WALKING GROUP – 7th February
After leaving the cars in Ogston Reservoir car park, we set off with a bitterly cold wind blowing around our ears, down the first of many squelchy, muddy paths. Yes, Dear Reader, you may be wondering why we do it.
We walked towards Milltown, mainly watching where to place our boots as to look into the distance may have found us on our backs in the mud. The cry of a long-tailed tit in the distance was the only indication of any wild life until later when a swirl of birds was spotted among the clouds. It wasn’t near enough to identify but could have been a murmuration of starlings.
To our dismay, half way round this walk we were faced with a very, very steep climb up a, yet again, muddy track. Two of the men raced up this like young mountain goats; the rest of us had to stop for a breather a couple of times, but it was worth it for the excellent views. In the distance we saw Ogston Water and a tall chimney stack down below us, which we had walked past without noticing, being more concerned at the time with being able to breathe.
Our leader decided to shorten the walk as we had to return to the car park before the gates were locked at 5pm, so the last mile or so was on roadway. For part of this we were joined by another walking group, thus making a long line of pedestrians and possibly causing passing motorists to cluck as they needed to stop or slow down on a few occasions. Apart from experiencing a light shower early on, we were lucky to return to the cars before heavy rain fell – and before we were locked out!
And, Dear Reader if you are still wondering why we do it – then join us on Sunday 6th March when with Trish Law as our leader we will be parking at Black Rocks and walking to Cromford. We meet at the church gates at 12 noon with a packed lunch and after organising the cars we set off for our destination.