Is it a subconscious desire for warmth that the Slow Warts have visited a series of fireplaces during recent winter outings? A few weeks ago, we came across the ruins of a small stone hut with a fireplace and a still intact chimney, above Lawrencefield quarries. Last Tuesday’s (yes, Tuesday, New Year’s Eve) venture was to the mysterious blockhouse or grotto near Brogging Moss. Inside it was about 6” deep in water but there was a fireplace with a lintel and a hole in the roof for a chimney. The purpose of the blockhouse is still under discussion amongst ourselves, possibly part of a decoy to prevent the bombing of Sheffield City centre or a refuge for grouse shooters or what?
Our latest fireplace visit was part of a very cold (–4⁰C) snowy outing from Cutthroat Bridge, a replacement for Andy’s planned Broomhead, where there were possible access problems caused by snow. Our initial thoughts at the Bridge were mainly wardrobe related, how many layers for head, body, legs and feet? Whatever, the seven of us were well dressed (to FRA standards) for the occasion. We avoided the high-level route to the bridge itself and took the short stretch of road. It was a relief to reach the snowy path and surprisingly for us, to start running and running, ignoring the off-piste route normally taken to the upper path. We reached the edge from where we soon encountered partially frozen virgin snow descending into Grainfoot Clough. There was even some joire de vivre leaping down the hillside by younger, still agile members of the group; some life in the old dogs still?
Joy was then replaced by a bit of hard work climbing through the forest to admire another fireplace in the ruins of a house. What a grand and impressive lintel, could we ever find a finer one? The challenge is on! Sadly, there was no fireplace in the National Trust hut around the hillside, but it would perhaps be a useful addition to the shelter for weary outdoor folk.
A bit of weariness crept as we climbed back up to the Edge, hard slippery exertion which warmed us all up, I even got a bit of a “dab” on, we were glowing. At the Edge, we took the high path but, in our excitement and the glow effect, we decided to go directly to the lower path. The sparkling snow was unreliably crusty, both supportive and unsupportive, nevertheless exhilarating. The lower path was more consistent making running possible for a fine finish to the car park.
Wow! There was much enjoyment of the outing with comments that maybe it was one of the best winter ones. At the YBI, there was a sense of pride and pleasure at completing it. This was surprisingly tempered by a temporary lapse into casual GOMdom (the domain of grumpy old men) as we grumbled about various irritations we had, including the general cost of things, but we soon recovered our composure and enjoyed the satisfaction of a grand night out, thanks to all. A spectacular outing.
Graham
