New Walks in Central Nottinghamshire ... and Beyond

Start: Marsden Finish: Mankinholes Distance:12 miles Total Distance Covered: 40 miles At the Grey Cat in Marsden I had Corn Flakes followed by a full English breakfast to help keep me going on the day ahead.  It was great to have a proper meal to start the day. We set off at 9.50 and left Marsden to rejoin the Pennine Way route soon after.  The Way climbed up to another area of moorland before crossing the M62 on a footbridge.  The bridge had been built relatively recently and we seemed very high over the motorway.  The wind was funnelled through the gap and really blew strongly.   I've been under this bridge many times since and always think back to the time we crossed it. On the other side we stopped for lunch before yet more trudging through moorland, a little wet here, but otherwise it didn't seem too arduous.  However, I had picked up my first blisters of the walk, although they weren't bad ones.  Near Blackstone Edge the ground ...

Start:  Crowden Finish:  Marsden Distance: 12 miles Total Distance Covered: 27 miles I was up at 7.45am the next morning for a breakfast of a vanilla drink concoction made from powder.  We left the campsite at 9.20 and set off along the main path out of the valley.  At some point we managed to drift off the official path and down to Crowden Great Brook.  We walked up the brook itself which although not very fast-flowing was still awkward as we stepped over rocks. Eventually we found a way uphill away from the brook onto some marshy ground and then a further steady climb to the top of Black Hill.  This is a barren wasteland of peat which is the highest point in Cheshire.  Except for the trig point on top it's pretty featureless, although there isn't much "pretty" about it.  There was low cloud by the time we approached the summit and visiblity was severely restricted.  We were able to see a group of two adults and children a little...