Present : Andy Croughton, Linda Batey, Lorna Marsland, Dave Wylie, Paul Hawkins, Frank Connolly, Dave Dillon.

The Route: The Grouse near Chunal to the Snake Inn and back.

The Weather: Warm and sunny with a gentle breeze in the morning clouding over a little in the afternoon, lowering temperatures.

A rather surprising day, gorgeously mild for the time of year. The plant life seemed to think it was summer and will get a shock the next cold snap (er, ... dream on). Most of the moisture on Mill Hill had obviously sublimated during the last ice age, so no one was waysided on the inward leg. There's one of those discrete stone paths up onto the end of Kinder which pointed us in the right direction for Kinder Downfall. Some water was blowing back up the Downfall, but not enough to wet anyone above, e.g. us having sandwiches. A casual paddle and splash up stream pausing at 'Gates to sneak across to Fair Brook, bouncing in and out of the groughs (sic) on that treacherous crossing. Following our noses straight (except me) to the Snake Inn, there quenching our thirst (it was uncommonly warm, you see). Low alcohol tolerance limits made themselves apparent. Return ticket via Ashop Clough along wavey tracks and paths. The diuretic efficacy of the beverages was noted. Must have been some impressive aircraft crashes judging by the debre visible near Upper Red Brook. Back across Mill Hill and Chunal Moor to complete the day, with a few hours of light to spare. A wonderful route. Even more superb when covered in snow, probably.

Conditions allowing, I plan to traverse the Kinder region. Sneaking onto the plateau from Mill Hill and off later on down to the Snake Inn. Return via Kinder Downfall along the edges and back to the start. The start, probably, will be The Grouse on the A624, so it will be a pub crawl of sorts. The actual track will depend on many factors. More details later, by word of mouth (ie come down to the pub). All are welcome, but unfortunately no makeup supplied.