Irontongue Hill RFM Blue Line Walking with Peter

 

Irontongue Hill

RFM Blue Line 

Walking with Peter

2510/2025

This walk started in the village of Carrbrook near Stalybridge.We compared notes on the journey over Saddleworth from Yorkshire and both agreed the thick fog and light rain was a nightmare to drive through in the early morning darkness. This prompted us to decide that this would be the last high level walk of the season unless the forecast was for a sunny day. The hills have a magnetism of their own.

We followed the Pennine Bridleway up to Slatepit Moor. Descriptive names just remind me so much of the early OS surveyors mapping the country, using local names now fossilised in the landscape.

Buckton Vale Quarry in the gloom on the opposite hillside would be our way back down into the village in about 4 hours. Meanwhile the way up was a struggle up a bracken infested hillside along a rocky very wet, almost a stream, path.

Not an easy ascent but it was good to get altitude quickly. Looking back the sky seemed to be brightening but it was misty and drizzling. We were well protected against the wet, I even had changed my shorts for trousers.

We struggled along hard to find paths with the uninviting Irontongue Hill dominating the moor in front of us. We were not going up it but rather this walk was a full circumnavigation of the hill.

The wet path merged into the reservoir road and the walking became a lot easier. 

To our right we could see the Lower Swineshead Reservoir which we had walked past on a previous walk. We joked about the fact that on that walk the dreaded view of Manchester was a major feature. Peter was happy that prospect was unlikely on this walk.

Upper Swineshead Reservoir still has workmen in attendance as did Chew. They don't need to worry as much today about winter arriving as in previous decades.

The ridgeline above Lower Swineshead Reservoir is palnned for a future walk. Looks very inviting.

Passing over Boar Flat we could see Tintwhistle and the Longdendale Valley where we have executed many walks. In fact this little stretch we have walked in the opposite direction a few weeks ago.

We left the lane and entered the true moorland which would be the terrain we crossed for the rest of this walk. A real moorland adventure.

Walking along the top of the Ogden Valley was beautiful but we could see that the higher moorland of our route ahead was shrouded in fog or as we like to call it, atmosphere. 

We crossed the brook at Arnfield Flats enjoying the babbling of the water and the view of the valley. The plank bridge was very slippy and I nearly came a cropper turning round to photograph up the valley.

Like Bleaklow and Rakes Moss the high moor was very atmospheric and it became a bit more of a challenge than a stroll. It was in places very wet but luckily we had no major mishaps although the unrelenting rain and wet ground had thoroughly soaked my socks and my feet were wet.

Over the area of Ornesmoor and the Wilderness this was a foggy stone strewn morass and reminded both of us of the last day of the Pennine Way over the Cheviot in very similar weather conditions. You just cannot see more than a 100 meters and its wet.

Finally after what seemed a never ending ordeal we reached the Edge of the Chew Valley but the fog had made the views merely atmospheric. I think we were both disappointed although we had known for a while that the views were liable to be lost in this murk. Still we knew what it looked like because we had been on the other side of the valley last week.

We traversed Hoarstone Edge and could see the many landslides but not the valley below. We had seen a few vehicles heading up to Chew Reservoir their lights shining through the fog on the opposite hillside. Despite the lack of long views the fog gave its own magic to the scene as we picked our way along the edge. The drop off to our right was considerable and quite vertical in places.

There were a few scrambles on the path like this sandstone face which is interesting when the drop off to the right is so deep. You just have to be careful no slips here. The ghost of Ellerby raised his geographical head a few times on this walk and I am sure he would have connected this sandstone to the quarry at the end of todays walk.

I think this is probably Winberry Stones but I am not sure. This grouse seemed not to notice us in the gloom.

And then a miracle the clouds parted and from these rocks we got lovely views of Dove Stones Reservoir from this high vantage point. The clouds were drifting in and out of the view which somehow made it even more delicious.

Looking down this rock chimney its a long way down to the valley below.

A great view and it definitely made our day.

We followed the track to the trig point on the top of Alphin and lo and behold a distant view of the towers of Manchester through the gloaming cheering my love of views of cities from the hills but not impressing Peter. 

Much of Greater Manchester can be seen from here from Stockport to Oldham but the fog and mist defused the detail of the view.

The welcome trig point was well kept. We set off down the track towards Buckton Vale Quarry our final descent.

Near the quarry were these fungi the like of which I have never seen.

The track off the hill past the old quarries was quite well made after an initial steep rocky path.

We finally met someone on this walk just as it was ending a couple of friendly dog walkers. A Jay flew across in front of us as we crossed this grassy slope.

We passed the duck pond and were back at our cars. 

A wet and foggy walk with moments of hard slog and others of wonderful surprise views. The Pennines are ever giving.

A 9 mile, 4 hour walk with a total ascent of nearly 2000 feet over a mixture of ground but mainly moorland is in any weather not to be sniffed at but in this wet fog was a good achievement.