Old Glossop to Bleaklow RFM Blue Line Walking with Peter

 

Old Glossop to Bleaklow 

RFM Blue Line 

Walking with Peter

17/07/25

Next week Peter and I are starting the Coast to Coast west to east. This route was planned to be tough. Look at the contours from the bottom of Moorside up to Yellow Slacks and in a very short distance (about 1/2 mile)  there is a height gain of about 900 feet. In other words its steep. Should be an interesting 4 hours ahead.

We left the cars parked on a council house estate at the base of  Shire Hill. The lane almost immediately gave us an excellent view of a young thrush.

Glossop sits in the valley below as we skirt the west side of the woods on Shire Hill.

The start of this tough climb is of course a path down to the stream below Moorside. We passed a young lady running slowly up the hill and exchanged friendly greetings. On the bridge crossing the stream a guy of our generation was doing some exercises in the early morning (before 8 o'clock) dampness. It wasn't raining but it had been so everything was wet. We had a chat and went on our way.  We may be on the wrong side of the hill but the locals are still friendly.

The lane leading to the hills was a gentle slope but we could see the challenging Pennines looming above us in the dank atmosphere. Don't you just love Shetland ponies.

The start of the hill a grassy steep slope. 

Of these 4 photos the first 3 show how Glossop dissolves into the distance below as we climb higher. Each photo represents the 3 stops we had to take to get out breaths back. I have been doing these hills all summer so I was aware that Peter had less hills in his legs and I know how tough this was but he kept up with his normally doggedness. He is an ironman in disguise. The last photo of the hill to our left showed some kind of human activity on the tops. Peter speculated it may be lead workings and I wondered if it went back to Roman times. We couldn't tell and didn't know that later in the walk we would be walking through the quarries on our way back to Old Glossop.

The path followed the edge above Yellowslacks but this was more a very steep slope than what we know as edges such as Bamford Edge. The misty weather was dull but the upland views were wonderful.

Looking back down Yellowslacks Brook towards Glossop. The route was still ascending but more gently, for now.

The path was harder to find as it crossed diagonally across the slope. Looking down to our right it was a long steep slope to the valley below.

Then the traverse got more serious as we started to see more and more rocks. The drop off to our right became of greater concern. In places it was a careful picking of the right rock to stand on and the one to stride over. On the photo on the left you can just make out the path running across the hill. Not a path for the feint hearted. There are a lot of them in the Pennines.

The rocks sticking out of the edge became more dramatic and the edge more edge like. The head of the valley a delightful horseshoe shape with the flat moorlands above in the steely sky.

We think this is Dog Rock although we had previously identified at least 2 others as the same. It doesn't really matter as they were all part of the doughtily named Dowstone Clough. It just sounds hard.

We found a natural bench and although the wind was high and there was mizzle in it we decided to stop for a coffee before entering the moor. Not a bad view for a morning break.

A last look down the valley and then it was on to Shelf Moor. The slabs of sedimentary rock over which ran the babbling brook brought the ever present Mr Ellerby to mind as we grappled between, sandstone, granite and millstone. He'd have known, we didn't. Should have paid more attention in class.

The thing with moors is that they are wet, big, flattish and hard to cross even when there are paths. Shelf Moor was no exception and the way was confusing and boggy. The weather was perfect for a moor, miserable. At least it wasn't raining.

You need things to head towards so the Wain Stones were a godsend although we still had to take a very circuitous route to get there.

The Wain Stones also known as the Kissing Stones held no interest other than as direction indicators to us.

On the map the next high point marked was simply marked as Cairn. As this fitted the bill we headed off towards it from the stones again trying to follow an almost unfollowable path. It goes without saying you have to be careful up on the moors and we both agreed not safe for a lone traveller.

We eventually came to the Pennine Way but the path was hardly any better.

Down Wild Boar Grain along the Pennine Way boulder hopping once the flags ran out we headed towards Torside Castle.

The Pennine Way makes a right angle towards Clough Edge but our path is towards Glossop. 

We have sat on this perch above the gulley on several occasions to have a coffee, food and rest.

We passed the small mound of Torside Castle on our right. I mentioned that I would look it up when I got home. I have and it is not a castle, not even a hill fort but merely a flat mound on the moor. There is no evidence of human activity at all on the mound. Probably the most disappointing castle in the UK.
The moor was flattish misty and had many gullies running through it we had to negotiate. Not little gullies but great steep sided boggy obstacles. The human activity here seemed to be all about peat recovery by damming the gullies which gave us a wet passage. Where stones had been used for the damming it made getting across much easier.

We may have left Bleaklow proper but this was definitely bleak. I followed the figure on to the hill top. Peter waiting in the gloaming.

At this point we were about at the top of Glossop Low and the path left the moor and set off on a long slope down over Cock Hill into Old Glossop. There were still wet patches but the real peat bog was behind us. Human activity was much more in evidence and these 2 lambs exploring the ruins soon ran off to mum as we approached. 

We could see 5 hikers with big back packs through the mist coming towards us but about 500 meters north of us. At first we thought these were Duke of Edinburgh kids but they were our age. We never got to talk so we could only speculate on their mission for the day.

Up here we also met a guy on our path heading up onto the moor. He was a friendly local and had a great demeanour. We both thought he would be fun to walk with. Any way he was actually the first person we had come across since the guy on the bridge at the bottom of the first hill apart from seeing the group of 5.

Here there was a mystery. When you looked at the streets and houses on the hillside in the far distance they all seemed to be leaning over at an unusual angle.  Obviously there was some optical illusion going on but it was really weird.

We reached the quarry at Cock Hill we had seen earlier on our way up. Our speculation was wrong the quarry known as Glossop Low Stone Quarry started in the C16th but mainly operated in the C19th was known for stone, paving flags and roof flags. Most of Glossop being roofed in its stone slates. By the way, by now the horizon had gone back to normal. Weird.

The fields were rough pasture with occasional sheep. The walls though substantial were in a state of dis-repair. 

The next slope down was between 2 high walls. We worked out this must be the quarry road. Jokingly we discussed a character called Mulrooney who in the C19th had been instructed to build the walls and build them high. He got the job done but they could have been better built as they were all falling down. As you go along these industrial heritage structures it is amazing how much effort they put into their construction.  

Slowly we were coming off the hill.

As we started to approach the town the mill buildings started to become easier to see and the fields were filling with cows young and old.

On the last steep drop into the town we passed a few walkers on the way up. They looked more like locals than ramblers, no back packs. We decided to detour to the church we could see in the bottom. It was only a street away from the planned route.

The Church was shut. We had a chat with the man with the dog just visible in the church photo and he said it was normally open and was beautiful inside. We'll have to come back. The dog was super friendly and instantly fell in love with Peter. The guy asked if we had done the Devils Gate and described where it went. We hadn't but agreed we would come back and do it. When I looked on the map it is actually called the Doctor's Gate and as it is a Roman road we are definitely coming back.

This C15th market cross is an excellent survivor but note it was moved and restored in the C19th. The shaft is original. The cross put on top in 1912. This is also close to the start of the Doctors Gate Road which lead off from the original much larger market square.

This is a fine area with old buildings and a small, at this time of year, stream.

We were not done yet and had to cross through some farm land and at the back of a municipal park with its football fields and swings to the estate where we had parked.

On the way back to the car we could see in the distance the hill and path up it where the climb had started. This was dog walking country and we passed plenty. Every one was cheery and chatty, which is always great.

Although quite a tough walk this walk because of the feature-less mist shrouded moor seemed to be less interesting than other walks. It was still a great adventure and I am still perplexed at the angled horizon we saw from the top of Glossop Low. Weird.

10.06 miles

1830 feet ascent

4.4         hours mins walking time

2.16         mph