Brodie stopped a few feet below me and gave me a look: ‘so, who were you calling old?’ she seemed to be asking. I was picking my way hesitantly down Grindsbrook Clough, a pretty steep rocky path that hugs the brook and wends its way off Kinder Low, back down to Edale, which was not yet visible below us. My right knee and Achilles tendon were both aching a bit so Brodie had to stop every few yards or so to wait for me to catch up with her (she was on the extendable lead so didn’t really have a choice). Jenny was ahead of us and Karl behind, all of us watching out for especially slippy rocks.