As we now have a gap in the meets calendar at the end of April, it seems a waste of the longer daylight hours and potentially fine spring weather not to put on a meet!
So I’m proposing a reboot of the classic Etherow Watershed hike on Saturday 26 April 2025. A regular feature on the RC meets programme, the EW hasn’t been done by the club (I think) since those last few innocent weeks pre-COVID19 in Feb 2020. So it’s well due a revival! (And this hike was my first encounter with the Rucksack Club, way back in 2013, where the photo is from, although I didn’t end up joining the club until last year.)
For those not yet in the know, the Etherow Watershed is a walk of about 35 miles (56km) with around 4000 ft (1250m) elevation around the edge of the drainage basin of the River Etherow. It starts and finishes at Hobson Moor Quarry, Mottram, then goes via Laddow, Black Hill, Holme Moss, Woodhead, Bleaklow, Coombes Edge, and returning to Hobson Moor about 12 hours after departing. With it being a circular route there are plenty of opportunities to take a shortcut back to the start if that’s your thing.
The next longer hike in the calendar is Rich A.Wilkes’ Welsh 3000s in June. For anyone feeling a bit intimidated by the rigours of that undertaking, the Etherow Watershed would be good training. And it’s still a couple of months away – so even if you don’t feel quite ready today, there’s still time to train.
I’m predicting fine weather ☺ – the lapwings and skylarks will be calling, the cotton grass will be swaying in a balmy breeze and spring energy will be on the rise. Who’s in?
Email me at outdoormeets@rucksackclub.org if you are interested.
[posted 22 Feb 2025]