MONOCHROME – Soaked to the skin before I even started. 
The views to North Wales from the White House Pub the previous night had been replaced by low black cloud, heavy rain and increasing winds. Dauntless I set off up over Blackstone Edge with no shelter until after about 3 miles I had crossed the M62 and arrived at the white burger van near the motorway junction. I took brief shelter and ploughed on across the moor to White Hill with its newly painted white trig point. Saw a few other walkers doing the PW – idiots like me. Going over Millstone Edge I was getting battered by the gales and decided to do a video only to discover my phone would not work – do no photos. Nowhere to shelter for lunch I just kept going past Standedge and Wessenden reservoirs, over a main road and faced the raging torrents of Dean Clough brook, swelled by the last 2 days rain and impossible to cross at the normal point. I scrambled 50 yards upstream to find a place narrow enough for me dare to leap over. Once I regained the path it was an hour of slogging on slabs, bog and mud up and over Black Hill (another newly painted white trig point) then down towards Crowden Brook. There were several points where again I had to leap across and wade through the fast flowing stream until the path gained height taking me to the cliff edge walk over Laddow Rocks and the long descent to the camp site at Crowden. I managed to get my phone working but in video/selfie mode only – still no photos and an even worse weather forecast for tomorrow where I will be joined again by Shirley and Chris Zanetti, a friend from Hull – hope they are prepared!