Why is there a path over Alphin Pike? After all until the CROW Act you weren't supposed to go there. The answer is that a hardy band of walkers, to whom "Keep Out" notices were no more than a challenge, kept plodding up the steep, heathery slopes above Dovestone Reservoir to enjoy the freedom of windswept open spaces. Mind you we had a few hairy scrambles up almost vertical moorland before we found the path they made, but it's a good one and the walk along the edge to Wimberry Rocks is magic!
LOCATION: 5 miles east of Oldham
START: Dovestone car park, Bank Road off the A635, toilets
Grid ref: SE013034 Postcode: OL3 7NE
DISTANCE: 7 miles
GRADE: Moderate
TIME: 4 hours
MAP: Explorer OL - Dark Peak Landranger 110
REFRESHMENTS: Pack a flask
EN ROUTE: Forty Row Cottages, Buckton Castle, Alphin Cairn, Saddleworth Moors, Wimberry Rocks, Chew Brook, Chew Reservoir
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News