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95 Ethels in the Peak District

From the Redmires Reservoirs near Sheffield, Clare walks up Stanage Edge to hear about the fascinating life of Ethel Haythornthwaite.

From the Redmires Reservoirs near Sheffield, Clare walks up to Stanage Edge ('stone edge') a gritstone escarpment in the Peak District. Angela Lawrence and Anna Jorgensen are Clare's guests and are retired fell-runners (an accident with a vacuum cleaner ended Angela's running career) but their passion for the hills of the Peak District, which they have run across many times, remains undimmed. They have simply slowed down a little, and are now committed walkers. They wrote to Ramblings to suggest that Clare hike with them up to Stanage Pole. Along the way, on a beautiful, clear-skied day, they take in stunning views, a sociable lunch in a stone bothy, and tell Clare about another of their passions: Argentine Tango.

During the walk they also talk about the "Ethels". In honour of the pioneering environmentalist, Ethel Haythornthwaite, 95 hilltops have been classified by the countryside charity, CPRE, as 'Ethels'. Clare, Angela and Anna delve into Ethel's fascinating life-story as they immerse themselves in the scenery that inspired her. The Ethels were recently created following an idea from Doug Colton.

The Grid Reference for Redmires Reservoirs is SK265858.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor

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24 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 10 Mar 2022 15:00
  • Sat 12 Mar 2022 06:07

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