Dovedale 17-04-2012

Well, here goes with a first attempt at a blog!
As you may or may not be aware, a group of us are going to be attempting to climb the three highest peaks on the UK mainland all in twenty four hours. It still scares me when I hear that, especially the twenty four hours bit. To make sure that none of us collapse or keel over with exhaustion after the first few steps on Ben Nevis, we have all decided to get some form of training and hill walking experience under our belts. The two members of the group who live in the North East and walk up mountains 'just for the fun of it' (and will from this moment on be known as the 'Northern Division'), probably won't need to practice putting one foot in front of the other for several miles up hill. But, walking on an incline in sleet, horizontal rain or blizzard is not for everyone and certainly not something I'd do for a pastime, although I am now kind of warming to the idea. We will all try to get fit for the challenge in our own ways and most of us are at a good level of fitness already, with some entering half marathons, triathlons and rowing events. Me, I'm trying to start from scratch, after years of little or no exercise the goal is to get fit enough to conquer the three peaks and keep up with the rest of the guys. After several weeks I finally feel that I have reached a basic level of fitness to be able to start some serious hiking and hill walking. After a brief visit to Mam Tor in the Peak District to try out waterproofs, boots, legs and lungs, I felt it was time to get a decent walk under my belt.


Dovedale, 17th April.
My first serious walk for 30 years.
Matt and myself arrived at the Dovedale National Trust car park at around 8.45am, Adrian was already there and the rain that had been a constant downfall over night had now stopped...brilliant start, until Adrian mentioned a momentary loss of concentration had caused him to forget his boots. He had spent some time in Ashbourne trying to buy some new ones, but none of the hiking shops were open. Come on Ashbourne camping shops, there must be some money to be made from the more forgetful hiker who turns up in there nightwear or slippers wanting some last minute kit! Thanks to a hire shop, Adrian managed to buy some steel toe capped work boots, at least his toes would be safe from falling rocks. 

All kitted up, we set off from the car park along the river Dove, past Thorpe Cloud towards the Stepping stones. First (and only) disappointment, although we didn't cross the Stepping stones we could see that the recent 'improvements' had ruined 1, the natural look of the stones and 2, the excitement of not knowing if you are going to slip on the wet shiny rock surface and end up in the Dove. Or is that just me? Whatever next, a handrail!! We pressed on, the weather was excellent, not a rain cloud in the sky. Matt had drawn up a route, this was based on a walk from the brilliant website http://www.walkingenglishman.com/ and to keep a track of distance and time we used an 'app' on the iphone, which strangely and surprisingly kept talking to us every now and then, most unnerving when you're not expecting it. The walking was at a decent pace and with it being mainly flat along the side of the river very scenic with an abundance of wildlife. We soon passed through the tiny village of Milldale and on to Shining Tor with no problems, aches, pains or rubbing boots.

Stepping Stones with Thorpe Cloud in the background.

Following the river seemed a bit easy and we felt that although it was all good exercise, it wasn't really testing or pushing us. So, as we approached Iron Tors, across the river Adrian suggested we cross a small bridge where he had seen a tiny path rising to the top of a hill and we use this as a short, sharp introduction to hill walking. He wasn't wrong, the first 20-30 meters of ascent were fine, after that my thighs started burning, but non of us were going to give in on the first hill. We kept going and after a few brief pauses to catch our breath made it to the top of Gypsy Bank where the view was well worth the effort.

The view from Gypsy Bank

The descent from Gypsy Bank was quicker than the ascent (no surprise there), but because of the tiny steps and the steepness of the slope, we avoided the steps and traversed (I'm learning the terms, it means walk across the slope I think, well it sounds good anyway) back down to the river.
After crossing back over the bridge, we carried along the planned route and onto Wolfscote Dale where we decided to stop for something to eat and drink. At the side of the river with only the sound of water flowing and the weather still looking good, it makes you appreciate the British countryside even more. If only the weather would sort it's self out in this country, sun during the day and rain at night...if only. After a 20 minute break we set off again, along the base of Gratton Hill and then past Narrowdale Hill. We were beginning to hit hills and despite some boggy ground, made some good progress onto Alstonefield.

Matt and Adrian point the way forward.
 Narrowdale hill in the background.

After passing through Alstonefield we made our way across several fields and were accosted by a few animals and in particular a small dog that followed us for about a mile, jumping over walls and crawling under styles to keep up with us. Eventually he got fed up with us and wandered of with some other walkers going in the opposite direction, back to where he came from. We began the descent back down to the river Dove and just before Ilam rock we started the ascent to the top of the hill.

The beginning of the descent to the river Dove.

 Again this was a steep climb and following a few short stops to take in some water and air, we made it to the top.Confusion over the right path to follow stopped us walking off straight away, with Matt insisting that someone had moved the wall, even so we pressed on along Ilam Tops. From here it was all downhill...geographically speaking. With some fantastic views from Bunster Hill we descended back down to the National Trust car park at Dovedale. Tired and with a few minor aches and pains we agreed that we had all enjoyed the day.

Statistics:

Distance - 23.25km

Duration - 6hours, 12 minutes and 58seconds.

Average speed - 3.73km/h

Max speed - 5.83km/h

Altitude - 81m / 330m.

Bring on the next one.

Chris.