First snow of the winter (for me)

Today's weather forecast predicted a high probability of rain but I didn't let that put me off my regular run/walk to Oxstones. Recently I've been tired and not managed to reach the stones in an hour, or on one occasion, not even completed the run. I'd even wondered if lugging 500g of camera uphill was slowing me down, I didn't have that excuse today.

This time I was happy to continue to the moor although I was delayed a little by the jacket off/on/off/on ritual due to getting warm in the woods whilst ascending and then being cold in open fields. In the plantation, a warm ascent phase, it started to snow, not a lot, but enough to show that winter has arrived.

Snow time in Lady Canning Plantation

There was a little more on the ground at Oxstones but it was cold and my fingers were too numb to bother with a photograph.

 

More Unstone paths

My post-Ilkley ankle pain resolved quickly and I suspect that it was more of an inset bite than shin-related injury as it responded well to topical Ibuprofen and the pain was more in the skin than deep in my ankle.

I've been run-walking more local paths although I'm feeling out of condition. I'm partially blaming having work going on in the house which stops me from going out at my usual times. But perhaps that's an excuse? Nonetheless, I went to Unstone this morning, towards the south east of my map in the hope of covering all remaining rights of way between the bypass and B road.  Progress was slower than I'd hoped due to a combination of a lack of fitness, detailed searching for paths between houses and muddy fields.  Some footpaths through housing seem to have been incorporated into the roads, whilst others persist as tortuous ginnels. The A61, the Dronfield bypass, also cuts through some rights of way, without any means of crossing.

This was a safe and easy way to cross the tracks

The farmland has more hills than one might expect and with autumnal colours the majority of the run was picturesque. I returned to the car with a few paths still to visit in this small area as I'd spent as long as I'd planned. Next time I'll have to revisit Whittington as well as completing the paths adjacent to the A61.