Chew Valley
We’re taking a hike up Chew Valley. We pass The Clarence on the way, site of my teenage drinking and snooker playing. The area of Dovestones is on the edge of Oldham and the Peak District National Park, and one of my favourite places to visit. Parking at Dovestones Reservoir must count as one of the largest and most popular areas for rambling served by one of the smallest car parks in the country. We circle it three times until someone leaves. What a relief.
It’s glorious here.
I love the vegetation up the slopes of Chew Valley and the gorge down the side, which the water has worn away. The range of habitats with slope, soil depth, humidity and orientation mean many species live in different areas of the slope.
As we walk, we pass the Oldham Mountain Rescue Team. You may not know that Oldham has a mountain rescue team. They do, and it’s sorely needed given the number of people who go out unprepared. We have Anna the dog with us and she gets a treat from them on the way up.
We reach the top and there’s Chew Reservoir. It’s a glorious day.
On the way down Anna lingers at the Oldham Mountain Rescue Team tent. She knows where the treats are, gets one, and I leave a donation in the bucket. You never know when you might be the one who is unprepared.
Then it’s off to The Church Inn, Uppermill for rag pudding and chips for her and fish and chips for me. I suspect the rag pudding is cooked in shirt-tails, just as it should be. Oldham is famous for many things, not all of them good, but Oldham is the place which first fried potatoes into chips (fries if you’re American) and is the original place which had a shop selling fried fish and chips in the 1860s. I ordered the small fish, not that you can tell, and yes, that is a large plate.
Naturally, I had a pint of mild with it. We have a lot to thank Oldham for.
I wrote about Oldham in my photobook, Welcome To Oldham:
Size: Square, 7×7 in, 18×18 cm
Number of Pages: 40
Cover: Hard back in black linen. Dust wrapper