Save Butterley Spillway crowdfunding appeal

Butterley Spillway Marsden October 2015

I write a lot about the hills and moors around Marsden and sometimes about the heritage of the area. That heritage has literally shaped those hills and moors, in the form of quarry, road, rail, canal and reservoir.

One of the most obvious examples is the daisy chain of reservoirs that fill the Wessenden valley. What was once a brook used by hunter-gatherers to corral prey, has become a series of reservoirs created in Victorian times. Culminating in Butterley reservoir at the foot of the valley. And that is ‘crowned’ by an impressive spillway. The spillway was given Grade II Listing status on 11th July 1985. If you have ever walked along the Wessenden valley to or from the Peak District or across to Black Hill, or looked around that side of Marsden, as a visitor – you’ll have stopped to look at this impressive structure.

The spillway is under threat and the High Court representation needs funds: https://www.crowdjustice.co.uk/case/beautiful-butterley/

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Inaugural #OutdoorBloggers Weekend

Pheasant on Kinder Scout

A short post this time round.. low on time but high on blog write-up angst. I went along to an #outdoorbloggers weekend a couple of weeks ago and had a great day of walking (up and around Kinder Scout / Downfall) and a nicely social evening, camping in Nether Booth (Edale area).

There are times when I prefer to be solo out on the hills / trails but I’m gregarious at heart so when I spotted an outdoor bloggers weekend / meet-up being organised, I signed up.

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Mountain Warehouse boot recycling #MWreboot

I was contacted by the folks at Mountain Warehouse HQ a week or so back about the ‘Re-boot’ charity campaign they are currently running. If you have an old pair of (serviceable) boots and want to hand them in you can get a discount on a new pair. And if you share that on social media along with your story about what those boots have seen, you have a chance of winning a free pair of boots each week.

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A last look for Lepus Timidus – Mountain Hare ..

Watching out for Mountain Hare in Marsden

I took my two boys to look for the Easter Bunny this weekend. I’ll reframe that (to change the scene in your head): they’re 25 and 21 and we were after Mountain Hare. But the Hares were harder to find than all those badly hidden Easter eggs in the garden over the years. Despite lots of tell-tale Maltesers in evidence (keeping the chocolate theme going), no Hares were seen this time. The lads were home for Easter weekend and we’d set off early in the evening on the final round of the two grid squares I had been allocated for the National Trust annual Mountain Hare survey.

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Mountain Hare Surveying with the National Trust (@marsdenmoorNT)

Millstone Edge Close Moss Marsden Moor hike

I met up with a few other folk (including walking compadre, Jenny) above Marsden, early on Saturday morning. We were going to be shown how to spot for signs of the (elusive, as it happened) Mountain Hare. Signs that will help us complete an NT survey within the individual 1Km squares of Marsden Moor that we have been allocated.

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Hiking navigation skills course – a ‘refresher’.

Marsden Moor National Trust Hike

I’ve just completed a four-part navigation skills refresher* course organised and hosted by Mountainfeet, a great outdoors shop that’s based in Marsden, where I live. The theory being that I’d be relearning some forgotten skills. Learning afresh was more to the point, it was a great course.

The sessions (two indoors/class-based and two on the hills) were led by Keith Saunders. Keith is a retired RAF Navigator and also leads walks with Saddleworth Walking Club so he knows his stuff and is great at explaining things. Which was good, as I realised early on that I was starting from scratch!

* I was taught map and compass skills on a school trip thirty three years ago, during an outward-bounds break in Snowdonia. Starting from the baseline of having an appalling memory, thirty three years of lack of practice essentially equalled zero ability.

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