The Coach & Horses Rocks 4th October 2025

• 11.06km route
• Rucking with 20kg's
• Route difficulty - Advanced. This route started out well, although it was reasonably steep it was still following a good path up to Derwent edge, but the descent took a very under used path which became very challenging at times especially in the wet weather that day.

This weekend was dominated by Storm Amy, so we decided to stay relatively local and safe. We started out parking near the Ladybower reservoir bridge on the side of the Snake Road. The route started just across the road and took the track up behind the houses which over look the reservoir. 

The route turned of the track and followed a path through the woods, which took us up to the ridgeline of the Derwent edge. The weather had been pretty calm when we started out, although we did set out with our waterproofs on as we were pretty sure it was going to be a wet one at some point.

If you have been following our blog, you will know we have rucked around the reservoir and the surrounding area's plenty of times, but we have never been up this side of the valley, so the higher we got, it was really interesting to see things from a different point of view.

As we got higher up towards Derwent Edge, the weather started to show us how the rest of the day was going to be. The wind and rain were lashing us, but as the path was nice and wide, we knew we were within our skill set and preparedness being up there so carried on. If the weather had gotten much worse or we had not prepared for bad weather we would have turned round as it is not sensible to carry on if you are not prepared for when things change.

We followed the ridgeline getting blown about by the wind and rain, but thankfully we made it to the Coach & Horses rock and were able to find a bit of shelter, so we tucked ourselves away and had a very welcome coffee and some breakfast. Normally we  would look for somewhere with a view for breakfast but today our priorities were a little different.

Soon after breakfast, the route took us down off of Derwent Edge, and we followed  a path behind a wall which gave us another welcome break from the wind and rain, but soon the path came out form behind the wall and we headed across some marshland through what felt like never ending bracken fields. It is this path that got quite challenging at tines as the ground was pretty sodden and the mud was quite slippy, making the going very tricky, especially with 20kg's on your back. Eventually we made it down the path around the reservoir which was quite a nice change for the last 3 km's of the route. By this time we were both pretty soaked through, but this still doesn't take away the enjoyment of the challenge the day had thrown at us, and as usual Rosie had the time of her life as well.

We had stayed local to minimise the effects of Storm Amy on our ruck, but even then we were challenged quite a bit today we still had a great time, soaked or not!