Shutling's Low

A brief journey up into the Peak District today - nice day for it, if cold. I was there to visit someone, so didn't do anything strenuous. I enjoyed the rugged scenery though, including the conical hill Shutling's Low, which I recall climbing with friends at just this time of the year (though some time back), and the dour gritstone walls and buildings along the lanes. This being the area around Three Shires Head, there were also some very open views, particularly over onto the Cheshire Plain. I drove back through Flash and onto the Buxton to Leek road, just to revisit areas I've known of old. The light was fading by then, but we kept a fair amount of light till after half-past five. Somewhere in the Blackshaw Moor area I noticed a guy walking along dressed in T shirt, shorts and sandals; it had been sunny, but the temperature gauge in my car was by this time registering 2 degrees. Clearly, they're a hard lot up that way! I recall, by the way, that when we ascended Shutling's Low we overtook a guy on a mountain bike who was hardly moving at all despite pedalling frantically in some ultra-low gear. He was doggedly insisting on not dismounting! He did rather speed past us on the way down, mind you. My other memory of that walk was the line of muddy boots against the outside wall of the pub in Wincle, ours included.