On a wildgoose chase

Following the Cromford Canal ~ 3

2010-10-07T20:34:00.000+01:00

The third walk along the Cromford Canal as I progress away from Cromford itself.

I parked next to The Birches at Ambergate and crossed the River Derwent ...

I passed the cricket pitch and the Hurt Arms before turning up Chase Road to cross the canal. On the far side of the canal is this well ...

A few hundred yards later and I was walking up through Crich Chase with the sun coming through the leaves overhead ...

I climbed the hill out of the valley and came out on the path to the west of Chadwick Nick, Crich. Turning left I entered the small woodland beside the road and followed the path through the wood. There's a good view from here away towards Masson Hill above Matlock ...

Walking down the lane towards Whatstandwell I noticed an old milestone which is one of the roadside features that we ignore or take for granted ....

I find them fascinating, what with their quaint lettering and misspellings ~ doesn't the one above read 'ASHBOURE' rather than 'ASHBOURNE' ?

Rather than go all the way down to the A6 and pick up the canal, I wandered along some of the more obscure paths of Whatstandwell and ended up in the wood on the east side of the Whatstandwell/Holloway road ...

Then I was nearly down to the canal near Robin Hood and looking along the path we'd walked a few days ago ... and still the wild garlic wasn't in full bloom !

Then I was down by the canal and continuing along my journey, initially towards Whatstandwell bridge ...

I passed under the bridge and noticed the water level was quite low.

The unusual thing about the house on the right in the photo above is that it is built above a tunnel ...

Further along the canal some clearance work had been done on the far side of the canal and the bluebells were in flower ...

There were some small wooden 'rafts' floating on the water ...

... and close inspection revealed what they were.

'DWT' stands for 'Derbyshire Wildlife Trust'.

The greenery was lush and plentiful ...

... and by now I was getting nearer to Ambergate ...

Earlier in the day I had walked over the bridge I now went under ...

I assume the marks under the bridge were where the rope of the horse walking along the towpath slowly rubbed into the stone ...

Then I walked under a rather rusty old bridge ...

... to reach the end of the canal, at least at this point ...

The canal used to run through here but now there is, or at least there was, some large 'gas' buildings ... but more of that another day.

All that remained was for me to backtrack at this point all the way back to the car.

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/19674

Date of walk ~ 9th May 2010

Length of walk ~ 6 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 135 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 265 miles

25 of 2010

Following the Cromford Canal ~ 2

2010-09-27T19:11:00.000+01:00

You're probably wondering why start the second section of my walk with a photo of a rhododendron. Well, we parked near to Lea Rhododendron Gardens and even from the road there were plenty of beautiful flowers to see ...

We walked down the path on the northern side of the gardens where the overhanging rhodies meant we had to keep our heads low ...

We got down to the main road running through Holloway and passed the church ...

I don't know that I have ever walked all the way along the main street of Holloway, past Little London and the art gallery. Then we passed the Yew Tree pub, closed for a few years now. We descended the path with Lea Hurst, Florence Nightingale's Derbyshire home, away to our right and with the canal, out of sight, in the valley below ...

On reaching the canal at Gregory Tunnel we turned left and headed towards Whatstandwell, passing the handful of properties known as Robin Hood ...

Why Robin Hood I always ask myself.

We continued with the canal alongside us, on our left ...

The canal, in the photo immediately above, looks strange because the surface of the water was covered in thousands and thousands of tiny leaves.

After just a couple of miles [if that] we had to leave the canal to get back to Long Lane, Lea. We were just a few days too early to see the wild garlic in flower.

When we reached Wakebridge we walked along the edge of the valley looking down at the views. We got onto Long Lane, the lane leading to the Rhododendron Gardens. There were dark clouds overhead ...

... and then we were in the middle of a hailstorm ...

and the hailstones hurt.

Good walk though.

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/19674

Date of walk ~ 3rd May 2010

Length of walk ~ 4 1/4 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 129 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 259 miles

24 of 2010

Following the Cromford Canal ~ 1

2010-09-20T06:54:00.000+01:00

I have decided to walk the whole of the Cromford Canal ... or what remains of it as it is disused and unusable in some parts. The first few miles are fine though ...

Starting at Cromford Wharf car park [where a fee is payble] there's a tearoom here and toilets ...

... and some of the original buildings ...

Within, what, half a mile of the start of the canal there's an attractive stone bridge where some of my schoolfriends used to miss out a lap during cross country runs ...

I could name names ...

These photographs were taken right at the beginning of May and the leaves still have that springtime freshness ...

I reached the buildngs of High Peak Junction but unfortunately some of them were shrouded in sheeting but looking back you can see how quiet the canal was that day ...

I reached Leawood Pump House which still works and which opens so many weekends a year.

There's plenty of information about it, here ... http://www.middleton-leawood.org.uk/

I'm being lazy, I know. However, I can confirm it is an interesting place to visit, though I would hate to keep all the machinery clean and polished.

Just beyond the pump house the Nightingale arm of the canal runs away towards John Smedley's factory. Just beyond the junction of the Nightingale arm and the canal proper there are signs of the canal getting silted up ...

In the photo above you can see the bluebells in Lea Wood. On my side of the canal other plants were in flower, such as wild garlic ...

and butterbur ...

As I came to Gregory Tunnel I spotted a long tailed tit's nest in a bramble at head height right beside the canal. I have a photograph but it's not a good one. It seemed strange that the nest had been built just literally out of arm's reach in such a busy place. Perhaps when the leaves came out a bit more then the nest wouldn't be so visible.

I walked through the tunnel ...

Primroses were out too ...

I left the canal at the tunnel and crossed the River Derwent and passed under the railway line to come out on the A6 at Homesford Cottage. The pub there has now closed and I dare say it will never open again ...

Just beyond the pub I turned sharp left up a path that rises towards Longway Bank and from there [using a concessionary path in the wood] I reached Intake Lane.

It was thereabouts that I spotted a Midshires Way waymark ...

Intake Lane passes under the High Peak Trail on the edge of Cromford village ...

From there I descended into the village, crossed the A6 and got back to my car.

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/19521

Date of walk ~ 2nd May 2010

Length of walk ~ 5 1/2 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 124.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 254.75 miles

23 of 2010

A [short] walk from Rowsley ~ 26th April 2010

2010-09-11T07:49:00.000+01:00

I think Natasha must have been working and, as usual, I had difficulty getting myself motivated ...

... so eventually I ended up doing a short local walk from Rowsley.

I parked next to the playing fields and crossed the bridge, admiring [as I always do] the view of the River Wye ...

I then picked up the Derwent Valley Heritage Way as it runs beside the River Derwent, south from the old station ...

The wild garlic was just coming into leaf and the violets were flowering ...

The District Council seem intent in returning Rowsley Sidings to industry instead of leaving it to nature [which is, of course, much more attractive to the walker].

Enough blathering ...

Walking up Northwood Lane, I turned left up the lane to Tinkersley and got a good view across the valley towards Peak Tor, above Rowsley.

The zigzag stretch of road through Tinkersley, a collection of five or six homes, climbs up the hillside and I usually have to stop and admire the view at some stage [ahem].

Once I'd got my breath I followed the bridleway through Copy Wood ... there was no one else about.

The bridleway comes out on the Rowsley Bar road though I would hate riding a horse down the steep zig zag section of road from there. I wonder if anyone actually does it ?

Downhill is Toll Bar Cottage, with heathers in the foreground ...

Just beyond the cottage another bridleway leads into Rowsley Wood and then a path takes you downhill towards Rowsley itself.

By now the sun was shining and it was a lovely spring day.

Chatsworth Road with Lindop Wood on the Chatsworth Estate looked good that morning ...

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/19357

Date of walk ~ 26th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 3 1/2 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 119.25 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 249.25 miles

22 of 2010

They think it's all over ... it is now !

2010-08-30T08:32:00.000+01:00

or, finishing off Offa's walk ~ Day 6

On this day of days, Natasha and I travelled north to the Irish Sea. Parking the car near the seafront we turned inland away from the sea to find the Prestatyn-Dyserth Way ... and headed south.

The Prestatyn-Dyserth Way is an old railway line ... now a cycleway, path and inevitably dog toilet ...

As we got further south, we left most of the housing behind.

We could have nipped into Meliden and had a pint ... but it was too early in the day ... and we had some walking to do.

The Prestatyn-Dyserth Way is only about three miles long and perhaps calling it a Way is way too much ... but it is pleasant walking and got us out into the countryside nice and easily ...

Though we hadn't seen many walkers on it, there were even fewer now. Still it was a Friday ...

We reached the spot where we'd left the Offa's Dyke Path the day before. Natasha was just about to pose next to the signpost when she said I should stand there ...

So here I am at the beginning of the end of my last day on the Offa's Dyke Path ...

Any similarity between me and a sack of potatoes is purely coincidental.

So, we started to head north, back towards Prestatyn.

I was surprised and relieved that the last day was proving much more interesting than I thought it was going to be.

The walk runs through the Prestatyn Hillside Nature Reserve and although we didn't see anything particularly interesting as regards natural history, the views were impressive ...

We sat on the one seat we found in the Nature Reserve and enjoyed the view.

Looking to our left, we could see the Prestatyn-Dyserth Way with Meliden beyond ...

Straight in front of us we were looking down at Meliden with the golf course to the right, immediately beyond the Prestatyn-Dyserth Way ...

Finally, to the right, the outskirts of Prestatyn ...

We couldn't sit there forever though we could have stayed longer.

A little later beside the path someone had left a bowl and some water for passing dogs ...

The path wound on ...

As we neared Prestatyn the path got quite narrow in places ...

Then we were down into the town itself, passing a large Roman helmet ...

On the helmet was an image of King Offa ...

All the way down to the beach, a mile away, roadside posts had one of these on them ...

We were just a few hundred yards from the end of a walk of over 180 miles ...

Finally, we were at the end and I stood on the beach, returning to have yet another photograph taken.

5 or 6 years ago I set off from Chepstow and walked the whole route from south to north. In the process I must have walked at least double the 182 miles and I think I can say I enjoyed every minute. It's a great Long Distance Path.

So what do I do now ?

I am already making plans ...

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/19007

Date of walk ~ 23rd April 2010

Length of walk ~ 9 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 115.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 245.75 miles

21 of 2010

The last day but one ... and one had mixed feelings ...

2010-08-24T07:12:00.000+01:00

... or, finishing off Offa's walk ~ Day 5

Just one day to go after this and I felt slightly sad that I was near to finishing what I had started 5 [or was it 6] years ago ... but also pleased that I had walked from the south coast of Wales to the north coast albeit in a less conventional way than most.

We started where we had left off on Day 4, a mile or so outside Tremeirchion ...

The path wound around the south-western slopes of Moel Maenefa ...

We crossed the A55 ...

I had given Natasha the impression that Day 5 was going to be easy with no hills.

Well there was a good climb from the lane to the north of Rhuallt. It went up and up ... and then up again.

We had nearly reached the point where we were going to leave the long distance path when we caught a glimpse of the sea ... and the wind turbines.

We left the Offa's Dyke Path and swung south towards the village of Cwm, walking down through Church Wood ...

We found a seat in the churchyard at Cwm as the sun beat down on us. It was the warmest day we had experienced this week.

We walked along a quiet lane, back towards Rhuallt, with good views of the plain to our right. Then began the climb from Rhuallt back to the car ...

By now Natasha had developed a bit of a problem with her leg ... but she pressed on ... slowly ...

Eventually, for the last two or three hundred yards, the bridleway levelled out.

Overhead the rooks were calling noisily whilst building their large, messy nests ...

Another day's walking drew to a close.

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/19007

Date of walk ~ 22nd April 2010

Length of walk ~ 8 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 106.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 236.75 miles

20 of 2010

Mastiff Attack ...

2010-08-12T20:05:00.000+01:00

or Finishing off Offa's walk ... Day 4 ...

We parked near our holiday cottage, no more than three miles away, with a view to walking along the Clwydian Way into Bodfari so we could pick up the Offa's Dyke Path from where we had left it the day before.

In the distance we could see the snow capped peaks of Snowdonia ...

[You may have to click on the photo and look at a large version to see Snowdonia.]

A little way along a lane we reached an obstructed path ... with a public footpath signpost pointing straight at the overgrown hedge ...

Look closely at the notice on the signpost. If you get caught tampering with it you could end up with a six months jail sentence. That might put some of them off removing signposts when they think no one is looking ...

We followed a Road Used as a Public Path [a RUPP] with tall gorse bushes growing either side ...

Another mile further on and we were on the Clwydian Way ... in the shade of overhanging branches.

With the sun streaming down on us as we drew nearer to Bodfari we got a good view of Moel y Parc over a mile away.

As we entered Sodom there were no signs of debauchery ... just a rather colourful garden.

Further down the hill and nearer Bodfari there were still no clouds in the sky and no vapour trails either ... we had a clear view of Moel y Parc again and the hills to the south-east of it.

Walking down the lane into Bodfari we heard the sound of a lawnmower behind an old, rather run-down bungalow to our left.

We noticed the bull terrier lying on the ground which raised itself up on rather arthritic legs. That's not going to bother us much ...

Then we saw the bigger dog behind it, rising to its feet and making a heck of a racket. Still, I thought, there's a fence between us ...

We continued down the lane with the larger dog barking and trying to get through the netting fence.

I noticed the gap at the bottom of the netting. It tried to get through. It couldn't. We kept walking just as the dog actually got under the fence and came straight at us ...

" ...'kin' spiders " is what I cried out as this big dog headed straight for me. Natasha was right behind me ... I heard a desperate "Charlie !" ... as the dog was about a yard or two from me. I thought the only thing I could do was offer it the back of my hand and talk to it in a friendly, soft voice ... along the lines of " ... come on ... what's all this noise ... are you going to be our friend ... ?

Amazingly, it worked. The dog leaned against my leg whilst I kept talking to her, stroking her neck and hoping to God she didn't have tender ears as I ran the back of my hand along the top of her head, still talking to her.

I said to Natasha "come on, let's keep walking ..." but as soon as I moved, this set the dog off barking again. Back to the friendly talking and stroking.

The lawnmower stopped. Someone had realised the dogs weren't around. The lawnmower man shouted out the name of the dog. I shouted back "It's over here ..." He didn't hear me initially.

Eventually a man in his 20s came along and the dog ran to him. I suggested in a friendlier fashion than I felt, that he ought to get his fence fixed ~ he didn't think the dog could get under it. Having said that he went on to say that the older dog, the bull terrier, had got down onto the main road and been run over by a car [gone straight under it] and somehow struggled back up the hill ... and recovered, much to the vet's amazement.

We moved on with me asking Natasha gently what she had expected me to do as she hid behind me ...

We picked up the Offa's Dyke Path again and sat down on the slopes of the old hillfort slowly relaxing ... and enjoying the view of Moel y Parc directly in front of us ...

... and the stile we had just crossed ...

Sodom drew nearer and Natasha set off up the lane with a soulful bounding leap ...

Beyond Sodom the shady path runs across the slope of a small hill, Cefn Du.

A wonderful day, marred only by the bull mastiff bitch. It could have been worse.

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/18632

Date of walk ~ 21st April 2010

Length of walk ~ 6 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 98.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 228.75 miles

19 of 2010

Finishing off Offa's walk ... Day 3

2010-08-06T08:14:00.000+01:00

After a couple of days in my shorts I put my long trousers back on and the sun shone. Still, it wasn't very warm. The cool breeze made sure of that.

We parked where we'd left off at the end of day 2, a mile north-east of Llangwyfan. From there we were straight onto the Offa's Dyke Path and walking north westward towards Penycloddiau. The plantation we passed through was unnamed on the map ...

Once we'd got out of the wood I suggested to Natasha that a stump of wood just off the path would enhance the photograph I wanted to take. She was being disobedient that day though and wouldn't take that extra step for the sake of the image below ...

She scrambled back onto the path and the walk continued ...

As we neared the summit of Penycloddiau we looked back, over the hills we'd walked in the previous two days.

As we started to descend there were signs of footpath repair. Quite an unusual design ...

Just past this, a memorial to Arthur Roberts, a walker who had been deeply involved with the Ramblers' Association in those early days ...

As we continued to lose height we could see the sea in the far distance [though you probably won't be able to see it in the photograph].

We left the higher ground and most of the breeze behind us as we started to descend towards Aifft.

Beyond Aifft we skirted the lower slopes of Moel y Parc and though the sun was shining Natasha kept her gloves on ....

As we came down into Bodfari, Natasha watched a buzzard wheeling overhead ...

We had lunch on the steps of the church in Bodfari with the 17th century pub boarded up nearby. There was something depressing about the place ... perhaps it was the pub, slowly falling into disrepair.

We did a bit of road walking with a view to following the Clwydian Way back to the car park. As we walked along a single track lane, where we saw no cars whatsoever, we looked back towards Aifft and Moel y Parc ...

We turned off the lane we were on with a view to passing Finger Cottage [!] to reach the Clywdian Way. A path to the left, leading across the hillside, was adorned with this ...

Once we'd got on the Clwydian Way we followed this as it wound round the side of Penycloddiau. Just above the farm known as Fron-gelyn we passed an old, rusting water tank ...

What I really like about walking in this area is that it is very quiet. We saw no more than 2 or 3 walkers on this particular mile or so of bridleway ...

Then we were in the plantation and heading back to the car ...

All told we did between ten and eleven miles that day. [In fact according to the OS Explore website it was probably nearer 9 miles].

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/18519

Date of walk ~ 20th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 9 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 92.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 222.75 miles

18 of 2010

Finishing off Offa's walk ... Day 2

2010-08-02T19:36:00.001+01:00

Day 2 saw us parking at the foot of Moel Arthur with a view to getting back to the section of the Offa's Dyke Path we left the day before. There was cloud overhead and very little sun.

As we climbed the path that runs around the bottom of the northern slope of Moel Llys-y-coed I looked back at Moel Arthur with the old hillfort atop it ...

When we reached the fields a buzzard flew from fencepost to fencepost 50 or 60 yards ahead of us. On reaching a track we walked south-westward ... and reached a seat with a view of the hills.

It had been erected in memory of a Mr and Mrs Cowpar. The bottom line of the memorial plaque reading 'Cilcain was their Heaven on Earth' ...

We reached a farm, Plas-newydd, with a herd of highland cattle in the field.

A little further on, another seat. This one in memory of Edgar ...

We took the opportunity to have lunch here ... and Natasha took the opportunity to take a photo ...

From the seat we had a clear view of Jubilee Tower on Moel Famau ...

We then got back on to the Offa's Dyke Path and headed back to the car.

There's a great view just south of Moel Arthur which clearly shows the hillfort ...

Then began a steep descent to the car park. The sort of descent that really pulls on the muscles just above the knees ...

We weren't done when we got there though. On the second day we were doing a figure of eight so as soon as we reached the car we walked past it and followed the path heading diagonally right, uphill, in the photo above.

Eventually we picked up the Clwydian Way near Llangwyfan ...

Have you noticed that so many sprintime flowers are yellow ? There are daffodils, primroses and celandines ... and, of course, gorse ...

A little further along we arrived at Pen-y-bryn ...

There's a tale to tell in respect of Pen-y-bryn, someone's dream proving a dream too far perhaps ... http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article5006496.ece

After Pen-y-bryn we followed the Clwydian Way for over a mile as it slowly rose back towards Moel Arthur ...

... and then we were back, having walked about eight miles.

Date of walk ~ 19th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 8 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 83.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 213.75 miles

17 of 2010

Finishing off Offa's walk ... Day 1

2010-07-28T20:35:00.000+01:00

Sunday, the 18th April 2010, and we were back in Wales, hoping to complete my journey along the Offa's Dyke Path.

We had a problem though as I thought I'd finished last time a bit further north than I had done. So half an hour was spent getting to the right starting place.

We were soon rising up the path leading to Moel Famau [pronounced, I believe, Moil Vamow] ~ feel free to correct me if you know better.

Looking back the hills stretched away into the distance ... hills I had walked some time ago ...

Being a Sunday there were quite a few people walking up Moel Famau, some in flat shoes which weren't the most appropriate things to wear.

We stopped to admire the view and catch our breath ...

Having caught our breath we pressed on ... towards the remains of the Jubilee Tower atop Moel Famau ...

Once upon a time the tower, which was built to mark the golden jubilee of George III, stood 150 feet high until a storm reduced it somewhat. There's an interesting video clip here and, despite an idiosyncracy or two, it's worth watching ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgYM2WhCIs ... [there's a bit of a surprise at the end so bear with it].

The path leads to Moel Dywyll and as we went we noticed how strips of heather had been cleared on the hillside ....

... and, looking back, a last glimpse of the ruins of Jubilee Tower ...

In fact we were to see Jubilee Tower for at least another two or three days but we didn't know that then.

As we got further from the car park, we got further from the crowd ...

There had been very little sun and as the wind got up we sat on a couple of stones on the leeside of a wall ... and had a coffee whilst admiring the rusting ironwork nearby.

It was originally part of the barbed wire fence.

At this point we had started to think about getting back to the car park so we took a bridleway running across the lower slopes of Moel Dywyll and started to descend ...

We passed a small reservoir with a single fisherman trying his luck ...

Presumably he was a member of the Cilcain Fly Fishing Association ...

We followed Bridleway No. 69 in the parish of Cilcain, admiring the daffodils as we went. Somebody had been busy.

Another bridleway started us on the climb back up the hill towards the car park, still some miles away ...

It was round about this point that time became more of a consideration. We'd noticed that the car park closed at 6pm and we obviously didn't want to get locked in.

We took one of the forestry tracks, relying on them to get us to the car park sooner rather than later.

Now I would have thought at some point or another there might be a map showing just where these forestry tracks lead you ... there wasn't.

We wound into and out of three side valleys below Moel Famau.

Time was passing ...

Our walking speed picked up ...

As we finally neared the car park [and after some ten miles] I broke into a run ... with a heavyish rucksack on my back ... and got there with four minutes to spare ...

... only to find that the car park isn't locked up at 6pm at all ... or at least not until much later.

Still, it made for an exciting end to the walk. Would we recover enough for the next day though ?

Date of walk ~ 18th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 10 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 75.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 205.75 miles

16 of 2010

Across the river ...

2010-07-23T19:46:00.000+01:00

We'd had one of those days where we'd not really nothing anything ... so in the evening we drove across to the other side of the river and parked near Enthovens and walked up Oldfield Lane ...

The first thing that struck me is that someone has actually surfaced what was a roughish piece of track. Now who would have done that and why ?

The only people I could think of would be the owners of Sabine Hay. After all they have to drive up Oldfield Lane every day presumably.

At the side of the lane I noticed this moss growing out of the top of a fencepost ...

Eeeh, we were that poor we 'ad t'live in 'top o' a fencepost ...

It was almost reassuring to see that Oldfield Lane reverted to its original state just past Cowley Knoll, where the drive to Sabine Hay leaves it. I say 'almost' though I think the 'One Life, Live It' brigade have made a heck of a mess of the old road ...

I wonder how the bikers and mountain bikers get on coming down this stretch ?

Beyond Cowley Knoll, where it's a bit flatter, the old lane is much nicer to walk ...

Natasha hadn't bothered to take her rucksack, it was that much of a stroll ...

A little further along we turned sharp right along the footpath that drops back into Clough Wood. Try and walk it just as the light begins to fade. Sometimes you can see the deer starting to move around in the trees ...

Not this evening though ... we were too early.

Eventually you reach the remains of Millclose Mine.

At one time over two hundred men used to work here and it was stll being mined in the 1930s. In other articles, I have read that at one time over eight hundred men were employed there.

It was also, apparently, the largest leadmine in the district ! The UK ! Europe ! The World ! Who knows ... it must have been pretty big.

You can see the main shaft better in this next photo ...

It's been capped [not surprisingly] ...

So then we were walking back down Oldfield Lane.

We turned to the right into the trees that stand on land belonging to Enthovens. I remember this area when it was fields, owned by my Uncle Bill who had a farm at Darley Bridge. He had cattle and there was a suggestion that some of them died from lead poisoning as a result of the 'fallout' from the lead smelting at Enthovens.

They bought him out ... and now there are loads of poplars planted on the ground.

We wandered around. A fox ran across the path. Deer started stirring. The sun was setting, its light slanting through the trees ...

In the failing light we headed back to the car ...

Date of walk ~ 11th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 2.75 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 65.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 195.75 miles

15 of 2010

Around Bradford Dale ...

2010-07-18T07:36:00.000+01:00

Another short walk, this time from the layby at the side of the Youlgreave road, Alport.

This time we followed a path on the western side of the River Bradford towards Bradford village.

It's strange but, I think, the photgraph above cries out for a couple in Victorian dress walking away from the camera. Whether it's because the path looks like a lot of path used to look like in Victorian photos, namely surfaced and/or well walked, I don't know ...

Once we'd got down to the bridge at Bradford ...

... we crossed over to the other side of the river and took the less popular path on that side. I always try and take the path less travelled ...

We looked back to the bridge and the cottages there. Bradford is part of the village of Youlgreave.

It was just after this that I took my first photo with my new HTC phone. I had rather hoped it would be able to take and send good quality photos ~ it doesn't. Ain't life crap in that respect sometimes ?

Anyway, we walked on across the fields towards the south-western end of Bradford Dale ...

We stopped at one of Middleton's Sites of Meaning, by the clapper bridge over the river at the top end of Bradford Dale, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Then we carried on into the dale, descending some rather unusual steps for a country walk ...

Natasha was off ...

... crossing the small spring, which you can see just ahead of her in the photo above. The water was so clear ...

Bradford Dale was largely deserted. Once again we'd come out when most walkers were heading home ...

Although it was springtime there was little sign of colour and new life ... until we came to a clump of marsh marigolds [or perhaps it was just a clump that I could get near enough to photograph] ...

After that we kept on down the dale, looking out for fish in the river and just enjoying the sounds of running water.

Unfortunately my camera at this point must have decided to only take dark photographs [obviously it was the camera's fault] and so I have no others left to include.

I tell a lie. After the walk we made our first visit of the year to the Devonshire Arms at Beeley. It may have taken itself out of our list of Favourite Pubs but it still rates high on our list of Pubs That We Love Sitting Outside Whilst Eating Crisps And Having A Pint Of Old Peculier.

Here's the proof ...

Aaah ....

Date of walk ~ 10th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 3 1/2 miles [I know ... pathetic]

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 193 miles

14 of 2010

Froggatt and Grindleford

2010-07-12T19:38:00.000+01:00

We started from the National Trust's Hay Wood car park and followed the path along Froggatt Edge. It was rather a dull, cloudy day ...

... and there weren't many walkers about.

Some of the gritstone boulders up there are really intriguing ...

A mile or so along this path another path cuts back sharply to the right, below the Edge. Here discarded and unfinished millstones lie around on the ground ...

We walked down the hill into the village of Froggatt and walked along Spooner Lane. Beside the lane there were these fresh green leaves starting to push through ...

Spring was only just starting to make its presence felt and looking back [from July] everything looks so bare.

The wood betwee Froggatt and Grindleford is delightful at any time of the year.

There's a pond part way through the wood and, somewhere, I have a slide showing me swinging across the pond ... no, really.

Shortly after this we took a path that rose up the hillside to see where it went ...

... it dropped back downhill to join up with the path we had left ten or fiteen minutes later.

We reached the Peak and Northern signpost at Grindleford Bridge.

We were on the way back by now and turned eastward, uphill, towards Hay Wood car park. On the way up the hill another signpost gave us an option to go one way ... or the other ...

The climb up the hill continued though I don't think it was quite as bad as this photograph might suggest ...

Date of walk ~ 6th April 2010

Length of walk ~ 4 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 59 1/2 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 189 1/2 miles

13 of 2010

Walking around Hardwick Hall ...

2010-07-04T19:04:00.000+01:00

We parked near the village of Rowthorne, and set off in the sunshine along the Rowthorne Trail ...

This was the footpath that runs parallel to the Trail. It's just a few yards away.

We left the Trail and turned south towards Norwood Lodge. Across the first field though we had to negotiate a slippery, sludgy, mess ...

Once through the wood the path for Norwood Lodge was, as usual, well marked.

I looked back when we reached the handful of houses at Norwood Lodge ...

From the lodge we walked into Lady Spencer's Wood. According to a National Trust interpretation panel Lady Spencer, who was born in 1737, was the mother of five children including Georgiana by her husband, John, the first Earl of Althorp. Georgiana married the 5th Duke of Devonshire and so the Cavendish family [the Dukes of Devonshire] and the Spencers [which included Lady Diana, of course] were linked.

Lady Spencer loved the countryside and gardening and created the walk I was using some 250 years later.

Also on the interpretation panel is an extract from a letter written by Georgiana to her mother, Lady Spencer, "I could not bear to write till I had seen your dear walk. It is in great perfection and poor Mallinson, tho' he has had a stroke of the palsy has kept it up very neatly ...". She then goes on to say how she will add some benches to the walk and make it "quite an object for any day when it is fine to go to the wood ..."

There are no benches in the wood. Perhaps there never were ...

We walked across the avenue of trees between Hardwick Park Farm and the Hall itself before reaching Park Piece. There were more muddy paths in this wood ...

We followed the road that brings the visitors into the park before picking up the bridleway that runs from the ponds uphill to The Grange and then onto Ault Hucknall. The gate at The Grange has an interesting latch in the form of a snake.

A snake being the emblem of the Cavendish family who used to own Hardwick.

We reached Ault Hucknall which comprises a farm, two or three houses and a fascinating church ...

As we looked around the church we found this ...

... the gravestone of Lexey Mallison, "Servant to his grace the Duke of Devonshire at Hardwick" and who died on the 15th August 1799. Was this the "poor Mallinson" that Georgiana wrote about in her letter to her Mother ? Or was it perhaps his or her son ? I've noticed the letter refers to 'Mallinson' and the gravestone to 'Mallison' but surely they're the same surname ... just misspelt by Georgiana or the stonemason.

As I have mentioned elsewhere Ault Hucknall has some interesting stonework in its wall. There's a small window with some interesting carving above it ... and also to the right of it there's another interesting stone ...

  Then there's the carving of George and the Dragon below another carving of a half man/half horse with a spear [?] and with some creature[s] to his right too  ...

Then to the right of George and the Dragon etc. there's a hollowed out stone ...

After the church we took the left hand of two paths which leads eventually to Rowthorne village ...

After we'd finished our walk we went and had a look around Hardwick Hall itself and noticed the snake on a downspout ...

I finish with a couple of photos of one of my favourite stately homes, if not the favourite ...

Date of walk ~ 4th April 2010

Length of walk 4 1/2 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 55 1/2 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 185 1/2 miles.

12 of 2010

Walking in Heaven ...

2010-06-28T06:57:00.000+01:00

We parked at Alport [pronounced All-port] at the bottom end of Lathkill Dale just 4 or 5 miles from Darley Dale ...

We walked down to the bridge over the river, looking for trout beneath ...

There were trout to be seen though not so many as there are below Raper Bridge upstream.

Then we were walking beside the road towards Hawley's Corner but on the right hand bend we crossed to the path which runs just south of Baltic Wood ...

The path rises above the road and brings you to what had been Shining Bank Quarry. I have seen plans suggesting that the quarry would be allowed to return to nature with some tweaking ...

It's a big hole at present and I don't suppose that it's going to change much except perhaps to grass over a bit more.

There are a number of options near the quarry. We took the path heading north-west and tried to follow a line through Haddon Plantation where the OS White Peak Map shows the path. In the event, on the ground, it's easier to walk along the south-western side of the wood.

The path crosses a field and crossing the path is a stream that needs to be bridged as it is too wide too jump ...

We walked to the top of the field and managed to cross.

A signpost shortly afterwards shows the options avaialble then. We'd just come from the direction shown as 'PUBLIC FOOTPATH' !

We decided to head for Wigger Dale before forking left towards Over Haddon. There was a trig point just over the wall from the path ...

What I would give to have 20 minutes with that trig point and a pot of white emulsion ... I just want to see my trig points white.

We took a ninety degree turn then down towards Conksbury Bridge along this 'quiet lane'.

Beside the small parking place at Conksbury Bridge, a seat with a memorial plaque ...

Looking over the bridge it looked as though the River Lathkill had flooded recently.

The next bridge downstream is a crossing place for walkers, horse riders and cyclists ~ Raper Brige. A lovely packhorse bridge where you can sit and have a coffee on the stonework and admire the trout on the downward side of the bridge - but don't feed them ! The water bailiff will be unhappy [and so he should be].

Natasha and I often walk on country lanes and roads if it means usng a different path or just enjoying the houses beside the road. So we walked up the old lane past Raper Lodge to come out into Youlgreave before descending into Bradford and the dale. Then we turned left and walked back to the car through Bradford Dale ...

Shown in the photograph above there's another lovely old packhorse bridge over the river ... and there's a seat just on the right, tucked around the corner, right beside the bridge.

Date of Walk ~ 27th March 2010

Length of walk ~ 4 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 51 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 181 miles

11 of 2010

Around Wooden Pole ...

2010-06-22T19:03:00.000+01:00

The sun had brought people out on the Sunday afternoon we walked from the Longshaw Estate to Wooden Pole. Looking back there's a great view of Higger Tor and Carl Wark ...

It was cool but the air was clear with no haze ...

As we walked across Totley Moss, which let's face it, can be rather tedious, I was looking out for frogspawn whilst being unsure whether frogs would lay their eggs up there. They do !

Let's hope it didn't dry up before the tadpoles become frogs.

Moss Road eventually leads down into Totley and part way along it there are wide views of Sheffield.

We left Moss Road at this point and headed across the moor keeping to the east of the trig point.

We were headed towards the sunshine and the rather boggy ground in the middle of the moor.

Lying on the path was a dead sheep. I often wonder what kills sheep in the middle of nowhere. I will have to ask a friend ...

We reached some drier ground and followed the vague path that drops towards the Sheffield road.

After crossing that, avoiding the speeding cars and motorbikes as we did so, we climbed the slope to reach Lady's Cross.

It looks a fairly isolated cross but it isn't really and there's a road in the background as you can see. I wonder whether there were wooden signposts all those years ago or did people just know where they were going and only did short journeys.

We descended the northern end of White Edge and passed White Edge Lodge [now a National Trust holiday 'cottage'].

I'd never been on the bridleway that passes the lodge and descends to the road near the Grouse Inn until this walk. The sun was behind us as we followed the track back towards Longshaw Lodge.

Natasha put her feet up on one of the seats that the National Trust appear to have hewn out of a big tree ...

I had to take a photograph of the memorial plaque of course ...

... and then we were back. Another shortish walk ... five and a half miles this one.

Date of walk ~ 21st March 2010

Length of walk ~ 5 1/4 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 47 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 177 miles

10 of 2010

Kirk Ireton and Halfmoon Lane

2010-06-15T20:57:00.000+01:00

March 2010 and Natasha was up to something so I was off on my own again, exploring the Derbyshire countryside.

Parking at the southern end of Carsington Water I soon picked up the path rising up Hays Lane to follow the field path into Kirk Ireton ... and the Barley Mow. It's a traditional pub and well worth a visit.

Further down the village, the church seems small and low and I'm not sure whether I have ever been inside.

It was nice to see, at head height, a stone carving. I wonder if it represented anyone in particular. It looks as though he was wearing a wig though ...

The snowdrops were out and looked extra white against the rather mucky looking limestone gravestones.

I did a bit of field walking, passing a cottage that is called Moorside [according to the OS Map] and which has a path that passes right in front of the house. There is however a 'Private Property' sign on the farmgate at the entrance to the yard of the cottage with no indication of a path other than a stile beside the gate. [I have a photo if you would like to see it !]

Then I was following a lane which reached Halfmoon Lane ... one of my favourite lane names ! This is it ...

Halfmoon Lane isn't that long but it gives some good views towards Bolehill and Wirksworth ...

I squeezed through some tight stone stoop stiles and followed the path to Callow where I bumped into Daniel Bayfield from Matlock. He was in training with some mates for a longer walk. It's surprising who you bump into.

After a short stretch along Stainsborough Lane I took the path leading towards Carsington. In a field near the reservoir a young woman was walking two alsatians. They were both off the lead and ran towards me ... and then ran around me barking !

After about thirty seconds [ it could have been more or less I wasn't looking at my watch] she got them to go back to her and then had the damned cheek to shout something along the lines of "they won't hurt you" to which I responded "I don't know that !"

Anyway here are the dogs and the person who is, by law, supposed to keep them under her control ...

I calmed down whilst walking near the reservoir, enjoying the views ...

As I got nearer the car I noticed three pairs of Canada Geese sitting in a field just a litle way up the hill from me. First one pair took off and then another and I thought I must try and get few photographs of the last pair as they take flight. I waited and waited and they kept on eating until I decided to give up and walk on. Then I heard them coming overhead and had just one chance to take a photo ...

Here is the edited version !

I'm pleased with that.

Getting towards the end now and again the colour of the water in the reservoir struck me ... it was turquoise.

I was interested to see an open-sided outbuilding full of wooden furniture ...

Where everything was made of wood ...

everything ...

Somebody must have been very busy.

Date of walk ~ 14th March 2010

Length of walk ~ 7 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 41 3/4 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 171 3/4 miles

9 of 2010

Cold and clear ...

2010-06-03T21:06:00.002+01:00

It's just under three months since we walked up Coombs Dale, not far from Calver and Stoney Middleton. It was a cold, very clear day as we set off from Calver and walked up the dale ... soon to be overtaken by a couple of mountain bikers.

It was so cold that some of the grass at the side of the little stream in the dale had frozen ...

We had the dale largely to ourselves though ...

Once we'd got to Black Harry Gate, we swung sharp left to follow the track leading up to the top of Longstone Edge and Bleaklow ...

It was from about here that we had more company ... mountain bikes and motor bikes. In fact it was just after the photo below was taken that we were passed by a mountain biker who then promptly fell off his bike ... and jumped back up as quickly.

Perhaps he was too busy gawping at Natasha and thinking "she looks like a better looking older version of Halle Berry ..."

Many walkers probably think it's a bit bare around here but I love it.

We stopped for a coffee just as five guys on motor bikes went past. None of them gave us a wave ... or a nod.

Mind you, I don't suppose we waved or nodded at them either ...

Once we'd got beyond Bleaklow we swung left towards Calver and, in the distance, the Edges. I think this is largely Baslow Edge below.

We then swung a little bit further to the left because in the photos below it's Baslow Edge to the right and Curbar Edge to the left ...

Then we were walking above Back Dale Quarry near Peak Pasture ...

Before we knew it we'd reached Calver and were walking back to the car. On the way we passed this large trough [with two more, end on, behind it] underneath a turf and stone overhang.

What is it ?

Date of walk ~ 7th March 2010

Length of walk ~ 5 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 34 3/4 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 164 3/4 miles

8 of 2010

Smeltingmill Wood, Rowsley ...

2010-05-28T07:33:00.000+01:00

After all the snow we'd had it was good to get out and walk on the ground, rather than the snow upon the ground.

Parking at Rowsley, I walked up to the Rowsley Bar road (marked as Chesterfield Lane on the OS White Peak map) and took the bridleway leading into Rowsley Wood, just below Toll Bar Cottage ...

The bridleway leads further into the wood and forms part of the Derbyshire Gritstone Way which I walked, what, 20 or 25 years ago. At that time the bridleway was hard to follow with a lot of people taking the private driveway on the hillside above ... and getting into trouble as they walked into Fallinge (or Fallange depending on what map you're looking at).

Now though the bridleway is very clear ...

Even on the wettest of days it is delightful ...

I don't know that I would fancy riding a bike along it ... and I certainly wouldn't want to ride a horse down here because of the long drop into Smeltingmill Brook below.

Across the other side of the brook is the spoil from Burntwood Quarry ...

Another hundred yards further on a bridleway bridge leads over the brook ...

I can remember Derbyshire County Council telling me in or about the year 2000 that this bridge cost £13,000. When I used to show slides of it (when I did slideshows for the W.I. etc.) there were often gasps of horror from the audience ... spending that sort of money on something like this ! Haven't they got more important things to spend money on ?

Every time, this was the reaction.

Still, without the bridge, horses and cyclist in particular would find the crossing of the brook difficult ... though it has to be said there never used to be a bridge over the brook here ...

In Burntwood Quarry there are the remains of an old stone building slowly falling apart ...

I would love to go back say a century (if that's far enough) and see what happened during a day in the quarry. Why did the quarry close ? Where did the quarrymen go once it had closed ? So many questions and so few answers ...

The bridleway continues up to Fallinge and then onto the lane leading from Beeley to the moor.

I followed the footpath that leads through the wood and through here ...

This is where I believe a small 'rail way' ran ... from the quarry on the right to the spoil heap (it's a big heap) pictured above and which is to the left ....

The stones at the bottom of these two stone supports are starting to crumble and I wonder how long it will be before they too become ruinous ...

Out of the wood and following the path downhill towards Beeley I could see that the moles had been out and about ...

It was at the other side of this field that I met a couple of women on mountain bikes trying to lift them over a stile. I didn't point out that they shouldn't be riding bikes on a footpath.

They were spending the weekend at Darwin Forest and had come out for a ride without a map and wanted to know the quickest way back. I tried to describe how to get back without the use of a map ... I had one ... they didn't.

I turned left on the outskirts of Beeley and followed one of the footpaths to walk down beside Smeltingmill Brook to the Beeley/Rowsley road. There used to be some good steps on the steep slope down to the road.

There isn't at present ...

I'm only three miles or so from Smeltingmill Wood and I have probably been through here more than just about anywhere else.

Length of walk ~ 2 3/4 miles (it was more of a stroll than a walk)

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 29 3/4 miles

Total walked since records began (1st September 2009) ~ 159 3/4 miles

7 of 2010

Do Birds still make Instant Whip ?

2010-05-15T07:43:00.000+01:00

Here we are in May ... and I'm still posting blogs about February.

I obviously hadn't got myself organised on the 21st February 2010 but the sun and the snow drew me outside and I ended up just three miles away from Darley Dale in Old Matlock.

This is St. Giles Church. I lived just two hundred yards up the road from here for 4 or 5 years of my life ...

I used to hear the church bell ring every quarter of an hour ...

I wonder whether it still does ?

I got married at St. Giles and I suppose if any church is 'my' church, St. Giles is the one.

Riber Castle stands on the hill above St. Giles. It isn't that old, being built in the 19th century, and late-ish on in the 19th century, by John Smedley who obviously wanted a good view from the top of a hill.

In the churchyard there are a number of Wildgoose graves though none of them are likely to be related to me. We came from eight or ten miles upstream from Matlock ...

Climb a little higher and just beyond the churchyard is the War Memorial on top of a small hillock with wide views of Matlock beyond ...

On the War Memorial it is clear that some 'Matlock' Wildgooses paid the ultimate price ...

There's even a C.Wildgoose but none of them are likely to be related to me unless the link is more than 250 years old.

I crossed the River Derwent and walked up St. John's Road so that I was skirting the lower slopes of Masson Hill. Across the valley there were more views of Riber Castle ...

Is there anything lovelier than walking in an inch or so of snow on a sunny afternoon ? [As I type this, for some reason, a bowl of Angel Delight has come to mind. I really must get some this afternoon.]

Which leads me to ask the question ~ do Birds still make Instant Whip ?

The sun was sinking lower ...

One of my favourite views is from the lower slopes of Masson Hill ... looking down into Matlock across the valley ...

From here it was a short walk to Snitterton Road and just before the sun slid down behind Masson Hill a final photograph ~ 'Tree With Sun Behind' ...

Not so much a walk, more of a short stroll ...

Length of walk ~ 2 1/2 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 27 miles

Total walked since records began [1st September 2009 ~ 157 miles]

6 of 2010

Grade 'A' grey day ...

2010-05-12T07:05:00.001+01:00

It was one of those grey days we get in the UK. Even when there's some blue in the sky the overall impression is of grey ... unless it was my mood perhaps.

Look behind this image of Toll Bar Cottage, a few hundred yards west of Hassop Station. There are bits of blue sky ... but no sunshine ...

I certainly wouldn't fancy opening my front door to have a main road slapbang outside.

Leaving the road behind me I followed the field path towards Great Longstone and reached Buskey Cottage where I noticed a planning application for the proposed conversion of an open barn to a garden room.

I'm showing my ignorance again ... but, pray tell me, what exactly is a garden room ?

A quiet lane runs from Buskey Cottage into Great Longstone itself.

On the way I passed Arma Meadow ... at least that's what it seemed to say on the millstone next to the stocks ...

One of the reasons I had decided to walk into Great Longstone was that I had seen my cousin Richard a couple of days earlier and he had mentioned he'd got another butcher's shop. Here it is ...

I hope it will go well.

Within a few years I wonder how many red telephone boxes will be left in the UK. Images like this are likely to get rarer and rarer ...

I think the old village cross will last a lot longer.

Crossing the path over the Monsal Trail, not far from Thornbridge Hall, this dressed stone gatepost caught my eye. How long it would take to dress a slab of stone like this ? Who did the job ? Presumably some stonemason who got paid a pittance.

Back on the Monsal Trail, heading back to the car at Hassop Station, there were signs of what a hard winter it had been. The bark at the bottom of this tree had been fetched off by a hungry rabbit ...

I'm assuming it was a rabbit what done it.

It was beyond here where I sat on a bench beside the Monsal Trail and had a piece of our Christmas cake. There's nothing like it ... it tastes much better out in the open.

All that remained was to walk another mile along the Monsal Trail to reach Hassop Station.

Length of walk 3 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 24 1/2 miles

Total walked since records began [er, 1st September 2009] ~ 154 1/2 miles

5 of 2010

I walk through the ruins of North America ...

2010-05-05T06:38:00.000+01:00

Late January. The sun shines but the air is cold and thin. I walk out of the back of the car park at Langsett and follow the path along the top of Langsett Bank.

I trudge through a mile or so of trees before reaching a crossroads of bridleways ...

I took the bridleway for Swinden and soon reached it ... in the process disturbing the sheep as they tucked into some hay.

The sheep ignored me.

I followed the path through Crooklands Wood with the sun shining through the trees.

At the bridge at the tip of the reservoir I studied the interpretation panel ~ it indicated that if you switched on Bluetooth at certain points you would learn something about the spot you're standing at ... technology eh ?

There's a Peak and Northern footpath signpost there too ...

Then I walked south towards Hingcliff Common. I didn't get to the highest ground though as I turned east for North America. On my way the waters of Langsett Reservoir were visible.

Then I reached North America ...

Yes, it had been a farm. I assume it was demolished when the reservoir was built.

The waters of Langsett Reservoir looked really ominous ... black and forbidding.

It was good to get to the Bank View Cafe on the northern side of the A616 in Langsett itself.

I'd not had a coffee stop on my walk for some reason and so I was hungry and thirsty. I ordered a cheese and onion toastie and a one pint mug of tea ! Would I be able to finish it ? You betcha !

... and they say the English can't cook, eh ?

Date of walk ~ 30th January 2010

Length of walk ~ 4 1/4 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 21 1/2 miles

Total walked since records began [er, 1st September 2009] ~ 151 1/2 miles

4 of 2010

Castleton and Mam Tor ...

2010-04-06T08:51:00.001+01:00

I got to Castleton before the car park was full. Always get to Castleton early in the morning.

The sun was shining as I walked up Hollowford Road ...

Continuing up the road, which was a track by now [and assuming it doesn't have another name by this point] I walked past a stone field barn. Good to see it in reasonable condition.

Mam Tor was in the clouds [or perhaps it was a line of mist].

As you climb higher the track becomes a sunken bridleway. Tell me ... does a bridleway or packhorse route really 'sink' because it has been used so much over the years ?

By the time I'd got a bit higher the cloud or mist partly screening Mam Tor had gone.

Looking back with Castleton in the valley and Hope cement works visible too.

I reached Hollins Cross much more easily than I thought I might. The last time I'd been up here it was a hot, sunny day so perhaps that had taken it out of me.

The view of Edale, with Kinder Scout behind, was as good as ever.

From the path to Mam Tor I turned round to see the view along the ridge. OK, I was having a rest ...

I had another rest a bit later ...

A walker coming down from Mam Tor provided a bit of foreground interest ...

... and scale I suppose.

The path surface is made up of old flagstones from mills in the north, airlifted in by helicopter ...

There was a paraglider paragliding around the slopes of Mam Tor when I got there.

On the ground around the trig point on Mam Tor there are a number of artefacts embedded in the stones. The first one appears to be a small part of a piece of machinery. Quite what I'm not sure ...

It's obvious the second piece is a piece of pottery that, presumably, the inhabitants of Mam Tor would have used 2000 years or more ago.

I didn't fancy the steps down from Mam Tor but I somehow managed to get down them [and the ones beyond that] without falling on my backside.

I crossed Windy Knoll ...

I had to clamber over the National Trust gate to get onto the road. The 'PLEASE CLOSE GATE' notice proving unnecessary ...

Across the road a driveway had been cleared and there were still piles of snow beside the drive ...

After walking down the right hand side of 4 or 5 fields I had to turn left towards Castleton. The snow had drifted here and though most of it was frozen solid every nowand again my foot went right through the frozen surface ...

As I walked along the Limestone Way, low cloud was moving parallel to me across Old Moor ...

As I turned left again, with a view to walking down Cave Dale, I could step over the top bar of a five bar gate.

Then I was descending into Cave Dale.

Further down the dale the path was like a stream with water running down it. As I picked my way carefully amongst the stones a runner came up the slope without stopping ... and even managed to say 'hello' as he ran past.

Peveril Castle came into sight.

I passed through the nick in the rocks at the bottom of the dale and, of a sudden, I was back in Castleton [and the crowds of people].

Date of walk ~ 23rd January 2010

Length of walk ~ 6 1/4 miles

Total walked [so far] in 2010 ~ 17 1/4 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 147 1/4 miles

3 of 2010

Eyam, the River Derwent and the Calver Marshes Wildlife Project ...

2010-03-31T19:45:00.000+01:00

In mid January, there was still some ice and snow about as I parked in Eyam and walked to the churchyard.

I was looking at the Celtic cross in the churchyard and thinking how we probably give these ancient features little more than a glance. When you think of the size of these stones and the work involved in getting the stone, cutting it and then putting it in place ... it must have been a heck of a job.

A simpler and slightly more modern tombstone also caught my eye ...

I left Eyam by the Lydgate Graves and walked towards Stoney Middleton ...

It was one of those cold, grey days, which I rather like.

I walked past the Boundary Stone ...

On the way down the hill into Stoney Middleton I passed one of the many old mineshafts that are everywhere in this limestone area and that we tend to ignore ...

The main thing to remember is never to get too close to the edge of these shafts.

St. Martin's Church in Stoney Middleton, according to the Parish Council, is one of only two octagonal churches in the country.

I sat by the front door and had my coffee ...

On the way eastward from Stoney Middleton I noticed the first of a number of panels erected by the Stoke and Calver Marshes Project ...

... and a closer view ...

[The large image on Flickr is worth looking at, too.]

Further along came a panel about the dragonfly ...

The panels are "largely the work of children from Stoney Middleton School". They should be proud of them.

Then the old willow tree ...

Then the water shrew ...

... and harvest mice ...

By now I had got to the point where Stoke Brook runs into the River Derwent ... where brook lampreys spawn ...

For such an attractive area there were very few walkers about.

I continued up the western side of the Derwent until I reached Froggatt Bridge ...

Near Froggatt Bridge the last of the information panels. This one related to the water vole ...

I walked up the road towards Toll Bar Cottage and noticed someone had been cutting the ivy growing up a tree over the wall.

The walk back to Eyam was uneventful ...

Date of walk ~ 17th January 2010

Length of walk ~ 6 1/4 miles

Total walked [so far] in 2010 ~ 11 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 141 miles

2 of 2010

New Year's Day 2010

2010-03-25T20:00:00.000Z

The 1st day of January 2010 was a cool, clear, sunny day and the drive across to Bradfield was enjoyable despite the ice on the roads ...

There was just enough room to park in Low Bradfield as people were getting out to start the New Year with a walk ... and probably sober up too.

My Beloved stayed at home which was a pity.

I walked along the icy path on the southern side of Damflask Reservoir.

As you may know I have an interest in memorial plaques. It may be morbid but there it is. I found three or four on this walk. Here's the first ...

... and here's the frosted wreath on the seat ...

Just beyond the seat a couple of barking dogs were bounding towards me ...

Their elderly owner was sat having a cigarette on a bench further on, not really bothered that his dogs were in danger of legging me up. As though the ice wasn't bad enough.

Then I found the second seat ...

Just before I took the path rising steeply up Rickett Bank a number of ducks swam towards me, expecting some food I suppose.

Up the hill from Damflask Reservoir is the village of Dungworth. As you enter the village, there's a stone carved stone and I'm not quite sure what it rpresents ...

On the right hand side of the stone some words have been carved ...

They read ...

"2000 AD
My life
My love
My Children"

I have found out that this work was undertaken by Stoneface and you can learn a little bit more about this carving, and some others, at http://www.stonefacesculpture.com/stoneface-commissions.htm

On the northern side of the reservoir I spotted a third plaque which caught my eye ...

Then I walked back into the valley and after a little while I was strolling, in the sunshine, along the path on the northern side of Damflask Reservoir ...

back towards Low Bradfield ...

A young woman sat admiring the view ...

It was such a lovely picture that I took quite a few photos, but I've limited myself to just showing a couple on here. Thank goodness she didn't see me snapping away ...

I was nearly back in Low Bradfield ~ just time for one more shot ...

Date of walk ~ 1st January 2010

Length of walk ~ 4 3/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 134 3/4 miles.

1 of 2010

Walking from Wheatcroft's Wharf

2010-03-20T12:50:00.000Z

Last day of the year and the sorting out of walks for a revamp of Teashop Walks in the Peak District continued ...

Parking at the Cromford Wharf car park, which should perhaps be renamed Wheatcrofts Wharf, I walked back onto the road and passed the church nearby. On the right just beyond the church is a fishing temple with the words 'Piscatoribus Sacrum' [sanctuary for fishermen] above the door ...

What I didn't know is that just over the wall to the left of the temple in the photo are the remains of an earlier fishing chapel ...

One of the stones in the wall of the old road bridge here commemorates the leap of one Benjamin Heywood [or is it Hayward ?] on his mare in 1697 ...

Walking across the hillside I reached Castle Top Farm and beside that Sunnybank where Ron and Elizabeth live ...

Beyond Sunnybank the path enters Bow Wood.

In the cool air the shadows of the trees cut across the path.

I followed a convoluted course to Cromford Canal and had a coffee at High Peak Junction hoping I might see a water vole but today I wasn't so lucky.

Then it was along the canal back towards Wheatcrofts Wharf ...

Wheatcrofts Wharf is now a tearoom and shop run by the Arkwright Society. It's a good place for a stop ...

Date of walk ~ 31st December 2009

Length of walk ~ 3 1/2 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 130 miles.

What is it with some dog owners ?

2010-03-17T19:35:00.000Z

All I wanted was a nice, quiet walk.

I just wanted to rid myself of some of the stress that had accumulated during the week.

Instead there were two Alsatians running around me, barking ... and baring their teeth.

Then the woman who was [allegedly] in control of them was telling me that "they ARE playing ...".

Now, not having studied the behavioural peculiarities of our canine friends, I had obviously, totally misread the situation. I thought they were trying to work out how best to rip off one of my legs whilst trying to avoid me knocking out their front teeth with a quick kick in the head. [I realise that this have may have been foolhardy but if a dog's going to come for me I am obviously going to resist attack rather than go under with a whimpering "I thought you were playing ..."].

Once she had informed me that her dogs were just joshing with me, I felt within my rights to point out to her that "I didn't know that !" ... and off she tootled up the field ... where I took this photograph ...

Now what annoyed me was that there was no apology from her, whatsoever.

Lyme Park and the Macclesfield Canal

2010-03-14T08:44:00.001Z

The Christmas holiday and, yes, it does seem a long time ago, involved me in driving around the Peak District and re-walking some of the routes in my Teashop Walks book.

The day I went to Lyme Park was wet, cold and icy.

From Lyme Park itself I walked west for a few hundred yards before taking the path out of the park and heading towards Platt Wood Farm.

Once I'd clambered over the tall, slippery ladder stile I was greeted by this ...

So ... I was prepared ... but as I walked through the next few fields there were no cows or calves to be seen.

Just east of Platt Wood Farm stands Peak & Northern Footpath Society signpost number 266, where two paths cross each other ...

The canal was frozen in part when I reached it.

I passed one of the stone mileposts beside the canal ...

Then a warning for all dog walkers though from what I saw it was being ignored by some ...

I wonder how many fines have been paid so far ?

I've always wondered about living on a canal but I'd be too far away from the place where I want to live ...

As I mentioned quite a lot of the canal was frozen ...

The photo below shows a view that's actually in my book but the one in the book was taken on a sunny day in spring or summer ...

It's only a short walk and I was soon climbing over another ladder stile to get back into Lyme Park.

This photo also gives some idea of how much standing water there was ~ the ground must have been really sodden.

The park boundaries are so high to keep the deer in of course.

I had a steep climb from this point. Perhaps I'd had too much Christmas cake because I was puffing and panting by the time I'd completed the climb.

Alternatively it may be that I'm not as fit as once I was ...

Date of walk ~ 30th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 1/2 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 126 1/2 miles.

Rowsley and Beeley ~ a new walk for Teashop Walks in the Peak District.

2010-03-11T19:57:00.001Z

With the teashops at Elton and Youlgreave closing since the original book came out five years ago I had to find some replacements nearby. Not surprisingly I plumped for Caudwells Mill and so had to plan a walk from Rowsley.

From the Peacock I walked up Church Lane and took the muddy, messy path that passes under what used to be the railway line running up to Buxton ...

Picking my way through the mud and slurry [I'm avoiding a particular word for those who are faint of heart] things got better as I got further away from Rowsley. A vandalised waymark reminded me that I was following the Derwent Valley Heritage Way ...

When I got to Calton Lees, a Chatsworth Estate village, I noticed this sign on a gate I passed through. I had seen no cows or calves though ...

It might put some people off I would have thought.

I was then in the Chatsworth Estate village of Calton Lees. You can always tell which houses are owned by Chatsworth as they are painted this colour blue ...

Once I'd got past the garden centre and crossed the old stone bridge I walked across the large field towards Beeley.

Further on in the field [it's a big field] I passed these old Derwent Valley Water Board features. I assume they are for inspection purposes or perhaps to let out any gases ?

I looked back towards Chatsworth ...

... I said it was a big field.

After crossing the road I walked through the churchyard in Beeley. I've never been in the church here and hardly in the churchyard ...

In Beeley there's a strange, stone structure that baffles me. I half thought they might have been stocks but I don't really think so.

Any ideas ?

From Beeley I headed across the fields towards Rowsley, crossing this footpath that runs uphill towards Burntwood quarry as I went.

Date of walk ~ 29th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 122 miles

The Roaches

2010-03-04T19:16:00.000Z

I found one car park space on the roadside by the Roaches Tearoom and walked along the road ...

I found another of those poetry benches. I do dislike poetry that rhymes 'map' with 'hat'. I know I know, I'm a pedant.

I walked north from Rockhall. Me and the couple ahead of me were the only ones taking the path less walked.

Once I got to the lane I tried to keep my feet on the icy lane that leads to Roach End.

The higher I got the icier the road became. I stood well clear when any cars came past me. In the distance snow capped Shutlingsloe stood out ...

Once I'd got to Roach End I started to climb the very slippery and icy path onto the Roaches ...

It was just as bad as I got nearer to Doxey Pool ...

Then I came to Doxey Pool. I didn't see the mermaid that apparently lives in the pool.

The mermaid's name [or so I have read somewhere] is Jenny Greenteeth.

Past Doxey Pool I could see Hen Cloud. In the photo below it's the outrop at the far end ~ the third one.

After all that I retired to the Roaches Tearoom and had a meal. For the life of me I can't remember what. Still, I can recommend it.

Date of walk ~ 28th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 117 3/4 miles

Cold and dull ...

2010-02-26T06:47:00.000Z

No ... not me, though you might have thought it was according to a comment elsewhere from 'Anonymous' who said I should make it more personal ...

Now, where was I ... ah, yes, Hassop Station on the Monsal Trail. Again I was on mi tod, Natasha having stayed at home.

I went out to do another walk for the revamp of Teashop Walks in the Peak District.

The first part was along the Trail towards Great Longstone. I say 'along' it was more a case of walking at the side of the trail, where the dog muck was ...

I nearly got as far as Great Longstone but swung back along the road towards Hassop Station and Toll Bar House. I passed Rowdale House ...

Just beyond Cracknowl Wood is Cracknowl House. There's no drive to it but it seems to be lived in. It's a strange place ...

In the field wall next to Cracknowl House there's a metal kissing gate with an interesting weight to keep the swing gate shut.

I reached the bridleway that leads into Bakewell. The slope running down to Holme Hall is fun ... basically a sheet of ice. Holme Hall looked good though ...

I wonder who lives in a house like that ?

Just beyond Holme Hall is Holme Bridge, a 17th century packhorse bridge leading towards the A6.

Walking alongside the A6 I passed Victoria Mill before following the stream at Brookside.

Down at Bakewell Bridge, astride the Wye, I watched the wildfowl being fed. It had started to rain by this time and a drop of water must have got into my dictating device as it just stopped recording or playing back. It has since recovered.

After walking up to Bakewell Station I turned left to follow the Monsal Trail back to Hassop, passing under the road between Bakewell and Hassop as I went.

The sky actually seemed a bit bluer as I got nearer to Hassop Station.

Since then the Country Bookstore and the tearoom has closed ~ just as I was about to use it in my revamped teashop walks book.

Date of walk ~ 27th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 112 1/2 miles

Boxing Day, 2009

2010-02-11T19:53:00.001Z

I was on my own that day for some reason ...

I walked along an icy and slippery Baulk Lane towards Brookfield Manor, Hathersage Church on the hillside behind me ...

Sheep were scratching around in the snow, looking for the odd tussock of grass ...

After passing Brookfield Manor, I crossed the road with Bronte Cottage to my right and walked up the field to enter The Warren ...

In the Warren there's a newish handmade footbridge ...

There's more about the bridge here ... http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/news/news-display-page.htm?id=17861

Once I'd got past Green's House and walked up the side of the plantation at Dennis Knoll, I turned round as the sun was just starting to catch some of the landscape behind me ...

I zoomed into the middle distance of the photograph above. The next photo shows Carhead Rocks and Cattis-side Moor ...

After zooming in a little more the next photo shows a closer view of Carhead Rocks on Cattis-side Moor ~ neither of them are names I use but they are shown on the Dark Peak OS Map ...

Perhaps it was the cold or the snow ... whatever it was, there weren't many walkers about. I climbed up Long Causeway towards Stanage Edge. By now the sun was more visible as I looked across the valley towards the mast on Shatton Moor ...

At the top of Long Causeway there was a great view north-west along Stanage Edge.

It was so good to see so much snow I went a bit trigger happy ...

One too many photos of Stanage Edge perhaps ...

I descended through Stanage Plantation and then followed the path through the wood towards North Lees Hall ...

I stopped for a coffee leaning against the gate at the edge of the plantation, admiring the view towards North Lees Hall [in the trees ahead] ...

A couple of other walkers passed me as I stood there ...

Then I reached North Lees Hall which looks better in winter than at any other time of the year ...

... though from the lower side it didn't look quite such a wintry scene.

Continuing down the path from North Lees Hall I passed to the left of Cowclose. After a field or two there's a great view of Hathersage Church ...

At the edge of the churchyard one of the yew trees was nicely backlit by the sun ...

Date of walk ~ 26th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 3/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 108 1/4 miles

Tissington and the Tissington Trail

2010-01-30T11:45:00.000Z

From the car park on the Tissington Trail I turned left down to Tissington pond where the mallards were soon waddling towards me in the hope of some titbits ...

Turning uphill a few yards later takes you between the local tearoom on your left and the church on your right. A church that has been open when I have cared to check ...

A little further up the gentle slope motorists can park their cars on the grassy verge provided they ensure their "bonnett" [rather than their boot] is nearest the wall.

Continue along the lane out of the village and a footpath continues towards the Tissington Trail.

In several places the path is walled on both sides.

The path reaches the Tissington Trail. Turning right, there are far reaching views to the north.

The low winter sun was scratching through the trees as I walked into the car park on the Trail.

Date of walk ~ 13th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 2 3/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 102 1/2 miles

A sodden mess ...

2010-01-16T09:46:00.001Z

We'd had a lot of rain though I didn't realise how much until later ...

Brook Bottom is about a mile outside Tideswell on Manchester Road. There's a large water trough there ...

Water Lane then runs west from Brook Bottom to Wheston.

In Wheston, at the side of the road in a small enclosure, there's an old stone cross ...

A lane then drops down from Wheston to Dale Head.

From Dale Head I walked south through Peter Dale. Usually it's a dry dale ... but not today ...

Once I'd reached the lane at the bottom of Peter Dale [and resisting the temptation of walking through Monk's Dale] I followed the Limestone Way up the hill and part way along the track towards Monksdale Farm I turned north-eastward towards Slancote Lane.

When I reached Slancote Lane I followed it southwards until it swung left, back towards Tideswell. I didn't really fancy walking along it ...

It was something of a relief to get back onto tarmac.

I passed Tideswell church and finished the walk ...

Date of walk ~ 12th December 2009

Length of walk ~ 6 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 99 3/4 miles

So who was Weag ?

2010-01-10T18:27:00.001Z

The sky was full of clouds with not a ray of sunshine. The heavy rain had filled the riverbed and the Manifold was in full flow ... and then some.

Starting from the small car park by Weag's Bridge we walked along the Manifold Way, noticing the rock strata at the side ...

We passed under Thor's Cave ...

... and continued beyond towards Whetton Mill ...

What struck me was that there was a lot more water in the River Manifold than I had ever seen before.

Usually it is empty hereabouts and by that I mean a dry riverbed in summertime.

We kept walking north, still on the Manifold Way towards Whetton Mill ...

Eventually, after a stop at the tearooms at Whetton Mill, and after traipsing through the mud further down the valley, we got to the bottom of Ossoms Hill. Neither the National Trust nor the Ordnance Survey seem to bother with an apostrophe.

We climbed up to Grindon where we had a coffee by the church. Then we walked down the lane to Weag's Barn where I took this photo overlooking the Manifold valley and Weag's Bridge.

So who was Weag ? I rather suspect that both Weag and Ossom date back a long, long time. I don't suppose we will ever really know who they were.

Date of walk ~ 28th November 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 3/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 93 1/2 miles.

Hartington to Pilsbury ... and back

2010-01-02T13:16:00.002Z

I'm getting behind with these blogs ...

Well, back on the 15th November I drove out to Hartington to check my teashop walk.

It does seem as though the cheese factory is closed ~ and I assume this would mean no more Stilton from Derbyshire !

This signpost is near to the cheese factory ...

As you can see from the photograph above this path is well used ...

After crossing the River Dove, I climbed up the bank as though I was heading for Sheen but instead turned north towards Harris Close. There's a good view of Hartington hereabouts with the medieval ridges and furrows in the field in the centre of the photograph below ...

I passed through the attractive plantation on my way to Harris Close ... as well as some sheep [recently tupped by the look of things]

Beyond Harris Close, Sheen Hill was to my left ...

Just beyond Sheen Hill I caught up with three walkers who were following my walk !

In time honoured fashion, I introduced myself and had a chat. From left to right [I hope I've got this right] it's Keith, Rita and Neil ...

I left them and headed down the old track to the ford over the Dove. The track was a lot worse than I remember, though initially it wasn't so bad ...

Eventually I made it down to the River Dove. I followed the steep tarmac lane behind the buildings and looked back just as Keith, Rita and Beil started to walk up out of the valley ...

I actually Twittered whilst walking through the fields back to Hartington ... but got no comments.

A little further on there were a couple of warnings about falling down mineshafts and not letting your dog savage any sheep.

I bought a telescopic lens a few months ago for about £80 ... and so far I've taken just a handful of photos with it. Still, it's fun ! Here are a couple of images taken looking back up the valley towards Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill ... Chrome's on the left, the pointed one ...

A little further on, nearer Hartington, there were plenty of signs of leadmining, including these two covered mineshafts ...

On the outskirts of Hartington there was a Peacock Butterfly fluttering in the mid November sunshine ...

Back in Hartington, the visitors [and cars] had built up in number ...

Date of walk ~ 15th November 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 88 3/4 miles

A1 walk ...

2009-12-17T07:36:00.000Z

Once you've negotiated the A1 and driven into Elkesley there are quite a number of walking options to the west. Clumber Park is for example just three or four miles away as the crow flies.

I parked by the church and walked along the village street before turning left and passing the 'Headland Avenue' sign in a privet hedge ...

I then followed a narrow tarmac lane west towards Crookford Hill and walked alongside a tall metal fence surmounted with razor wire. Beyond it was a large building which seems to be a woodmill and/or recycling centre ...

Turning south, I soon reached the footbridge over the River Poulter near the ford ...

The Robin Hood Way led away from the river towards Spitfire Hill ...

The Robin Hood Way lies beneath electricity lines for some distance. The day I was there the fields on either side had been ploughed ...

Beyond this I left the Robin Hood Way and followed a path that would lead me to Bothamsall. Turning round three trees in the autumn light caught my eye ...

On the edge of Bothamsall there's a motte topped by a group of trees.

Once I reached the top of the field, I had a closer look at the motte ...

I walked below the village sign of Bothamsall.

Bothamsall's an attractive village with a church that wasn't open.

Some of the locals didn't look very friendly ...

I walked along the lane beside the church that becomes a bridleway leading to Haughton Park House Farm ... on the way I passed Cottage Plantation to my right. A greater spotted woodpecker was calling in the wood ...

At the farm the bridleway joins the Robin Hood Way. According to my OS Map the Robin Hood Way splits to the south west of Bothamsall with one section heading straight to Clumber Park and the other heading along a more circuitous route passing through both Bothamsall and Elkesley.

Anyway ... the Robin Hood Way passes through Elkesley Wood ...

I crossed the River Poulter again to get back into Elkesley.

As I was taking off my boots at the end of the walk to put on my shoes, a young girl about 12 or 13 walked up to me and said "Excuse me Sir, are you waiting to go into the church ?" I told her I had just walked around the churchyard but the church itself seemed to be closed. Then I asked if she was waiting to go inside ... but the conversation fizzled out as she walked away. Strange !

The view of the church from amongst the yew trees in the churchyard was a good one ...

Date of walk ~ 31st October 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 83 1/2 miles.

In Darley Dale ...

2009-12-10T07:37:00.001Z

Autumn was drawing to a close and for some reason I hadn't got out early enough to go far. For once I did a local walk. Many people would be happy to walk locally around here.

I parked on the Promenade near the Red House Hotel, just off the A6.

I took the path beside the Red House Hotel. I wonder how long it is since it was red ?

The path runs down to the railway line ...

I crossed the line and followed the path that runs between the river and the railway line itself, heading towards Matlock. There's a fallen tree here which has been like this for ages ... years rather than months.

Down by the river the sun shone brightly on the waters of the Derwent.

I walked through a couple of fields until I reached a point where the path from the A6 and Hackney Lane joined the path I was on from the left.

I walked through another two or three fields before climbing up the railway embankment and following the concessionary footpath that runs beside the line itself. I was now heading back the way I had come.

Just to confirm the status of the path ...

Beside the line, a little further on, there's an old Midland Railway marker. I wonder how old it is ?

I left the railway line and walked across the fields to the Square and Compass in Darley Bridge before walking along the road to Darley Dale Station. From here I got back onto the public footpath that runs alongside the railway line back towards the car. On the way I walked past the DFS outlet ... out of picture on the right in the next photo ...

On the left of me as I took the above photo was an old Midland Railway notice ...

I was only two or three hundred yards from the car ...

Date of walk ~ 25th October 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 78 1/2 miles.

Laxton and its open field system ...

2009-11-29T12:36:00.001Z

The public toilet in the Visitor Centre at Laxton, Nottinghamshire, has a shower in it ...

Whether it is available for the public to use I don't know, but it's there, in the corner.

Walking down the side of the Dovecote Inn, between the inn and the Visitor Centre, you reach the village green ...

Just beyond the churchyard I turned right, along this bridleway. Looking back you get some idea of the mud on it. Still, it's used by agricutural vehicles ~ it's a working environment.

A few hundred yards later I turned left along Hall [or Back] Lane ...

Twenty minutes or so later and I was walking across Mill Field where the majority of the old field strips can be seen. I reached a crossroads of paths ...

It's quite an open landscape around here with just the odd tree here and there and the occasional copse. Sometimes a larger tree grows in a hedgerow as can be seen here on Mill Lane ...

I climbed a small hill and turned sharp left across a recently sown field. The farmer had restored the path which was good to see.

A few paths later and I was walking eastwards along an avenue of trees as the showery rain dripped through them.

At the far end of the trees I passed through a farmgate and came to a really mud field. Near the gate the cows had created these 'furrows' from constant use ...

Back in the village I sat on a seat in the churchyard drinking my coffee and eating my chocolate bar [with added nuts and stuff]. The church wasn't open ...

A couple of gravestones caught my eye ...

Then it was back out onto the main street. Most of Laxton seems to be owned by the Crown Estate. All the farms have their names uniformly marked in blue on a silver background ...

... except for Mr. Grundy and Mrs. Freer ...

I finished the walk with a pint and a bit of a slap-up meal in the Dovecote. Good to see it was reasonably busy at lunchtime during the week.

Date of walk ~ 22nd October 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 1/2 miles.

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 74 1/4 miles

Eyam and me ...

2009-11-14T09:28:00.001Z

I was in Eyam on the 21st October 2009, looking at my teashop walk from there.

Never use a house name as a marker, as in "turn right immediately beyond 'Fairholme' ". A new owner may change its name to Scrumpy Acres ... or something.

It was midweek and autumn and the usual horde of walkers were nowhere to be seen.

The route of the walk crosses the fields towards Foolow. On its way the path dips into Linen Dale ...

I always thought 'Eyam' was pronounced 'ee-um' but no ... it's 'eem' ...

Entering Foolow along the lane I hoped I might see the homemade sign warning motorists to beware of the duckpond ducks but no, there's an official sign now ...

The Victorian postbox is no longer available for the collection of letters but has been retained for posterity.

No photos of the village pond [I need to get a wider angle lens] but St. Hugh's Church caught my eye. According to the interpretation panel the church was originally a smithy but in the late 19th century it held its first service. St Hugh was born in the 12th century [not around here I hasten to add] and pictures of him usually show him accompanied by a swan ~ you can nip along to Foolow to read the panel to learn more about him.

I took the footpath to Grindlow. Once, when we were writing the book, there were paving stones along the side of this green lane ... a real feature. Now, unless they're buried under the grass, they appear to hae gone. Have they been taken up ?

I didn't go right into Grindlow but swung left towards Silly Dale. At the entrance to the dale [if I could call it that] there's a warning for our friends who like to explore these old green lanes using things mechanical ...

Although it may look as though you're going to end up in someone's garden, the bridleway actually passes to the left of this bungalow ...

Silly Dale, like Linen Dale, is dry and rather featureless. Looking back you can see the bungalow recently passsed with the buildings of Grindlow in the background.

Once I had reached Stanley House I turned left. Three or four fields later I met a man taking his fifteen stone Bull Mastiff for a walk. He assured me that the dog was friendly and when I offered the back of my hand for him [the dog] to have a sniff, he wiped his slobber right across the sleeve of my fleece ...

... lovely.

Brosterfield Farm is being improved, developed. The farm buildings are being renovated and rebuilt. Is someone going to be selling them off as desirable country homes ? Another farm broken up ?

It appears not ... a couple of holiday lets have resulted from the renovations ... http://www.brosterfieldfarm.co.uk/index.html

At Housley I started to follow Tideswell Lane back to Eyam. A few yards along it this caught my eye ...

I wonder if everyone will take note ?

Walking along Tideswell Lane [it's basically a walled track] I heard a call from a chap in a barn to my left. He was asking if I could lend him a hand for a minute or two ...

It turned out that his hay baler had got a bit of a problem and he wanted me to hold the baler twine whilst he [by hand] turned over the mechanism. The job was soon done and he thanked me. I said it was good that a walker could help a farmer and he replied [with a smirk] "Ad a asked any bugger that were passin' ".

I met another man, a local dog walker, who stood and talked with me for the best part of twenty minutes. Then we bid farewell and I walked back into Eyam ...

Date of walk ~ 21st October 2009

Length of walk ~ 6 1/4 miles.

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 68 3/4 miles

In which I admire the beauty of Staythorpe C Power Station ...

2009-11-05T07:37:00.001Z

Parking in Farndon, a mile or two south-west of Newark, Nottinghamshire, I walked through the old part of the village, with its redbrick Georgian houses.

As you usually find, the local church was closed ...

The graveyard looked interesting but I didn't have enough time to look around ...

A public footpath runs through the churchyard and out the other side ...

I passed through the newer part of the village, leaving the old redbrick Georgian houses behind. Then I reached the River Trent after crossing a field or two. Turning right, off the route I was going to follow, I had a look at a ruined windmill. It's only inhabitants a handful of pigeons ...

What a pity someone hasn't restored it.

Back beside the River Trent there were two or three of these clapper gates.

I really like these gates and they're a clever design too. The only place I have ever seen them is beside the River Trent.

Walking around a corner beside the Trent, I was confronted by more evidence of the damage that scumbags do to our countryside.

A little further along, immediately beyond Averham Weir, is Staythorpe C Power Station. A lone fisherman informed that it was being powered by imported gas ... and that there were no Englishmen working there, just other Europeans.

You may recall that Staythorpe was recently in the news because of all the protests by English workers ...

There was a lot of wildfowl on the river near the weir. A flock of Canada Geese flew over ...

As I got nearer Farndon I noticed that there are some informal paths, created by the Parish Council, and nestboxes on some of the trees ...

A hundred yards later, a seat by the side of the Trent was very welcome ... just as a shower of rain ended. Still I had my coffee and a small chocolate bar ...

I do love to find a conveniently placed seat. Some purists say they are an intrusion in the countryside. I don't ...

I crossed the substantial bridleway bridge over the riverside entrance to Farndon Marina. This is the view looking back ...

With the rain falling more steadily I studied an information panel beside the river, in front of the [now closed] Britannia Inn ...

Then it was back to the car and off for a bite to eat at the Rose & Crown in the village. I forget what I had ~ burger and chips, I think ~ and an enjoyable pint of beer too.

Date of walk ~ 20th October 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 miles.

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 62 1/2 miles