Scrambling - Deer Knowl

11 September 2016

The initial plan was to go back to Alderman Rocks and try variation 2 or 3 of a scramble from a week ago but then I changed my mind and went for Deer Knowl on Bleaklow North instead.

This was yet another sunny weekend this year. I honestly don't know why people complain about the British weather. It's yet another summer which I end up with a suntan.

We parked in a little car park on B6105 at the southwest corner of the Woodhead Reservoir and followed approach description from the guide book. This time I did not have problems with route finding. The path becomes fainter closer one gets to the rocks and then it dries completely. This is not a problem in good visibility as the rocks can be easily identified by matching with the photo from the Cicerone guidebook.

Getting very close to the start of a scramble

The idea again was to practise our ropework skills. I kind of expected the place to be a bit forgotten and it did look like this judging from vegetation and a lot of loose rock.

Nevertheless, we exercised gear placement and setting up belays as much as we could. The route apart from the initial crux (pictured in the book) is not very difficult but there is a lot of loose rocks so one needs to be careful not to dislodge something that could hit a partner below. Since this is a northern part of Bleaklow despite absolutely clear sky and warm day belayer could get a bit chilly, especially when waiting for ages for a beginner to set up his anchors. We did make a few mistakes but the good thing is that we realized what we were doing wrong and also the route is quite forgiving.

Magda waiting for me at the top of the route

At the top, we sat for a while contemplating the views and sunbathing (it is cheaper to do this in Britain than going to Spain and you can do this much more frequently as people go to Spain only once a year usually?) whilst having a snack.

View towards Crowden

The descent route is not obvious. We turned west and then started coming down on a grassy/heathery slope. Care is necessary as it is very easy for an injury by falling in one of the holes in the ground obscured by heather.

Comparing this route to Alderman Rocks I would say the latter is closer to a climbing route and it is easier to place gear as there is no loose rock there. The Deer Knowl, on the other hand, feels wilder despite the proximity of Woodhead Pass. The access is slightly more difficult, the route is not being used very frequently and you end up on Bleaklow plateau so don't expect any sort of welcoming committee ;)