White Peak meet, Derbyshire

Meet Report: 10-12 March 2023. Based at the Orpheus Caving Club’s cottage near Monyash.

A challenging weather forecast preceded the Peak District meet. Snow was forecast in Central England and as predicted, substantial snowfalls had occurred on the Thursday night, causing numerous road blockages and road closures across the high Derbyshire passes.

Friday dawned with brilliant blue cloudless skies and stunning winter-white scenery with all assessing their potential journey plans. An advisory directive from Derbyshire County Council that all unnecessary journeys should be avoided had been issued and a few members dropped out. A sign of the times, a WhatsApp group was very sensibly set up to keep everyone in touch and share information regarding snow conditions on access routes. On a personal level, some ‘digging out’ was required at the Yorkshire end, snow equipment was put in the boot and we set off on our adventure.

Our destination was reached without problems, thankfully, and we found that Richard T, Martyn and Tim were ahead of us literally ‘preparing the way’.

They had been digging through 3 foot snow drifts to obtain easier access to OCC’s remote cottage. Cars were left just off the road adjoining the track to avoid getting snowed in. Everything had to be carried in over the snow, which was difficult, although we had no need to open the gates, as the drifting snow reached to the top and we could just walk over them. On reaching the cottage fire lighting was the priority in the sub-zero temperatures. It was very ‘interesting’ accommodation with outside toilets, a ‘first’ for some members. Everyone settled in to the room with the fire, the forecast overnight was for -9°C and I don’t think I was alone in trying to plan to avoid a middle of the night toilet visit!

Saturday dawned bright, with no more snowfall. Most people had not had the best night’s sleep due to the cold. Conrad had opted for a few chairs in front of the fire, rather than the cold dorm. Mick arrived bright and early, having driven down from Yorkshire on clear roads after an alpine start with routes planned for us. We all set off on a ‘frying pan‘ walk and found the snow was ‘deep and crisp’ but not ‘even’. We started on the Tissington Trail for approx. 6 km, which had areas of quite deep drifting, which made walking more challenging and some snow-free areas. Richard and Fliss headed off on a slightly different route, although our paths were to meet later in Wolfscote Dale, which they ascended. The rest of the party made a steep descent through snowdrifts to drop into Dovedale, followed by a lovely meander along the riverside track and a more gentle ascent of Biggin Dale, passing through the National Nature Reserve.

A few members had the England rugby international on their mind, Pete so much so, that he took a ‘short cut’ to the pub in Hartington, which turned out less short than he had envisaged. The rest of the party returned to base and drove down to join him, only to witness a very disappointing or perhaps dismal England performance. We drove back in more snow. Richard and Fliss had returned and a delightful supper was enjoyed by all.

Temperatures were more benign on Saturday night and most people slept well after their exertions. Sunday saw most people making homeward journeys, after giving the cottage arguably the best clean it had seen for some time. Mick, Tim and Richard T headed over to Hollinsclough in the sunshine and did an entertaining circuit of the limestone reef knolls of Hollins, Chrome and Parkhouse Hills. The scrambly ascent of the latter required care in the stiff breeze and slippery underfoot conditions, and it was a delight to see a few patches of the tiny white flowers of Common Whitlowgrass emerging from the melting snow – spring is on its way!

A great weekend was had by all. Thanks have to go to Bev and Conrad for great food, Mick for route planning, everyone for great companionship and getting stuck-in on the chores. Pete and I took a scenic route back over the high peaks via Chatsworth, where we had to call in just to see how the other half live.