On Saturday, my mate Adrian & me went to catch the snow before it left us for good & had decided upon exploring the southern Peak District area of the Manifold Valley, with Thor's Cave at the far end of our 7˝ miles circular walk.
View from the road as we approached in the car
Our turning point upwards, off the valley floor
Up on top the views were fantastic
Ecton Hill trig point
Lovely-jubbly!
First view of the outcrop housing the cave...the up-slope was fine, but coming down needed the poles out of the bag, as it was steep & slippy
Adrian on top....sheer drops off either side here
The approach to the cave was treacherous with packed ice & a nasty drop off the front for anyone slipping!
Yours truly, inside...we had our lunch in here out of the breeze. I was a bit disappointed not to see a grizzly bear or even the odd caveman around, but you can't win 'em all, can you?
The tourist path down through the wooded hillside...perfectly free of tourists
See, they promised grizzly bears
There was then the 3 mile walk back to the car....all the way skirting the River Manifold
By the path were some old mine workings...Adrian had his head torch, so had a 200 yards walk into the hillside, which would have gone on more but for the water underfoot getting too deep
A fabulous day's walking, made all the better by the snow keeping all but the most determined away. Wow! What awesome photos. Must have been quite a hike, and really gutsy as well.
I was in Guernsey during the first BIG snowfall on Monday, 2nd February. The Hotel I was staying at was at the bottom of a steep hill, so to get to Guernsey St. Peter Port, there was no transportation available, so did all of it on foot. Initially I was worried, but as I made progress in the snow up the steep hill, it got to be great fun. Became a family day of sorts, as all the schools were closed, and of course some of the parents had to stay at home as no arrangements could be made for care of the children, and so wherever I was walking families were having fun, building snowmen etc. The air was fantastic out. By end of the day the snow started to melt, and it was quite challenging, however looks as though my New Balance Runners were excellent, better than my boots for this kind of walking. I was lucky too, as by Tuesday when I had to leave, Guernsey had figured out how to clear the runway and I could leave as scheduled. Good place to be snowed in though.
HeeHee !
We had a similar day, when the snow was too bad for me to get the Lambretta out for work....my daughter was off school, so we walked into the park behind our house & made a snowman together (a pathetic, little thing though, as the snow was too powdery 
)...it was as close as we'd been for ages, and meant the world to me, though it was probably just a bit of fun for her.
and the good thing about a covering of snow ofcourse is, everyone's gardens look good, even mine!
Beautiful pictures. Those are some nice places.
Vladalf
that cave is really neat, it looks all smooth in some parts
Those are some really nice pictures.
Sadly, I've never seen snow 
But one day... one day.
Where I come from (but no longer live in), the coldest it gets is 15° Celsius. You can imagine how hard it is to get snow =) And I've traveled, but never to cold places, because my parents are not really enthusiastic about snow.
Anyway, I liked the cave... and I loved the garden's picture (and comment) =) Beautiful pictures and commentary! Thanks for sharing! I really loved the path, lined with trees. Quite lovely.
Belo lugar. Parabéns pelas belas fotos.
Peace.
Those photos are really something! They're so beautiful. My complaint is that the snowman is too small 
You could have made him huuge with all that snow lol. Those are some nice pictures and show the nice side of snow. (The non-cold part)
The snowman is small but fine anyway 
It must be nice to have caves not to far from you, lets you get to explore a little. 
Nice shots, thanks for posting them. Gosh, those are some lovely places. Makes me almost regret living in a temperate climate. Awesome pics wish i had done something more than have a snow ball fight on the first day of snow. =[
nice adventure man!
and bears? in the uk? you learn something every day!
The pictures are great. Reminds me to my last trip to France. The view was amazing but not as stunning as this.
Very beautiful... Thanks for sharing.
^.^ That's closer to what I'm used to than I thought you could get in the UK!
They really have enough habitat to support bears there?
| ocalhoun wrote: |
^.^ That's closer to what I'm used to than I thought you could get in the UK!
They really have enough habitat to support bears there? |
Good question, I missed this photo when I first had a look. Amazing, I never knew they had bears in the UK?
you seem to have a lot of fun ...youve got new pictures of trips every week...wish i had the time and money for that.
Wow, this looks exciting! I wish I could go exploring this are,a it looks wonderful.
| deanhills wrote: |
| ocalhoun wrote: | ^.^ That's closer to what I'm used to than I thought you could get in the UK!
They really have enough habitat to support bears there? |
Good question, I missed this photo when I first had a look. Amazing, I never knew they had bears in the UK?
|
Just checked up on the Internet, since I was curious whether there were bears in the area, and had not heard back from Wellerchap, and after a few searches found that there are no bears in that area. There used to be many years ago, so the photo of the bear probably tells about bears having been there. The notice is in the Peak District Park and near Thor's Cave, which is a popular destination for everyone who is hiking in that area:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_DistrictThe places looks very beautiful... and you are so lucky to have visited this place mann..!! All the pics have turned out very well..!! Hope you had a very nice time visiting these places...!!
The views are absolutely stunning. I have always wanted to hike in snow, however I have never gotten round to doing so. The view remind me of Switzerland - a country I adore for it's offering of breathtaking scenery. Most people complain about how cold it is to be walking around in that weather. I believe the cool air is what makes the hike enjoyable - I love experiencing coolness and stillness, hence Winter is my favourite season.
My favourite shot is the path lined with trees.
Man I love your post, very promising..
I wish to go there next christmas.
I am a frihsst user that wants to be a good person. 
Yes thanks for sharing your adventure that day with us wellerchap, really interesting location by the look of it. How far back does Thor's Cave go do you know?
Looks beautiful! Great photos! Something to add to my bucket list to see in person.
I must say i am jealous. The terrain is beautiful. Also i enjoy [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouldering"]bouldering[/url] (a form of rock climbing using no ropes). The cave there looks like a perfect place to do such a thing.
Faboulous pictures. I'm quite jealous. I'm going to miss hiking and backpacking with my old boy scout troop. Now it's on to private exploration. The best kind! Cave exporing has always been fun in my trekking. Whether I find anything or just see a beautiful dark hole in the ground or in the side of a mountian. But they aren't 'just' holes are they?
Well, thank you all for your replies....I'm really pleased so many people liked the shots.
Can I apologise for my daft sense of humour....I was being ironic complaining of not having seen any bears; there are of course none here in the UK. Had there been, I'd have been as far away from the place as I could get, as despite being married to a woman more fierce than a Grizzly Bear, she knows it's my money that pays the mortgage on the house, so she can't do anything too nasty (see, my rubbish sense of humour again! ) ^You don't need to be scared of bears. Even in the places where they are common, you still don't see them very much. With a few precautions, its perfectly safe in bear country.
| ocalhoun wrote: |
| ^You don't need to be scared of bears. Even in the places where they are common, you still don't see them very much. With a few precautions, its perfectly safe in bear country. |
Yeah right! I learned the same about sharks when I was doing my PADI diving training. Except of course there are sharks and sharks, and the ones in the southern hemisphere, the Indian Ocean and Barrier Reef are ones to be respected, i.e. you stay completely out of their way, as you do get aggressive sharks, particularly the White Death. Similarly I'm sure there are bears and bears. In Canada they are very much respected as dangerous, so hope I will never bump into one, such as I have always hoped I will never bump into a shark when I am diving. That is just beautiful, I am speechless. Next Time a vacation to england maybe 
. Very Nice
Greets Wh0lve the pictures are great,extrodinary when i c those pics "into the wild" movie got in my head where that man goes far away from human to alaska n dies there nice movie n pic .thanks for the remembrance
That is amazing!
one of the most beautiful things on the planet is hiking in the snow,
next winter im going to do that myself in england,
really good!
well cya all
Beautiful pictures! 
Looks very cool hehe. [quote="deanhills"] | ocalhoun wrote: |
| In Canada they are very much respected as dangerous, so hope I will never bump into one, such as I have always hoped I will never bump into a shark when I am diving. |
Be more surprised if you bump into a bear while you're diving!
| vijayraaa wrote: |
| when i c those pics "into the wild" movie got in my head where that man goes far away from human to alaska n dies there |
D'oh !!!
I knew there was something I'd forgotten to do
| donzky wrote: |
| this was so crazy i will visit this site everyday as possible this is like so crazy |
That's me.....crazy old Dave ! Woo thats sick! id love to live ther.. on ma Motorbike everyday in the snow.(L) i love it its amazin! its soo WHITE ( lol )! were is that?
cool, nice pics, never been hikin in the snow, only had wind an rain an stuff oh well. those pictures make me want to go out in the snow, though there won't be any for ages... 
| 43655 wrote: |
| . those pictures make me want to go out in the snow, though there won't be any for ages... |
Believe me, after half an hour, you get really tired of snow. | Golden123 wrote: |
| where is that? |
In the north midlands area of England.
Please promise not to come riding your bike as I'm trying to enjoy the tranqility though! 
| 43655 wrote: |
| cool, nice pics, never been hikin in the snow, only had wind an rain an stuff oh well. those pictures make me want to go out in the snow, though there won't be any for ages... |
we get snow like this maybe one week in the year, so thought it too good an opportunity to miss. | wellerchap wrote: |
| Please promise not to come riding your bike as I'm trying to enjoy the tranqility though! |
Ha Wellerchap, so next year when the guys are really pissed off with all the tourists in the North Midlands, you will have to keep a LOW profile 
I thought you'd like that one
I'll have you a race, down the motorway on my 60mph Lambretta You're on .... watch out ... 
looks like a fun time to me
What a scenic view! Hope I was there. Nice photography. b e a utiful. looks like a great place to hike and to get some pics. very nice.
