[drnick]

If the weather is as good as today it will be a great walk. It was so sunny and clear this morning I would have much preferred a walk in the hills to going to work.

[Sootmouth]

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[opal_lagoon]

Sootmouth, on Oct 12 2009, 07:05 PM, said:

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Me too!

[opal_lagoon]

The weather forecast is fine and sunny for Saturday

[Wordwitch]

Enjoy it! I'll be on a walk too, but it was already planned with other friends, in Essex. (OK, not Yorkshire, but there are nice places in Essex!)

[No_Celery]

Have fun, guyssss! If no one breaks a leg I'll consider the trip a failure.

[Cicero]

Aww no! Just seen this thread and am so tempted to come along, but I fear it is rather last minute to start organising it now! Maybe next time. Hope you all have a great walk and that the weather stays nice for you!

[drnick]

Well, that was a lovely day out. The weather was kind, the moors beautiful, the footpaths mostly not too muddy (even if they were sometimes hard to follow), and of course excellent conversation.

Following some discussion today it has been tentatively mooted to have another walk-meet on 21st November, which hopefully doesn't clash with any other plans. This will start in Macclesfield Forest (near Macclesfield) from which we will ascend Shutlingsloe, the Matterhorn of Cheshire (don't let this put you off though, it's not actually very big).

If you have ever heard of the children's author Alan Garner, this is the scene of the denouement of 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'.

Further details will no doubt follow.

http://en.wikipedia...._of_Brisingamen
http://en.wikipedia....ki/Shutlingsloe

[Sootmouth]

Many thanks to Nick for organising the walk. When a day includes first class company, canals, spectacular scenery (in a wide range of autumn colours), Highland cattle, and a couple of games of "er, where did the path go" - what could be better?

Actually today could have only been improved if I'd remembered the spare batteries for my camera...

Next time!

By the way, I like your new photo Nick - I bet you're smiling behind that guitar.

[Cicero]

Glad you had a great time! Sadly I will be elsewhere on 21st November.

Oh, and I loved the Weirdstone of Brisingamen!

[drnick]

Right, the plan has changed slightly and is now (tentatively) to meet on Sunday 22 November, at around 1pm

The theory is to climb Shutlingsloe from Macclesfield Forest. If you have your own transport you could go straight there, or alternatively meet up at Macclesfield station.

It is a walk up a hill, but it's only small (this is Cheshire after all) and it really isn't difficult, so don't be put off. And the second half will be all downhill.

http://www.macclesfi...o.uk/index.html

[opal_lagoon]

The Tale of Marsden Moor

Three intrepid explorers ventured onto the wild moors of Yorkshire.
On the ascent to the summit we were assailed by ferocious blood-thirsty hounds (well, a couple of farm dogs); were nearly sucked into bottomless bogs (we got our boots a bit muddy) and wondered if we would ever see civilization again (we lost the path a couple of times).
But we eventually succeeded in ascending the summit to feast on Scotch eggs and other nutricious delights.


On the descent we crept past a herd of horned beasts (actually Highland cattle which ran away from us) and lost the path another couple of times.
But we eventually returned to our starting point to again feast on Scotch eggs and drink our fill of non-alcoholic beverages at the local tavern.


Makes Lord of the Rings look tame in comparison eh?

[Sootmouth]

opal_lagoon, on Oct 22 2009, 06:30 AM, said:

Makes Lord of the Rings look tame in comparison eh?

You know that bottom photograph does have a bit of a LOTR look about it. It must be the angle the shot was taken but I reckon Nick looks a bit hobbit sized. And I think I'm a dead ringer for Faramir (a version of Faramir that's going bald and wears a pac-a-mac that is...)

[opel]

drnick, on Oct 22 2009, 03:10 AM, said:

Right, the plan has changed slightly and is now (tentatively) to meet on Sunday 22 November, at around 1pm

The theory is to climb Shutlingsloe from Macclesfield Forest. If you have your own transport you could go straight there, or alternatively meet up at Macclesfield station.

It is a walk up a hill, but it's only small (this is Cheshire after all) and it really isn't difficult, so don't be put off. And the second half will be all downhill.

http://www.macclesfi...o.uk/index.html

This is in the peak district, great place for motorcyclist, i know

[PaperbackWriter]

I like the idea of having a walking-based meetup (maybe with a lunch stop at a pub), but since I live on the south coast anything north of London is probably impractical for me to get to. If there's sufficient interest from people in London/the south, I could think about organising something more locally.