Dave Johnson stepped in for Dave Martin as leader on the 6.5 mile walk on Wednesday 25th August 2021, from Warslow Village Hall.

There was a slight drizzle at the start for the 22 walkers, but this soon cleared.

We headed towards Revidge through fields of long grass, and after a climb left the main path to reach the summit and trig point at 1316ft. The area was still covered in purple heather, and as we took a drinks break we had 360 degree views of this beautifully coloured plant in the landscape.

This is one of the 95 hills in the Peak District, and is designated an 'Ethel'. This refers to Ethel Haythornthwaite, who pioneered the establishment of the Peak District, as Britain's first National Park in 1951.

Leaving this area, which also contains a memorial made up of a series of stones in the shape of a dragon, we walked downhill, past the wood, and then through Hayes Farm. After we entered quite a marshy area and we had to take care through the field to avoid sinking into the muddy water. On reaching the road we crossed over to descend a set of steep stone steps, which were in a much better condition since on a previous recce they had been cleared of all lichen and debris, to make them safer. Again we were in another boggy area, that we had to pick our way through.

Some further field walking followed and the weather conditions were now quite mild, especially in the sheltered lanes that we turned into , leading us into Hulme End village and the picnic site where our lunch was taken in style!

After lunch we moved onto the Manifold Way, a popular trail for cyclists and walkers, and here we met two of our group members doing their own short walk, before meeting up with us later. Both sides of the trail were covered in deep vegetation.

The hamlet of Ecton on the Manifold Way was once very well known for its copper mining, and an educational trust has been formed to promote studies in applied geology, chemistry, mining and mineral extraction.

From a lane called The Dale, we took a steep winding path up and around a hill to Hobcroft Farm, and then turned left at the road to return to the cars.

By now it was really warm, so a good end to another interesting walk.

Gillian Gibbons