Wilderness Gully West Scramble | 5 Miles

November 3, 2024 CIRCULAR WALKS, MEDIUM WALKS 4-9 MILES, PEAK DISTRICT SCRAMBLES, PEAK DISTRICT WALKS

This walk took us up Wilderness Gully West, a Grade 1 scramble in the Chew Valley, to find the wreckage of the De Havilland Mosquito B Mk16 PF395 on the Chew Hills. This 5 mile walk explores off the beaten track, avoiding most of the crowds at Dove Stone Reservoir.

There are several Wilderness Gullies of varying degrees of difficulty. Wilderness Gully West is a Grade 1 scramble leading from Chew Brook to the valley rim.

We started from the car park at Dove Stone Reservoir and headed out past the sailing club. At the bridge over Chew Brook we took the footpath running alongside the Brook, heading south. There’s a large rock on its own, and here we joined the former railway line. This railway was constructed to help shift clay up the hillside when the Chew Reservoir was being built.

Crossing the footbridge, we climbed up to join Chew Road and walked for around a third of a mile. We then dropped down the banking again to reach Chew Brook. Crossing the Brook, Wilderness Gully West is the first deep gully line below Chew Hurdles. It’s a relatively simple hands on scramble, but it was quite greasy and slippery when we did this. There are large boulders and rocks to climb over but you’re soon at the top.

We turned left to follow the valley rim path east for around a third of a mile before leaving the path and heading south-east to find the wreckage of the Mosquito.

The De Havilland Mosquito PF395 was part of 571 Squadron returning from an operation in Hamburg on 22 October 1944 when the portside engine started to overheat, forcing the pilot to shut it down. He then lost all his navigational aids and a huge cloud sheet rolled in. Sadly the plane flew into the rocky slope of the Chew Hills, killing both crew. There is an impact site at SE 02611 03182 and a debris pool at SE 02559 03179.

We returned back to the path and soon came to Chew Reservoir, and from here we followed the Chew Road all the way back down to the sailing club and back to the car.

If you did this walk you could extend it by taking the path above the old quarry, just down from Chew Reservoir, and heading around the top of Dish Stone Brow.

Wilderness Gully West Walk Details:

Walk Route in OS Maps: Wilderness Gully West and the Mosquito Wreck

Parking: Pay and display car parking at Dove Stone Reservoir, Bank Lane Greenfield OL3 7NE. W3W:///insects.nudge.track Be sure to take cash as sometimes the card machine doesn’t work.

Facilities: There are public toilets in the car park but no other facilities. Remember to Leave No Trace.

Walk Time: 3-4 hours

Difficulty: ▲▲▲

Distance: 4.98 miles (8km)

Elevation: 1150ft (350m)

Trig Points Bagged: None

Peak District Peaks Bagged: None

Peak District Ethels Bagged: None

For more Peak District scrambles you might like:

Blackden Brook Scramble to Edale Moor Trig Point | 8 Miles

Fair Brook Scramble to Kinder Scout Northern Edges | 9 Miles

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