very rough, steep in parts and is showing signs of just how much use this route gets. Care is needed. Once across the A670 it's a nice easy stroll to reach the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. We stopped at the lock in the image below for lunch, enjoying the sunshine now that the rain had moved on.

Huddersfield narrow Canal.

We followed the towpath on the south side until we reached the spot where the railway bridge crosses the A670 road. At this point we made use of the good cafe for a coffee and cake.

It was noisy, with kids screaming loudly and parents ignoring the racket. They are now obviously deaf due to being subjected to this noise every day. For us it was beyond our patience and we quickly left. The coffee and cake was however excellent.

A quick scan of the map had us crossing the canal and making our way onto the Delph Donkey Track, a now disused railway line which terminates at Delph. The track was in use from 1849 until 1963. Where the name originates is still unsure. 

The track still has numerous information boards and being level walking soon brought us back to our start point in Delph. On the way we came across the most wonderful Bracket Fungi i have ever seen.

 One of a number of information boards on the Delph Donkey railway line.

 Stunning bracket fungi.

 Who goes there!

Delph Donkey Station.

OUR ROUTE. Starting just below the name Delph on the top map. 

It took us just over 5 hours. With 2 short stops but with numerous photograph pauses. It is a lovely route and well worth doing.

* Dawn thinks it may be a Bugatti.
I first thought it may be a Bean but i now think it might be a Morris Cowley.
Any other suggestions most welcome.

Scotland and the not so brave.

We planned this Scotland trip in November last year. We had been looking forward to a four day backpack with a day in Oban and then a day somewhere else at the end of our walk before heading back home.
It didn't come to fruition.
We were leaving home last Friday, but the day before I walked the 9.5 miles into Manchester with a few miles wandering around to buy a gas canister.
During the day I had a bit of a sore spot in the roof of my mouth, I thought nothing of it and on getting home applied some numbing gel and forgot about it.
We set off for Tyndrum early Friday morning before the rush hour started and it wasn't too long before my mouth was really sore.
Leaving the car in Tyndrum we got the train to Oban where we were to start a walk up Loch Etive and spend some time having a look at Glen Noe and Glen Kinglass.
We checked into Oban hostel and looked at the TGO Challenge sign out sheet to see who had set off. There was a surprising few withdrawals too.
During the evening the pain in my mouth was getting ridiculous, like every tooth in my upper jaw had toothache. I took quite a few pain killers and anti inflammatory pills. They didn't help much.
I didn't drop off to sleep until 2.30 am and was awake at 5.30am.
I checked dentists, none open Saturday. I checked the Walk in clinic, not open Saturday. We went to a chemist and found out that the hospital has a dental dept but it didn't open until 1.00pm.
We had booked the train to Taynuilt and it left at 12.11pm.
The decision was made. We would get the train all the way back to Tyndrum and give it 24 hrs to see if there was any improvement. If not we were going home.
I was not in a good place at this time.
We pitched the tent on By the Way site and went to bed.
We had a few hours needed sleep. The mouth however was now quite swollen as well as painful.
Eventually the morning came and I decided to give it until tomorrow. After all it was Sheila's holiday.
We drove to Bridge of Orchy, parked and walked the West Highland Way to Forest Lodge and then down to Clashgour Hut in Kinglass. Then walked the return.
We bumped into 3 challengers. Denis Cullen, Lindy Griffiths and Tom from Minnesota. We also walked passed Bertie, Mick and Gayle's beautiful camper van.
Monday morning brought about the obvious decision that I had to get my mouth looked at. We packed up very quietly at 6.30 am and set off home. Sheila rang my dentist and I managed to get an emergency appointment.
Being a little succinct here, 4 dentists looked at my mouth and were stumped at what they saw. There was a lot of whispered talk, prodding, X-rays and the diagnosis was 'erm we don't know but it's not an ulcer, it's not an abscess and it's not a dodgy tooth or jaw, it's a swelling caused by something else but I think I can confidently say it's not cancer.
They took photographs and were  sending them off somewhere for analysis. And thats where we are today although the pain has decreased.
Such a shame for Sheila as holidays are precious. I feel a let down.

A milestone gratefully achieved.

 500,000 hits to the blog. Never did i expect such a fantastic response from humble beginnings.  Thanks so much everyone for your support, your comments especially and the advise i have been given over the years. Blogging is a great way to pass on and to receive points of view and i for one am always open to learn.
From the blog i have met and become friends with many people, it's been a fantastic journey.
Thanks again.👍

TGO Challenge 2017

It soon comes round again and this Friday see's the start of the 2017 crossing of Scotland. Sheila and I will be in Scotland between Oban and Tyndrum, roughly during the first week. So we wish all challengers a wonderful time and a safe crossing. We hope that we will bump into a few late starters at some point along the way.
Enjoy.
I have booked good weather so no need to worry.

This is what the Challenge is about. 

(As well as the camaraderie and not forgetting a wee dram or two.)