Bleaklow and Shelf Stones from Oyster Clough
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A wet start with zero visibility on the tops , turning to glorious sunshine and clarity .Winter waterproofs to T-shirt , and dead reckoning to line of sight navigation . A normal day on the hills then.Because of the forecast I'd left the route fairly loose , and at the end crossed on the diagonal to join Doctors Gate , and came back down the road rather than the forestry path since the sun was out. It is equally possible to avoid the Pennine Way and the Snake totally , and cross the moors back to Lady Clough .The choices are many .
Parking available at Birchin Clough Bridge.Crossing to Alport is a pain in conditions like this when alone . The moor is featureless , and there is usually nothing to take a bearing on . So you tend to wiggle a lot . Much easier to take a companion and front mark .The crucial thing is to locate the gully leading to the head of Nether Reddale Clough . Today it turned out easier to navigate to the dale edge , and follow it up .I would not depend on any GPS for navigation up here , especially when the cloud is down.
Parking available at Birchin Clough Bridge.Crossing to Alport is a pain in conditions like this when alone . The moor is featureless , and there is usually nothing to take a bearing on . So you tend to wiggle a lot . Much easier to take a companion and front mark .The crucial thing is to locate the gully leading to the head of Nether Reddale Clough . Today it turned out easier to navigate to the dale edge , and follow it up .I would not depend on any GPS for navigation up here , especially when the cloud is down.