Sheffield and Manchester sit thirty five miles apart with the Pennine hills between them. Transport connections between the two cities are woeful. Living in south west Sheffield, the best road link for us is the two lane Snake Pass that weaves over the hills through The Peak District before descending to the town of Glossop with its inevitable hold-ups.
The bleakest part of The Snake Pass is a wild moorland area known as Snake Summit. It feels as if you are on the roof of England when you are up there. A long distance footpath bisects the road. It is The Pennine Way that runs from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm just over the Scottish border. 268 miles in total.
Yesterday, I commanded Clint to take me to Snake Summit. "Certainly my lord," he snivelled. I sat on the back seat reading a book as my South Korean servant transported me to my desired location.
Kinder seen from Mill Hill
There I sat down on a small guidestone to eat my apple and observe the moorland landscape. There's little life up there. A few meadow pipits and red grouse and where the bog relents a handful of hardy sheep. I could see "The Edge" of the Kinder Plateau and recalled the day I walked along it observing its outdoor gallery of weathered outcrops that seemed like abstract sculptures.
A woman from Glossop in a magenta anorak and an amber bobble hat reached Mill Hill soon after me and we chatted for a while. She was a Londoner who had moved up to Glossop ten years ago to build a totally new life there. Fortunately, the plan had worked. She walks the nearby hills very regularly, breathing in the fresh northern air while maintaining her fitness.
I returned to Clint along the same three mile path, treading on the same paving stones and when I reached him he said, rather obsequiously, "Your carriage awaits sir."
Looking towards Manchester from Black Moor
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/39hcopQ
