Escape to Continue

This route of around six miles starts at Moscar on the A57 (part of which is known as the Snake Pass) and then turns to give a great view of Ladybower Reservoir before climbing onto Derwent Edge and returning.

The Snake Pass was completed in 1820 by Thomas Telford for the Duke of Devonshire. The name of the pass comes from the Inn, which in turn took its name from the snake that appears in the Duke of Devonshire’s coat of arms. It has a long track record of serious and fatal accidents. In 1907 a charabanc ran off the road at Moscar, killing three people and injuring several others, including a passing pedestrian who unsuccessfully tried to evade the doomed vehicle and was thrown through a wall.

Having commuted over the Snake for while, a long time ago, I’ve had a couple of incidents. In the first, I was passing the reservoir when the car coming the other way suddenly veered over and we clipped wing mirrors. We were both doing at least 60 mph, so my wing mirror disintegrated, as did his, and his window pretty much exploded. When I turned the car around for a chat, he explained that he had momentarily lost focus whilst pointing out the dam to his passenger. His main concern, being a youth, was what he would tell his Dad and how much he owed me for the mirror. Not the near loss of three lives. I can’t be too judgemental because the second incident was entirely my own fault. I drove too quickly around a corner in wet fog and ploughed into a drystone wall. There is no real excuse but I was driving a Ford Capri, notorious for its inability to corner and popularised by Bodie and Doyle in “The Professionals”. Looking back, it seems there was no excuse for driving a Capri but it was acceptable in the eighties. Bodie and Doyle, along with The Sweeney and others, probably influenced my driving style.

I was fortunate that I received a couple of warnings from The Snake before I hurt myself. I drove along it each day, faster and faster, learning each bend and overtaking spot and tempting fate. Also, I learnt another lesson when I was easily overtaken by a Vauxhall Nova carrying a great deal of speed out of a corner whilst I wrestled with the sideways-loving Capri. Not so lucky was Rik Allen, drummer of Def Leppard. In 1984 he crashed his Corvette Stingray at Moscar and subsequently lost an arm. This didn’t ultimately impede his contribution to Def Leppard, through some cunning modifications of his drum kit. Both the Stingray and the Capri are all bonnet, so that’s probably the cause, in a way.

The Pub

Although the Snake Inn is probably the closest pub, I didn’t fancy sitting by the A57 for a pint, so I chose to try the Strines Inn. It seemed a fine pub, although I sat outside and only briefly went inside to get a pint of “Farmer’s Blonde”. Derided by some as being a bit nondescript and watery I found this local brew to be well kept and a pleasantly thirst-quenching alternative to an “isotonic recovery drink”.