Coombes Rocks and Lantern Pike Sun 14/12/08

I set off towards the Peak District early on Sunday morning. It was a foggy journey along the motorway. Luckily the fog seemed to have cleared by the time I was driving up the Monks Road that traverses the summit of the Coombes Rocks (sometimes refered to as Crown Edge). Right at the summit there is a layby where I parked up to check out the view. Looking back towards the Etherow Valley where I had driven through fog I was supprised to see an amazing cloud inversion. Here it is:





The start of my walk was a mile further down the road on the other side of the summit. The view on the easter side of Coombes Rock is across heather moorland to the higher fells of the Dark Peak - Kinder Scout, Bleaklow, and Black Hill. Today I was just going to tackle the small summit of Lantern Pike, returning through Rowarth and the southern half of Coombes Rocks.

I set out across the matley moor to join a track that took me to the foot of lantern pike.



It just a short steep pull up to the summit. Once climbed though, there are fantastic views over towards Kinder Scout. Today the clouds were too low to see the top of the kinder platau, but it was still an impressive scene.