North East Derbyshire

In my ongoing exercise to walk all of the rights of way on my local OS 1:25000 map, I headed to Unstone to walk in the South East corner of the map. I designed a marathon-length circular route to include a range of terrain and opportunities to take a break at a village pub or cafe.

A few kilometres at the map's edge were along the Chesterfield canal path, or Cuckoo way, which I've written about previously. Turning away from the canal I found that bridges over the river had been dismantled and so my intended path, and an alternative, were not possible.

 

This part of Derbyshire is quite different to the Peak District. Much of it is post-industrial, some agricultural and a fair proportion is suburban. The borders between the zones sometimes have surprises, for instance an area of HGV storage in a derelict farm.

Some of my route was along the Sheffield Country Walk which I'd like to complete as a single route one day. It included some very pleasant woodland that took me to the village of Ford where I was able to buy a long overdue coffee.

Every small town used to have a garage with a petrol station and the remnants of one were still in place in New Whittington.

Due to route changes on the go, I didn't quite cover the intended mileage but I was happy with 42km in 6:34hrs. Incidentally, the route included almost 900m of ascent as it literally went uphill and down dale.

  

Round the reservoirs

I've been waiting a few weeks for some pleasant weather to do a long, slow run, and today was the day! Over the winter I've looked at various long distance paths, some near home, others that would need accommodation. On the LDWA website I found Round the Reservoirs which looked perfect. It is only a 45 minute drive from home and promised to be a good days jog. I planned to travel in reverse so that I'd finish on the boring, but easy, track alongside the reservoirs.

I made a reasonably early start to benefit from the sunshine. The route passes many of the small reservoirs to the northwest of Sheffield, including Dale Dike which caused a fatal flood in the 19th century.  

Many sections of path were muddy, slippery and often including black puddles. Of course, where there is farmland, there will be ruined buildings and rusting equipment. Occasionally they can be photogenic.

After Langsett the route turned to cross Midhope Moors which gave me the last significant ascent. As a bonus, navigation was much easier than previously, I just had to follow the scar of the path across the landscape.

Although the path was easy to follow, in some areas it returned to bog, in others it was practically a river to walk in.

With 1300m of ascent across 45km I struggled to maintain my target pace of 10 minutes per km. The easy track in the Derwent valley allowed me to catch-up some time and even though my legs had run out of run, I could achieve a very brisk walk.

Ultimately, I've had a grand day out and seen some parts of Sheffield for the first time.

New shoes 2025

 My favourite Topo shoes have about 1200km wear on them and the uppers have lasted very well. Better than Altras have previously. However the soles are worn, almost smooth on the heels and little grip around the midfoot area. So I decided some new shoes were in order. I really wanted to renew the Topo but when I was looking they didn't seem to be available. Perhaps they'd managed to sell all of 2024 models and 2025 hadn't arrived? 

So, I went back to Altra's Lone Peak, this time the eighth incarnation. Supposedly the uppers have additional reinforcement so, with luck, they won't rip in normal use.

Bored of ice

The last ten days have been unusually cold. Sheffield used to get deep snow that lasted for days in the 1980s but that's been uncommon since I moved here in the early 1990s. At first the snow was pretty and it was a pleasure to be in the woods, even if the extra effort reduced how far I'd run. But, over the last few days almost all paths have become slippery with ice due to pressure from footfall and repeated thaw-freeze cycles. Twice I've been out and cut short my run due to fear of falling.

Paths on less popular routes are barely trodden but reaching them has become increasingly difficult.

The forecast for the next few days is above freezing so I hope it melts away soon...

Autumn in Lytham St Annes

We took a few days in St Annes, Lancashire, with my mother. As a young teenager I used to live nearby and cycled between greenhouses and market gardens. I had no concept of rights of way and went wherever I could access on my 5 speed Raleigh racer. I can't recall ever being turned back although I can remember falling off; a large frame and skinny wheels aren't ideal for slimy muddy tracks!

There has been plentiful building on this, now largely unused, farmland but the inland border of St Annes hasn't changed since the 1970s.

One evening I went out exploring along the tracks to the airport radar station (now privatised). It was enjoyable to move out of the urban area, hopefully the land won't be built-on, and in view of its risk of flooding I think further development unwise. 

A month in Falmouth

After my retirement we rented a flat in Falmouth to make a comfortable transition from the hectic world of work. There's plenty in the area whether it's the South West coastal path, Penzance Lido or cultural events at The Poly. We had a lovely time and I'd thoroughly recommend this approach as a sound retirement plan.

There are numerous apparently old bridleways and byways. It's worth noting though that some of the byways marked on OS maps are paved minor roads. Perhaps this designation is to stop the roads' use by vehicular satnavs? Some footpaths I attempted were overgrown and poorly maintained. Certain farmers seem to disregard the presence of a right of way and had planted crops, closed walls and left rather aggressive cows to graze.

 

Of course, the coastal path is beautiful and the crown of access in the area. Around key spots the path was fairly busy but as usual, many of the lengths I walked and ran were quiet. The presence of broad rivers and peninsula puts natural breaks into the path. However, there are plentiful local ferries, with a long tradition of helping travellers along the coast. 

iPhone SE (2016) battery swap

Nearly two years ago I bought a used iPhone SE 2016 with a Punkcase to use as a mapping GPS, as outlined previously. Throughout this time the battery has reported >90% health but  the usable life seemed to have become short. So much so that I felt it useless to take on my Yorkshire Wolds Way trip. An hours run, with a photo was all it could manage. 

Once again I considered Garmin dedicated devices and supposed IP68 Android phones.  They all seemed too costly and even then not ideal solutions.  What I wanted was a practical battery life on the iPhone. So swap the battery! 

On eBay the batteries are £16 from what look to be fair suppliers. Anyone offering a capacity twice the original couldn't be genuine as budget phone batteries haven't improved that much. Replacebase fitted the bill and the battery arrived in a day or do. 

A key advantage of the 1st edition of the iPhone SE is that it can be opened with a small screwdriver and a plastic pry. No glue is involved, hence not water resistant! I followed a YouTube video and found the job fairly straightforward.  The hardest point was softening an adhesive strip under the old battery which hadn't done the quick detach trick. At this point it might be fair to point out that I  am dextrous and have a good stock of tools. If that description doesn't fit you, then perhaps best to use a phone repair shop...

A few weeks after the swap I'm pleased to report that it was well worth doing.  The SE isn't known to have great stamina so I didn't expect miracles,  but the working life has improved considerably.  It's hard to quote an objective figure as power consumption depends on the duration of screen illumination,  probably daylight intensity and if photos were taken. 

How the old battery showed 91% and was so poor in use is a mystery to me, although there's lots online to suggest that the figure can be faked.