Pennine Journey (2)

Yesterday I tackled the second phase of my assault on the Pennine Way. This leg of the journey was the section from Crowden to Standedge - but I started in Hadfield and finished in Greenfield, for the simple practicality that both these towns have railway stations.

Here's the profile:


Actually this isn't quite all of it. Where's the Path struggled to generate a profile for 20 miles of hills, so this one peters out somewhere near Diggle. If you'd like to know what the rest of it looked like, imagine three miles of flat towpath. It was bliss.

I've never walked most of this section of Pennine Way before (the bit between Laddow Rocks and Standedge) so it was a bit of an adventure for me.

Actually my whole weekend was spent in the Peak District. Before my Dark Peak adventure yesterday I had a trip to the White Peak on Saturday. We were away at Matlock Town (another game we managed to lose, sigh) but it is a lovely place to visit. And a lovely journey to get there, with many scenic highlights. Here's Frankie at Monsal Head last year:



What a happy little bear!

Hare & Hounds (11)

When I first started my Hare & Hounds Project I imagined it was going to be undertaken in the space of a single year. However my progress wasn't quite as prolific as I'd hoped, so I've extended it into what may well become a Lifelong Quest.

Yesterday I visited this Hare & Hounds:

(As usual, the photo is from Google Streetview.)

This one is in Hurst Cross, just across the road from Ashton United's ground.

We played Ashton United yesterday, the first time we have played here since the August Bank Holiday in 2010 - which is why it has taken me so long to visit this pub. Yesterday was cold and wet, the pitch was claggy in the extreme, and we lost 1-0.

It's a lovely friendly club to visit though. Here are some of the local kids taking penalties at half-time. That little girl was a treasure!


(Photo nicked from Mick Dean. I hope he doesn't mind.)

I hope you all had a happy Easter. I'm back at work now, and our psycho-bitch boss has plans to lock us all up in a room with no windows. She must really, really hate us.

Oh dear.