Drive you to drink....

It wasn't a bad day weather wise, but it wasn't good either. I felt that I should do something slightly energetic in order to burn off some of yesterdays BBQ at Russells. No, I was feeling lazy, a bit of a razz in the car instead.... Heading North, the A515 lured me further on with it's luscious zig zags. After clearing the county of Staffordshire, the roads became more narrow as the hills of Derbyshire loomed ahead. Stone walls lulled you into a false sense of security, obscuring the precipice to your side as you skim the edge of the slope, encouraging you ever faster.

As you climb ever higher the lanes snake through little V shape valleys.

There's always another bend, revealing another valley, with another hill challenging you in the distance...

As I got ever higher, I noticed the sheep dotting the hillsides didn't look quite the same....

Hang on, those are Llamas (or are they Alpacas? Is there a difference?) You know you're getting high up when there's Llamas! This one had recently been shaun, someone, somewhere had got a lovely soft new jumper.

This baby Llama looked impossibly cute. I'm sure the farmer goes round putting mascara on those lashes, no way are they natural.

Llama wool is renowned for being warm and soft, if it's so good why does this chap find it so itchy?

Finally the top of the world (well of this bit anyway) was in view. This isn't a place you want to be caught out in during winter. It was flippin cold in August. There is nothing for miles around. Should you be foolish enough to wander off the road you stumble through peat bogs, dissected by deep ditches which far from helping to drain the land, just give you something to fall into and drown! The tarmac route picked its way through the difficult terrain. This is the only way across the hills, the twists and turns attract suicidal bikers and car fanatics alike. Signs warn of "Traffic Law Enforcement by Police Aircraft". Motorcyclists fit upward facing mirrors to their fuel tanks in order to spot whether they are being 'monitored' by Police helicopter!

This is the 'Cat and Fiddle', the highest public house in England, although there is some rivalry for the title with the 'Tan Inn', either way it's a long way to go for a drink!

The AA (Automobile Association not Alcoholic Anonymous) survey 2003 listed this as the most dangerous stretch of road in the UK. On the homeward trip I bear ed this in mind and drove as quickly as I could in order to get off it as soon as possible!

Down in the tree clothed valleys after passing through the village of 'Winkle Bottom' several times I decided that I was lost. It was time for a coffee and to get my old faithful GPS out. This E-Trex GPS is getting on a bit now, it's been through the wars and is reinforced with tape. It's over 7 years old now, back from when I would have to explain to people what GPS was. After telling one client what it was for and how great it was to have a device that could tell you exactly where you were in the world tucked in your pocket, he replied "But if you've got it in your pocket, you know where it is"! This is the same client that years later after buying a car with a GPS enthused"My new GPS tells me where to go..", I was tempted to do the same...

E-Trex got me home as per usual, a 160 mile round trip, not bad for an afternoons drive.

"Ghost" hunting...

As I've explained before, I often study maps, scrutinising them for any detail that might point to something interesting. Frequently I use maps of altering ages and manufacturers, hoping that they might trip themselves up and reveal something unintended. More and more I've begun to notice what looks like 'deliberate' mistakes. I offer two examples and satisfy my own curiosity that these are definite additions or alterations to map data. I know this area well, this is why I first recognised this anomaly. There is no trackway/ driveway, I'm sure. This map is from the "A to Z" series.

On a detailed "Ordnance Survey" map, there is no such track! The only way that I can be completely sure is to go and see for myself....

I walked up and down for ages. Double checked the position with my GPS. Nothing! These houses have been here for several decades, there were no dropped kerbs or anything to indicate the existence of a drive past or present. This track seems to be a complete fabrication by the map manufacturers.

This second example took me longer to spot, as it is quite subtle. On the Ordnance survey map, again nothing amiss, apart from maybe the cliff could be marked a little more clearly as I've nearly tumbled off this more than once!

Yet on another map, "Beacon Heights" mobile home park falsely appears on the East side of Pinfold Lane, not the West. This 'mistake' isn't due to limitations of presentation, as there is plenty of space to display the details correctly. These 'mistakes' are far too obvious to be genuine and are repeated on each map edition after edition. Looks like I'll have to check this one out too....

This is Barr Beacon. It is the nearest place to park. It is a great high ridge (barr), where warning beacons used to be lit, hence Barr Beacon. This bandstand houses one of Britain's many Ordnance Survey triangulation points, and can be seen as a distinctive landmark for miles around.

There are great views from here. You can see Birmingham, Walsall, the hills of the 'Black' country, on a clear day even the Malvern hills. During the day is pleasant, but at night it is spectacular. Apparently, looking north east, the next highest point is the Ural mountains in Russia, although I would take this so called fact with a 'pinch of salt' as I've never researched this. It might be one of those frequently bandied facts such as Birmingham having more miles of canals than Venice, I just don't know!

From here I walked down the hillside to the old section of Bridle Lane, abandoned as a road due to its steepness (photos never do justice to inclination) some forty years ago.

This skirted round the base of the cliffs. The sign says "DANGER, unstable cliff face", fair enough, but to read it you have to get so close that you're standing right underneath the "unstable cliff face"!

Eventually I got to Pinfold Lane. This view looking south, clearly indicates the mobile home park is on the west side of the lane!

Conclusion.... I believe that these anomalies are 'ghosts' introduced into the map datum in order to reveal unauthorised duplication and therefore maintain copyright. A bit of a bummer if you're trying to find Beacon Heights mobile home park though!

I would like to know, is this purely a British phenomenon, or is this technique used worldwide? Comments gratefully received...

On return to the car, I encountered this fenced off area on the top of the barr. The sign reads "Barr Beacon Beeches. Planted by Sir Joseph Scott, Bart, of Great Barr Hall, circa 1799".

It looked familiar....

These railings have been replaced, the previous ones having been vandalised and bent. Although over ten years ago, I'm sure one day the culprit will be caught.....you know who you are!!!

Don't lie to me...

Number '263'. This had been showing up on my GPS for ages. It was a 'waypoint' I had entered in my old crude 'Etrex' back in 2001. I had obviously neglected to give it a name, and now every time I drove towards Lichfield it would pop up on my screen. I'd forgotten what it was. I couldn't get to it by road, I could only circle it, never getting less than 1/4 of a mile from it. I got out of the car at a high point and scoped the horizon with the aid of the zoom on my camcorder. A familiar outline. I'd seen this before. It was a nuclear 'observer' bunker. That bench was fooling no one!
Nearly a decade ago I lived for a short while part time on a protest camp, campaigning against the new toll motorway or the 'BNRR' as it was known. I feel I must point out that I am not anti-road and most definitely not anti-car, but I am totally opposed to tolls (it was a grand day that the 'turnpike trust' was abolished!). This road was just a money spinner by 'fat cats', it duplicated another motorway route and in the process cut through woods, unreplaceable countryside, greenbelt land, split up farms making them unviable and destroyed peoples homes bought up by compulsory purchase orders! Anyway, I digress...The reason I mention this is at that time protesters would occupy any woods or buildings along the proposed route. This bunker fell on this route and was broken into and inhabited for a short while.
This is what annoys me....It was reported in the local paper, national papers and on TV that this bunker would be destroyed during the construction of the M6 Toll. The official impact report issued by the department for the environment confirmed this as fact. Later reports declared this bunker as demolished. I've checked the maps, they didn't change the plans, this wasn't a mistake...they lied!...Don't lie to me!.....

You can see from this hastily sketched plan that the surface details match. Well, apart from the stonking big orange mushroom of flame!
These observer bunkers are a cold war legacy. Designed for two men, (I don't know what that third man is doing in there, they're not going to repopulated a nuclear devastated earth like that!) the observer corps would monitor the position and effect of any nuclear attack. It wasn't a long term survival bunker, it would only facilitate a fortnight underground, (they obviously got paid by the week!)

The 'lost' channels of Armitage...

I love 'mooching' over old maps, finding old buildings and long lost roads. My search on the ground for these have led me on many an adventure. On an older map of Mavesyn Ridware and surrounding area I noticed some intriguing waterways leading from the R. Trent into the grounds of the newly built power station at Armitage, but on this later map they've all but disappeared. Were they still there, I thought?
The ariel shots on Google Earth were no help, as this area fell in the 'blurry' zone and it just wasn't quite clear enough to see. I would have to go and investigate, and this was kayak territory...

It wasn't going to be simple because there isn't easy access to the river here. Although a main road crosses the river at 'High Bridge' it is to my surprise, rather high! The route would have to be a little more convoluted. So, we ('we' being me and Jenny, she's a good sport and up for any expedition) launched our kayaks at the canal near Handsacre. Three quarters of a mile further west we had to portage the kayaks through this narrow tunnel under the railway, along the footbridge over the river, and then part way down the field. A 22kg boat starts to feel a bit heavy at this point, and now I've got to go back and fetch Jennys!

Now on the R.Trent, we paddled upstream, under the footbridge and it wasn't long before I spotted a gap in the bank on my left. It wasn't far enough up to be anything to do with the power station, but needed to be checked out. Pushing through the reeds, a pleasant channel of water presented itself. This was fun. A short paddle later and...Ooh! Tunnels. Decision time. 1.) Do I go in? 2.)Left or right. Sticking the nose of the kayak in, I soon realised that the water level in the tunnel wasn't deep enough, and I couldn't get out and explore by foot because although the water was shallow, prodding with a paddle revealed nearly 5 foot of silt. Duly marked on my Gps, I retreated.

Half a miles hard paddling against the current, the railway crosses the river. There used to be a weir here but has long ago disintegrated, leaving the fast flowing water strewn with boulders and stonework. Impossible to get a clean stroke for all the debris, we were forced to get out and 'line' the kayaks through here. Thankfully the water was low, but this stretch is treacherous after heavy rain as you can see from the height and amount of rubbish/trees wedged against the bridge footings!

The river widened out, and it was not long before we came to the first channel. We were out of luck. It was narrow, fast flowing and interrupted by lots of little weirs. It was an outlet from the power station. What we needed to find was the inlet...

A good three quarters of a mile further on we came across one. Oh no! It was gated off, all this way for nothing.

Perseverance pays. Higher up, in the shadow of the cooling towers, was another channel. Someone has foolishly left the door open...

What a beautiful bit of waterway. High banks, clothed with reeds and flowers and spanned periodically by little access bridges. I was quite hopeful that we would be able to get right under the cooling towers..got my camera ready!

Foiled at the last hour!! A gate, and locked! Beyond, an inviting body of water and the continuance of the channel. I would never know where it went...

Heading for home, I was glad it was downstream. My arms were getting tired, a coffee break was needed. We found this welcoming gravel bank which made the perfect picnic spot. Well, right up to the point, after discussing "that odd smell", we noticed the bloated sheep corpse!...Hometime!!

The welcome relief of the footbridge looming into sight was short lived, as I remembered I still had to carry those heavy kayaks uphill to the canal! But I was soon enough, back at the car, and loaded up. Sinking into a soft car seat can be the best feeling sometimes...