Peak District

Day 1 - Kinder Scout from two points of view

Group 1

Written by Tash Dowell 

As usual, for some reason myself and Ethan Leech decided to plot an enthusiastic mountaineering route for our group on this trip. The proposed trip included a 20km snowy hike over Kinder Scout and co. After convincing the silly fresh to join us, along with Martin, we began to lead our group.

To highlight some of the events this wild group undertook:

- Holly and Tom falling decided to fall down a "crevasse"

- Myself and Mr Gear Sec took a slightly more alpine route across Kinder Scout and went up to our waist in snow, ending up needing to swim out

- Our Gear Sec trying out the society crampons - being like Bambi is an understatement!

We ended our adventure by using the nature-provided ice slide down Jacob's Ladder (more like death trap) and then being escorted home by the one and only Peter Brighting on the minibus at approximately 6pm (side note: no Wayfarers were harmed on this route).

Group 2:

Written by Matthew Armour 

After Harry Thompson elegantly exited the minibus flat on his face, parking was paid for, and the sensible group departed alongside a mysterious man from Chesterfield. The group soon got a lesson in coefficients of friction as the normal grippy rock path turned into a slippery mess of frozen puddles, streams and compacted snow. As the ascent continued, spirits remained high, as snow was pelted at one another and too many pictures were taken of the ice forms crafted in the frozen sections of Grinds Brook. As members scrambled up in a two steps forward, one step back fashion, with varying degrees of elegance and poise, the aptly equipped Matthew Teller powered past the group with superhuman prowess - thanks to the recent purchase of a set of micro spikes.

With the scrambling becoming ever more perilous, local man Harry Curtis warned of the horrors ahead so the decision was made to divert up a fence line, avoiding the worst of the Grindsbrook scramble where ice axes and crampons were more likely a requirement than just a fashion accessory. After much inelegant slipping and hauling, the group reached the edge of the Kinder Scout plateau, where the thick layer of snow quickly got moulded into a snowman. After a plod along the top with a quick stop for lunch, the group began the decent down Ringing Roger. Nearing the end of the descent, the snow and ice turned into the more Peak’s appropriate rain and mud which Mr Teller soon found to be just as slippery after removing his micro spikes and entertaining the group with the most flamboyant of falls. And with that a rather exciting walk came to an end as we returned to the minibuses to be swept back to Bradwell.

After a quick cuppa and some fresh clothes, it was assumed the other group had perished, but the show must go on, and 8 kilos of potatoes don’t peel themselves, so the kitchen crew assembled and got cracking. With only one potato peeler in the kitchen, innovative solutions involving a grater and a cheese slice were required, and after an hour and a half, all potatoes were peeled and prepped. Meanwhile, Mr Curtis planned out the complex oven timings that would have impressed any of his recent grad scheme interviewers. With Christmas tunes playing, all was going smoothly until the potato mashing began. At this point the fuses started tripping, George began pelting the staff with ball pit balls, and Father Curtis arrived to tempt his favourite unofficial adpoted child away from his cooking duties with a bottle of red. With Harry T and John on oven fuse management, Alice on veg, Peter on the (beautifully crafted) stuffing balls, and Harry C on the small French beers, service time was approaching. Finally, it was go-time, and with a mug as the ladle, soup was dispersed to the masses. With course one consumed and a minor confusion over whether that was all we were serving; it was time for the main event. The finishing touches were completed as Peter lovingly stirred a whole tub of gravy granules, and 90 Yorkshire puddings were removed from the oven. 

After just 4.5 hours of cooking, it was service time and the hungry hordes descended to be served in true dinner lady fashion. Despite attempts by Alice to sabotage the process with a minor oil fire, soon 32 happy customers were enjoying the joys of the second of 5 courses in our £2.35 per person extravaganza. After the kitchen crew ate too much it was decided that somebody else should do the rest. The Teller-provided-cheese-course went down well despite serious risks of overfeeding, and a pair of Aldi’s finest and cheapest Christmas puds were zapped in the industrial microwave. Tragically, the final course of tea and coffee never materialised as nobody could move. With that, the meal was done, and a team of brave souls tackled the mammoth mountain of washing up, before a quite frankly baffling pantomime was performed on the village hall stage. 

Thanks all for coming on this trip and making it such a good one. I hope the food went down well – rest assured we will be returning to the normal slop next trip.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Day 2 - Chatsworth House and Gardens

Written by Harry Curtis

The day started later than planned, as most of us managed to sleep through the alarms thanks to a mixture of Peter's poor planning, and the previous day’s excitement. A slightly hectic cleaning effort then ensued, and Harry T continued the tradition of winding up the local Bradwell residents, but we eventually got out of the hall with the place looking cleaner than it had when we arrived. After Peter emerged from the bogs, we finally got on the road to Rowsley, and drove across a frosty and foggy white peak.

Before setting off from Rowsley, electrical engineer Teller and car mechanic Walters took a look under the bonnet to find the source of a high pitch beeping noise coming from one of the minibuses, before deciding it would be far too complicated to do anything. From Rowsley, we trudged on down the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail, winding along the frozen River Derwent.

It wasn’t long until we reached Chatsworth Park and the view of the imposing house greeted us, as did John's disapproving words. At this point the alumni group decided they had had enough and went to devour some fried foods at the Grindleford Station Café. The rest of us yomped on and made the most of the toilets and overpriced sausage rolls outside the gates of the house and gardens. We then wound our way through Stand Wood to the hunting tower and admired the work of Capability Brown as we tucked into lunch. 

From here, the walk became a bit wilder, with a trek through muddy forests and across frozen moorlands. The sleet made for slow progress and it was difficult to keep on two feet thanks to all the black ice, but we eventually made it down the hill (most of us using our feet but Anna decided to just sit down and slide). We returned to Rowsley as night fell, and we were all soaked to the bone but it was once again, another fun Sunday walk. A double meal Sunday night at McDonalds and then Dilshad’s wound up a wet but fun weekend.