Grindleford area. First post-COVID lock down walk after 3 months of "Stay at Home" restrictions. Started from Grindleford Station. Ascended the trail next to the Staton Cafe east up to Oak's Wood tuning south to Tumbling Hill (where I followed some deer for a while attempting to get a good photo with my phone). Continued south into Hay Wood (at the rear of the Grouse Inn), to the National Trust Froggatt Parking lot. Continued south on Froggatt Edge to Curbar Edge. At the Curbar Gap National Trust Parking Lot, turned west and descended into Curbar, down to the River Derwent. Crossed the bridge near the Bridge Inn to the Calver Mill, and then north on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, through the Horse Hay Coppice, to Grindleford Village. Continued north on the DVHW through Coppice Woods to the trail crossing that turns west to Kettle House. Then turned south through Rough Wood, and back to Grindleford Station.
Total Tome: 6 Hours, 3 Minutes; Total Distance: 19.4km; Total Ascent: 1,670m; Average Moving Speed: 4.7kph
Primary training objectives for this walk were to 1) add timing experience to pacing, and 2) take special note of commonly observed lichens for identification and study. The long straight and relatively flat trail along Froggatt Edge and Curbar Edge allowed multiple iterations of timing compared to pacing. Compared consistent pacing of 60 paces per 100m with a stop watch, timing iterations of 100m, 200m, 300m, and 400m stretches. Average times for 100m: 1.05 minutes, 200m: 2.11 minutes; 300m: 3.18 minutes; 400m: 4.28. I do need to moderate my pace as my moving time for this walk averaged 4.7kph. I have joined the Rochdale Ramblers and have been told that the average walking group walks at about 2kph.
Walk planning started with a review of weather forecasts on the Met Office web site (Eyam Youth Hostel), MWIS, and BBC weather. All were in agreement for sunny weather with high around 17C, less than 5% chance of rain, and light winds.
Route Planning was conducted, first using OS OL 24 Map for overview, then using the OS mapping software on my computer to plan the route and print off blown up views of the 1/25,000 maps in A4 size sheets for ease of use in the field. I carried both the full OL1 map and the individual sheets, but use the individual sheets to track my progress on the trail. I carried a Silva Expedition 4 compass, but really did not need it in this case. I also carried a GPS (SatMap active20), which stayed in my pack to create the attached .gpx file for this log.
Area :
Dark Peak
Is situated between Sheffield and Manchester. The underlying rock is Millstone grit which is often exposed at the edge of the higher peat bogs for which the area is famous.
