Youlgreave YHA weekend

Last Friday, after the epic 24 hour lecture,  we set off for Youlegreave and our annual Youth Hostel weekend with our friends in Sheffield City Morris. Good meal when we got there - beef stew and mashed potato followed by apple crumble and custard. Just the sort of comfort food you want after staying up all night. Usual session/beer/wine evening followed

 and then off to bed in our bunks with 8 of us sharing. I slept like a log, unsurprisingly and had to be woken up for breakfast and hadnt noticed 7 people getting up and dressed round me.

Beautiful sunny day, and saw the Youth Hostel for the first time - a converted shop:

We gathered by the water butt oppsoite to set off on our 3 different walks.

and we chose the one that went down Lathkilldale and had a pub in the middle. Set off to the River Bradford

 with its swimming area and salmon weirs, and it was a lovely walk along it, past some angry geese who tried to see us off

 and into Lathkilldale - one of my favourite dales - it really is spectacular, especially in the sun.

Loads of spring flowers out, crocuses, snowdrops etc. Then we climbed the valley into Over Haddon, past a house who I think were try to tell us they had a dog in every language:

This was my favourite:

and on to the Lathkill Hotel, where we enjoyed a nice pint, overlooking the valley we'd just walked down

Back down the valley, and straight up the other side. Quite a climb, but worth it when we got into the fields and were able to sit down and eat our packed lunch.

Over some undulating fields, and we were back in Youlegreave in time for a walk round the village.
Normally we're miles form anywhere in our hostels, but those time we were next door to a pub, so time for a pre dinner session where we were joined by a pipe player from a Kletzmer weeekend which was happening in the village and two banjo players who happened to be passing.

 

After dinner, another session, and we had the obligatory  "I wish I'd looked after me t*ts" which Lizzie loves her mother performing so much

Quite a late night, and I think brandy was consumed. Either that or it evaporated as the bottle was empty in the morning.

Another walk inthe morning, along Lathkilldale again, with some amazing colours in the river

Back for lunch in the pub, and off home. Another great weekend.

Gradbach Weekend

Just got back from a great weekend with Sheffield City Morris and assorted hangers on (including us), at Gradbach Youth Hostel.  Usual Friday night of turning up, eyeing up the bunk-beds, finding the showers, sharing nibbles and pre-dinner drinks and a meal provided by the hostel. Slight deviation from the norm was that one phase of the power supply to the hostel had gone, so some lights, sockets, heaters and showers worked, Some very cold, light bedrooms, some very dark warm ones. We had a cold, light one!  More importantly, parts of the kitchen weren’t working so the staff had to improvise, which they did very well!

After dinner, the usual gathering in the common room for singing, playing, monologues and assorted entertainment.  Highlights included a dancing, drunk panda, and the first outing of a certain person’s banjo…..


Next morning we were up early for a cooked breakfast, and the arrival of Electricity North West, who were given a round of applause! We had two walks to choose from. We went on the smaller walk to Three Shires Head where the Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire meet at a bridge and a waterfall. The story goes that criminals could escape the law by crossing the bridge to a different county. After a coffee break we climbed up (very, very up) onto Wolf Edge where we had a great view of The Roaches. Then we dropped down slightly into Flash, the highest village in the UK for a packed lunch and a quick pint and a sit down at the pub.

Instead of taking a direct route back to the hostel (that would have been too easy), we climbed some more, saw some interesting sheep (these are called Zwartbles…),

 and crossed many bogs. We only had one casualty who went up to her knees in boggy water but luckily didn’t lose her boots.  Got back after a 9 mile walk for tea and cake. This was closely followed by nibbles and gin and tonic!
Another hostel cooked meal, and more merry making later. We had songs, tunes, monologues, comedy turns, classical violin pieces, poems  - we’re a very versatile and talented crowd! Even the panda put in another appearance.

On Sunday some of us went on a shorter walk – about 4 miles – to take in Lud's Church.  More climbing (of course), and after a couple of miles we reached a deep, dark chasm which you have to climb down into– quite spooky but fascinating. Lud’s Church is definitely a place to visit, and the pictures don’t really do it justice.

Then a walk across a ridge, and a steep drop down, and we were back at the hostel, for another packed lunch which despite it being February we ate in the garden.

A great weekend with some great walking and good company. There’s some more pictures here if anyone’s interested.

Weekend in Castleton

Great weekend away with Sheffield City Morris and hangers on (including us). Stayed in the Rotary Club Centre in Castleton. A bit basic - bunkbeds and shared showers, but perfectly good enough for a walking weekend.

 Arrived on Friday evening, straight off train from Edinburgh from UCISA conference, hoping everything I needed was in the case I'd had to pack nearly a week before. Some home cooked food awaited us, cooked by the volunteer warden, Jeremy, who spent the weekend looking after all 40 odd of us. Then it was down to the traditional entertainment - a proper ceilidh with some songs, tunes, dancing, and even a monologue or two. Nearly everyone took a turn at doing something, even if it was only helping to get rid of the two barrels of beer provided! A late night in the bunks, and then an early rise, but a good cooked breakfast courtesy of Jeremy again.

The next day we had the choice of four different walks - given where we were all of them included a lot of "up". I prefer to get all of my climbing done at the beginning of the walk, and I don't like going up more than once, so we chose the walk which only had one climb, at the beginning. From the centre, up to Hollins Cross, along the Ridge Walk to the top of MamTor, and on to Cave Dale. 

A stiff climb, but well worth it for the views at the top. Down into Castleton one side, and Edale the other. You get a good view of Mam Tor (the Shivering Mountain), and the collapsed road. In 1979 the council gave up the battle of maintaining and keeping open the A625 road to Chapel en le Frith after numerous landslides.

It was very windy and cold on the top, but we managed to eat our packed lunch sheltering in a hollow behind a wall. Cave Dale was a bit slippy so we made a bit of a detour into Castleton, but some great views of Peveril Castle.

 Then to The George for a well earned pint, and time for a walk round Castleton, and some retail therapy. I bought a pink fleecy headband with fake diamonds. Just the thing for cold ears!

Back to the centre, and a short rest, and then before dinner a demonstration morris dance, learned that afternoon by some lads on a stag weekend with us.   A good meal of meat and potato pie and crumble (not much good for my diet, but I coped!), and then another ceilidh.  This time we had a performance by those members of the Sheffield Folk Chorale who were with us, and a monologue about looking after a certain part of your anatomy! More dancing, including the obligatory Strip the Willow, and we sang The wedding Song to the soon-to-be bridegroom.

Another late night, and another early morning with bacon and egg for breakfast. As we had to be out of the centre by 11, and leave it clean, there was a flurry of activity from cleaning the loos to mopping the main hall floor whcih 3 of us tackled. Then we had to speed back to Sheffield as Yorkshire Chandelier (my dance team) were performing at Nether Edge farmers' market.