An impressive turnout of 18 New Year walkers left the dawn mist of the Rushup Edge car park to venture along the ridge of Mam Tor. However the strong breeze experienced in the car park quickly turned into a wild gale approaching Mam Tor with several walkers struggling to keep their feet on the ground. The first part of the group found shelter between Mam Tor and Hollins Cross and descended early into Castleton whilst the rest decided to return to the car park and find a more stable route into Castleton. The two sub-groups rejoined and initiated "plan B" to join the original route just north of Hope. The group decide to try and succeeded in climbing to a windy Win Hill, then proceeded along to Aston and Brough. The return leg included the Navio Roman Fort and followed the rather muddy path south of Castleton and then along the Limestone Way to return to the car park. Overall an enjoyable walk with credit to having a lead and back stop throughout the walk and everyones' flexibility to adapt to the challenging conditions.   

Regards

Michael Magee

 

Walk sadistics and GPS errors due to wind:

 

The high winds not only blew our party to bits but they upset my GPS. I got accurate altitude readings leaving Mam Nick for the fort and at the North Gate of the fort where we took shelter but in between the readings were 'all over the place', recording ascents we did not do to heights we did not attain. I got a similar problem on Winn Hill - recorded as 482m instead of 462m yet the reading for our lunch stop a few hundred metres downhill was correct. All my readings or the rest of the walk were correct too. Therefore my GPS stats are 14 2/3 miles distance (including a couple of out and backs - 3-400m in total) and somewhere in the region of 3,000 to 3,100ft ascent (and not the 3,700ft my GPS said!).

 

South Manchester walks tend to loose a couple of members but this walk set new records. 18 members left the car park. Within 650m we had lost 6 people - 1/3rd of our group. We then lost Richard at Hollins Cross. We reunited with the 'missing 6' at Castleton and gained Nicolletta just north of Hope - she had parachuted out of her flight from Genoa to join us! So we finished with 18 people somehow.  

 

Duncan Smith  

 

Photos to follow (still working on them)