Black Harry Gate ...

The weather was fine but on the cool side as I walked away from Calver, taking the footpath just up the road from the Garden Centre.







The footpath joins a green lane [which is no more than a footpath though it looks as though it should be a bridleway]. This green lane climbs for over half a mile towards the crest of Longstone Edge ...







Once I'd got to Longstone Edge, I followed the unclassified county road towards Bleaklow Farm. At the entrance to the farm there's a biggish quarry. It amazes me that there's still any stone still there to take away ...



   You can see a couple of guys standing in the bottom of the quarry and one of the lorries carting off a bit more of Derbyshire on the top.

There's a warning to keep clear ...



I followed the track towards Black Harry Gate ...





  Black Harry Gate has changed over the 30 years I have been walking ~ there didn't used to be large lorries trundling past back then. They have rather messed the place up ...





As you can see, my boots didn't look so good after trying to avoid the deepest bits ...



I walked down Coombs Dale ...







Further down the dale a new pool has been created ... and there's another warning ...



... but the water doesn't look too deep.



Further on the surface of the path gets easier. There are fewer large-ish stones to turn an ankle on and the scenery changes character too, becoming more wooded ...



When I got back to Calver crossroads I went into the cafe at Outside, the outdoor shop. I treated myself to an all day breakfast. I did show some self control and just had the small breakfast, five items for £3.50 ~ I didn't think I would be able to cope with the ten item breakfast one.

Date of walk ~ 19th October 2009


Length of walk ~ 5 1/4 miles.


Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 58 1/2 miles

Whatever happened to Bill Hucknall ?

There's a small car park on the Southwell Trail in Nottinghamshire between Edlington and Kirklington. You can easily get away from the crowds there. I did on Sunday ...

A short distance from the car park a path runs down the side of Edingley Beck towards Edingley itself ...



Like so many other places it looks as though dog owners haven't been keeping their dogs under control ...



Or perhaps the notice is there so that Nottinghamshire County Council's efforts to encourage wildflife won't be scuppered ...



October probably isn't the best time to admire a six metre conservation strip but here it is anyway ...




A couple of fields later and I was still walking beside Edingley Beck. The wood in the photo below is shown as a moat on the OS Map but when I got level with it I couldn't see much in the trees.



Edingley churchyard was quiet when I entered it but then aren't most villages generally. If anyone's about they're usually in a car, driving by ...



 Round the back of the church this stone caught my eye the last time we were here ...



I followed the path that runs west on the southern side of the village, passing this sign ...



I was walking towards Cotton Mill Farm, walking through these cows with their calves. Fortunately they didn't seem bothered by my presence. I'm so glad I don't have a dog though, if only for my own safety ...



On reaching Farnsfield I followed a narrow path that runs between houses to the Plough Inn ...







I love paths that run through villages like this.

I reached the Plough and then walked along The Ridgeway [not to be confused with The Ridgeway, of course] to join the Southwell Trail.



The Southwell Trail runs in a fairly straight line for the next one and a half miles. Sit back and enjoy the scenery ...









The seats have been provided by Nottinghamshire County Council and have this carved into them ... 



Just before I got back to the car park, the sun came out a little more forcefully and looking back shafts of sunlight were shining through the leaves ...



I drove back to the Plough then and had a meal there ... three days later and I can't remember what it was. Still it was enjoyable as was the beer.

And Bill Hucknall ?  Well he is the only person I know who comes from Farnsfield. He lodged with our family 40 yards ago. He was a police cadet but we lost touch with him not long after he moved on. I've often wondered how his life went. He must be in his early 60s now. I can't imagine Bill being that age.

The woman behind the bar had obviously heard of Bill because all she said was I think he's moved from Farnsfield ...

It was a long shot ... but worth trying.

Date of walk ~ 18th October 2009


Length of walk ~ 4 miles.

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 53 1/4 miles

Up Winyard's Nick ...

My Beloved felt well enough on Saturday to go for her first walk in over a month. The Peak District is what she favoured, rather than Nottinghamshire, and I was pleased to accommodate her.

We started from the car park behind Longshaw Lodge and walked in front of the lodge, with Higger Tor and Carl Wark to our right ...

We walked down the path where we'd uprooted some rhododendrons a few years ago with the National Trust. Sheep were grazing in the [fairly] early morning sunshine ...



 Padley Gorge was busy with as many photographers as walkers ... well, nearly. Twisted and misshapen oak trees push through discarded rocks ...



Some of the oak trees were more misshapen than others ...



  A millstone lies in the path, though how many notice is debateable ...



Downhill of the millstone a fallen tree lies against another ...



From a few yards away we noticed it wasn't as smooth as it should have been ...



Hundreds of coins had been hammered into it ~ it's a wishing tree. Offer up a coin and make a wish ...



This is where I could make some reference to going from one extreme to the other, from pagans to Roman Catholics, but I won't.

Padley Chapel has a connection with the Catholic martyrs Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam [or Ludlum] who were hanged, drawn and quartered in Derby near St. Mary's Bridge. There's more here ... http://padley.catholicweb.com/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=196768&From=Home ~ I wish people would stop saying 'hung, drawn and quartered' though. 



 If I've ever looked at the ruins of Padley Manor, it must have been a long time ago. I don't remember seeing them before ...



We were following the track from Padley Chapel towards Greenwood Farm and the A6187 beyond that ...



We were tempted to have a coffee stop at these discarded, unfinished, millstones ...



There are some good views from this track across the Derwent valley, towards Offerton Moor and Hathersage ...





We turned right on the A6187, forking left on the B road after 60 or 70 yards walking up the road beside Whim Wood [shown as Whim Plantation on the OS Map]. Then we entered the wood before we turned northward towards Winyard's Nick ...



That's the nick, above, between the two outcrops. We had a coffee stop on a rock just this side of the nick ... beside a couple of small plastic bags full of dog muck. Why do people do that ? They collect the crap in a bag then they leave the bag on the moor !

We moved on.

In the nick we got a view over the other side ... of Burbage Edge and the moorland stretching down to Toad's Mouth ...



Walking down the path towards Toad's Mouth another path joins from Carl Wark. At that point there's a plain wooden seat with this plaque on it ...



We re-crossed the A6187 and crossed Burbage Brook [assuming that's what it's called, once it's off the moor] ...



Beside the path leading back in the direction of Longshaw Lodge there's a newish seat, starting to fade now, which a passing walker was pleased to pose on for me ...



All that remained was to get back to the tearoom at Longshaw.

As we went the sun was slightly more prominent ...



There was some disappointment when we got to the tearoom ~ they had just sold the last of the homity pie. Still, they were selling five of my books ... and they were still available.

Date of walk ~ 17th October 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 1/2 miles.


Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 49 1/4 miles