Baslow Birchin Edge RFM Blue Line Walking with Lacey

 

Baslow Birchin Edge 

RFM Blue Line 

Walking with Lacey

23/03/26



This walk was designed more than anything to get a decent ascent out of a Monday walk to start building for the CtC. It just happens that Lacey was free so she joined me on this complicated but interesting walk near Baslow. 5 hills and 3 edges in onewalk.

We started off in Baslow on a dull but warm late March morning.
This guy was powering up the very steep incline as this walk starts with a big hill.


Up the hill on the quiet lane we pushed the views getting better and better as we climbed.



We passed below the Wellington memorial but couldn't see it for the trees.




We followed Blackstone Edge but from its base forest not from the top. This was a wonderfully dreamy world of tussock grass, fallen branches, bare tangled trees and green moss. Even with the OS app the path was hard to follow and we detoured more than once. Mystical beasts surely live here.






As the forest thinned out we came across a ruined building complex probably a water-mill. We could follow the route of the water for the mill all the way up to a dam with water still trapped. No idea when the mill was built or what was being milled but it was fascinating to follow the clues in the landscape.


Reaching the path junction near the roadworks we went off to the left up the moor. Wide and wet in total contract to the woods. We would be back here later.

The mud was drying up as Lacey said it hadn't rained for a couple of weeks now. Big Moor across the valley lived up to its name and looked just great. I recalled the couple of times I had crossed that moor with Peter and on my own.


We follwed an edge with no name round to the trig point on Birchin Edge. we would visit this again later.




Then it was down off the edge and across the wet fields to the Three Men (3 cairns) where we had our coffee break and snacks with Baslow below us in the valley but we were not going back there just yet.



We followed Gardome's Edge all the way back around to the path junction where the roadworks were.
We passed a lady with 2 dogs who chatted for a while. In fact because we were doing a complicated walk in a small area the people we passed we tended to repass on some other part of the route.




On this loop it was up to the trig point and then right along Birchin Edge.


This was more of an edge with a bit of a drop. We soon found the Nelson Memorial and the 3 ships, (tors). I gave Lacey a little talk about Dratmoor tors and Derbyshire tors being both made from granite. A nugget to keep or forget.


The way off the edge was vertiguous but passable with care. I think Laceys legs were tiring a little. Only 2 more hills to go.
Near the Robin Hood pub we met a couple of older ladies who were map reading their way to the Wellington Memorial. They had gone wrong at the start and had to retrace to the pub. We had a nice little chat about maps and OS apps but I feel she was not going to change from the map.


Then we were up the steep hill past Moorside farm. This was a cheeky little hill that took our breath away it was so steep.



The route down to the Sheffield road was rocky but easy to follow. The road was closed as they were painting white lines. 



The path descended to the footbridge over the Bar Brook. The view from the bridge was good. We both agreed views of streams are cool and interesting. Water gives movement and life.

Then it was up a last steep hill to the top of Raddowhole Plantation. This again was an ordeal as the steepness tested our stamina.



Finally it was back into Baslow the car and home but not before calling at our favourite cafe at Grindleford for a coffee and cake.

This had been a complicated but lovely walk with Lacey. We chatted with lots of people and talked about all sorts of things. I like walking on my own but I also like walking with Lacey. The 91/2 miles is a good walk but the 1700 feet ascent make it a good training walk for the CtC. Remember the Helvelyn walk is a 3500 ascent so there is still some way to go to get to that level of fitness.

OS map

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/22549669/baslow-birchin-edge?lat=53.25508&lon=-1.61263&zoom=13.2589&overlays=os-obstacles-layer&style=TopoAuto&type=2d


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