Winnats Pass Derbyshire…the nice lady from Rowter Farm had said something about Winnats Pass and Sparrowfoot…. 
“Yeah yeah” we said, too excited about our break in Derbyshire to actually listen.
It was something about there being one way to the camp site that we were not to attempt in a motorhome.
Especially an old motorhome.
Particularly OUR old motorhome….it didn’t take us long to realise that we were on our way up that very road with no chance of turning back.
Unless we didn’t make it up – and in that case the way down would not be pleasant.
That was almost the case….this poor old CREE almost breathed her last on that stairway to van-heaven. She doesn’t like hills in Suffolk let alone anything like this… 20% and counting! Labouring in first gear, wheels slipping on the Derbyshire rained on road, another fifty feet would have been forty nine too many. Not often the passenger stops talking but …..!! Said passenger also tried to refuse to go down that treacherous Pass on the way home – but got ignored. The brakes got warm. It was o.k. actually – the view is amazing – certainly takes your mind off the risk of impending death.
There used to be an alternative route – something more user-friendly. A mountainside road with a softer incline. And it collapsed many years ago. The road just cracked and slid down the mountain.
Reassuring.
That road was built along the side of a mountain whose sides slip and slide. Eventually the authorities gave up repairing it. Mam Tor has sides of shale and is known as the shivering or shimmering mountain due to the frequent land slides. Going up or down Winnats Pass in this vehicle also produces a sh** sensation.
We walked it and that was gruelling enough although worth every pained step.
We then travelled along Snake Pass. Stunning scenery – the heather blanketing the peaks as they dipped their foothills into the reservoir. A glance in the side mirrors confirmed why it is called Snake Pass – our beast proudly headed a long snake of traffic.
We often have a bit of a following….we could refer to them as fans maybe. Or maybe we could not.
We are keen on designing a bumper sticker with the van’s amply proportioned bum on it and the encouraging logo YOU COULD ALSO BE FOLLOWING US ON FACEBOOK. ….it will give a smile or add to their irritation. But at least they can voice their love of camper-vans to us on FACEBOOK. What better way to make friends and connect ?
