Due to a last-minute change, our first walk of the year was over the frozen moors of Kinder Scout. Cold, but dry and beautiful!
Our February walk will be a 10 mile circular walk (approx) from Glossop, taking in part of the Pennine Way. We will be getting to Glossop by train; meet at Manchester Piccadilly at 9.00am to catch the 9:18am train to Glossop, returning between 3:30 and 5pm, depending on weather, speed, and what we eat at the end. There are trains every 30 minutes for the return journey.
This walk is the final event in a week of programming to mark the relaunching of the LGBT network at the University of Manchester. Newcomers are welcome! As we are going by train you can just turn up on the day, although we recommend that you give us a mobile phone number to contact in case of last-minute changes.
In contrast to the last two hilly and snowy walks, March's 9-10 mile walk is set in the Hodder Valley in Lancashire, taking in views of the magnificent Stonyhurst College and if time the ruined abbey at Whalley.
We'll be stopping for an afternoon pub lunch this time, at The Three Fishes in Great Mitton.
As the clocks go forward the night before we will catch the 10.00 train to Langho (on the Clitheroe line from Manchester VICTORIA ) in order to start the walk at 11.00 from Langho. The walk will finish at Whalley, the next stop on the line, leaving time for a pub stop before catching the return train at 16.45 getting into Manchester for 17.50.
Meet at 9.40 to allow time to purchase the tickets. Meeting point will be the coffee kiosk opposite the ticket office at Victoria Station.
For April we are shamelessly cribbing a walk in Yorkshire from a website which you can see here: http://www.walkingenglishman.com/dales11.htm
The walk starts from Clapham and ascends to the top of Ingleborough, and we will need to travel by car. We have one car so far, but will probably need one (or perhaps two) additional ones. Please email me if you can provide transport (passengers will of course chip in for petrol); we will ask for confirmation by Friday of people planning to come to ensure that we have a good ratio of cars to walkers.
We plan to meet at Manchester Oxford Road Train Station at 9.00am. It should take 90 minutes to reach Clapham, and the walk is approx 4-5 hours, which puts us back in Manchester around 5pm, assuming a pub stop.
Our April walk from Clapham to Ingleborough was windy but dry. We got some stunning views of the South Yorkshire Dales, and a peek down into an amazing cave, complete with waterfall.
For May we are heading to Windermere in the Lakes District by train. We have planned a 10 mile circular walk (approx).
Meet at Manchester Piccadilly at 9.00am to catch the 9:16 am train to Windermere (direct! arriving at 10:55). There are two direct trains back, one at 16:45 and one at 18:45. We will aim to finish the walk in time to catch the 16:45, but there will also be the option of hanging out at the lakeside for an additional 2 hours for anyone so interested. The train ticket costs £18.80 return.
The route is not expected to be rough but is likely to be muddy in places, and possibly cold - we missed the best weekend for walking by one week!
Our May walk from Windermere to Troutbeck was absolutely fabulous, dry and pleasant. Probably the nicest walk this year so far, with lots of stunning views of lake Windermere and the surrounding hills.
For June, we are heading to Prestatyn in the Lakes District by train on Sunday the 27th. We have planned a 10 mile circular walk, up onto the ridge of the Clwydd range and then down onto the Gronant Dunes Nature Reserve.
Thomas has requested that we eat fish and chips at the end, sitting on the breakwater.
Meet at Manchester Piccadilly information board at 8:10am to catch the 8:27 am train to Prestatyn via Crewe, arriving at 10:16. There is a direct train back at 16:59, arriving in Manchester 18:40, or if we miss that there is a train at 17:49 with a change in Chester that arrives at 19:40.
We had such a fabulous day in Prestatyn last weekend, between the views from the headland, the walk along the beach at low tide, and finally the fish and chips in the park, that we have scheduled another walk in North Wales for July, about 20 miles further along the coast.
We are heading to Llandudno in Northern Wales by train on Sunday the 25th. We have planned a 10 mile walk, up onto the Great Orme, and
then either down along the sand toward Conwy (an historic town) or back toward Colwyn bay via Little Orme, depending on weather, timing, and interest.
We are heading to the Conwy valley of Northern Wales by car and since we are driving, we may not go to Conwy/Llandudno (on the coast), but rather head up the valley a bit and go walking in the higher mountains inland. In either case, we will plan a 10 mile walk.
Meet at OXFORD ROAD train station, in the parking area, on Sunday at 9am (NOTE TIME CHANGE). We should be back in Manchester between 6 and 7pm.
The route is not expected to be rough but may be muddy in places, sandy if we are on the dunes, and possibly windy.
Our August 2010 walk will take place Sunday, 15th August. This marks the movement of the walking group from the last Sunday in the month forward to avoid clashes with bank holidays. Then beginning in September, all walks will be on the second Sunday of the month.
For our August walk, we have a 10 mile circular walk (approx) starting in Chinley, on the Manchester-Sheffield line. The route is not expected to be rough but could be muddy in places. We will be getting to Chinley by train; meet at Manchester Piccadilly at 9.15 to catch
the 9:37am train to Chinley.
Meet near the information board (the train will be leaving from either platform 1 or 2). We should be returning to Manchester at 17:32, on the 16:56 train from Chinley.
The timing above will allow for a picnic lunch, and hopefully a pub stop before catching the train. There's a lovely one about 1km from the station, we dried off and ate there last November.
We have now moved our regular walks to the second Sunday of each month. Our September 2010 walk will therefore take place on Sunday, 12th September.
For this last 'summer' walk we are returning to the Lake District and the magnificent 7 mile walk climbing 'The Old Man of Coniston' from the village below. The route is not expected to be difficult but is going to be hilly in places.
We will be getting to Coniston Village BY CAR, meeting at 8.45 in Manchester at the Oxford Road rail station - an easy place to meet up.
The timing above will allow time for a picnic lunch in the walk, and a pub stop in the village before returning to Manchester no later than 7pm.
As we are planning to travel by car, in order to get an idea of numbers could you please email me to express an interest in going, and to indicate willingness to drive (we will of course chip in to reimburse drivers for petrol).
Last October, we planned to walk up Pendle Hill from Clitheroe, as the associations with the Pendle Witch were in keeping with the time of year. Unfortunately engineering works on the railway made that plan impractical. I am pleased to report that the line to Clitheroe is running as normal.
So. We have a 10 mile circular walk (approx) starting in Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley, which includes ascending Pendle Hill. The route is not expected to be rough but could be muddy in places.
We will be getting to Clitheroe by train – meet at Manchester VICTORIA at 9.40 to catch the 10am train to Clitheroe.
Meet at the coffee stand opposite the ticket office.
We should be returning to Manchester for 17.52 on the 16.40 from Clitheroe. The timing above will allow time for a picnic lunch, and a pub or cafe stop before catching the train. Trains are direct and hourly so if people prefer on the day, we can catch a later train for the return journey.
The walk will be a repeat of one we did almost two years ago which was cut short in its prime due to inclement weather. We have a 7-8 mile walk (approx) from Whaley Bridge to Disley, passing through Lyme Park, and ending in Disley, where there is a very fine pub close to the train station. We will be getting to Whaley Bridge by train; meet at Manchester Piccadilly at 9.30am to catch the 9:51am train to Whaley Bridge. We plan to catch the 15:48 return train from Disley, arriving back in Manchester Piccadilly at 16:27pm. There are trains every 60 minutes for the return journey if anyone wishes to spend additional time in the pub.
For our final walk of the year, we have planned a slightly shorter walk than usual (approx 7 miles) followed by a Christmas pub meal at the end.
We will travel by train to the Saddleworth Moor area near Greenfield station. The walk will take in some interesting stone formations and an obelisk on the hill above the town, and the Dove Stone Reservoir. There is a foodie pub on the route called the Clarence Hotel which is about 15 min down the road from the station, which serves food up to 8pm and has a large a la carte menu including Tapas as well as the usual Sunday roast.
Meet at the coffee stand opposite the ticket counter at Victoria train station at 9:30 am for a 9.43 departure. There are hourly trains back; we will plan on taking the 15.58, arriving back at 16.26
The route is not expected to be rough but, given the time of year, is almost certain to be muddy in places, and cold!