Baslow, Chatsworth Park and Raddowhole Plantation ...

Get there early enough and you can park near the grass triangle at the top of Eaton Hill in Baslow and walk down to Goose Green. The green looks delightful in the early Spring sunshine ...

 There's a couple of thatched cottages beyond Goose Green or it might be one long one ...



The path beyond the cottages leads towards Chatsworth Park ...



... and the Cannon Kissing Gate ...



According to the sign beside the kissing gate not only does it allow walkers to pass through the wall but people in wheelchairs too. It was inspired by a Mrs. Jill Cannon and opened in 1999.

A path leads from the kissing gate through the parkland ...



 You reach the River Derwent just beyond the cricket ground ...



 On this particular walk a couple of years ago you would have been able to see one of Laura Ellen Bacon's sculptures ...



 Once we'd reached Chatsworth Bridge we stood and gazed along the Derwent and the park beyond. All was green and grey ... or shades thereof ...



 Our way wasn't southward though so we turned back on ourselves and walked north ...



  I think these are horse jumps ...

 We were walking towards the Jubilee Rock [formerly the Elephant Stone] ...

The Jubilee that the stone marks is the 50th year of the reign of Queen Victoria. The carving was the work of Lieutenant Colonel E.M.Wrench who became a doctor in Baslow in 1862. You can see his initials in the bottom right of the photo below ...



 We followed a track between silver birches and below looming rocks towards Robin Hood ...

 

 The water in Heathy Lee Brook is always brown ...

  
Cross the A619 and follow the path towards Sheffield Road ...





   After 15 or 20 minutes [depending on how fast you walk] you'll get a view of Baslow Edge though the Wellington Monument isn't visible in the photo below ...



 We turned left at Toll Bar Cottage ...



 ... and walked down Sheffield Road for a short distance. At the roadside is this interesting stone which has some wording carved in it. Not sure what they are or even what the stone was ... a boundary stone perhaps ?



We took the footpath on our right then, aiming for Raddowhole Plantation ...

 

Moisture is always seeping out of the hillside in parts of the wood and certain damp-loving plants can usually be found ...

It's so damp that in a couple of places the path is very boggy. Trees fall from time to time because the soil sits on shale ...



 Eventually though the path settles down and the rest of the path is easier to follow ... and enjoy ...



 

This walk was followed on the 22nd April 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 6.23 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 129.12 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 18th April 2011 ~ 657.17 miles

  28 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.6 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

Feet together/poles apart ...

Having taken Abiraterone for two weeks now I can report that I feel better generally but I still have some discomfort in my groin ... so I bought myself some walking poles to make walking easier.

They were just £15, hardly top of the range, but they should take some pressure off my hips and pelvis etc.

In the event, just this afternoon, I walked for just 45 minutes, quite slowly from Alport up to the packhorse bridge near Youlgreave ...


 

I'm not a big fan of walking poles but at least they enabled me to get out into the countryside. This may be as good as it gets unless my pelvis improves ... somehow.

We'll see.

The other news is that the Abiraterone hasn't affected my kidneys or potassium levels etc. The pharmacist declared yesterday that the results of Tuesday's bloodtest were "absolutely fine".

Finally my compact digital camera has gone kaput so I'm going to have to replace it or stick with my SLR which is bigger and more cumbersome. The two photos above were taken with my phone !

It will be interesting to see how my groin/pelvis feels during the night and in the morning. It is surprising how you don't realise as you turn over in bed how your body 'corkscrews' on your pelvis  ... until you have a problem with your pelvis. Ouch.

On Instagram ...

Sign on one of the buildings at the Cromford end of the Cromford Canal posted on Instagram earlier today ...

Walking with The Boy ...

Benjamin was ten when I took him up to explore a Forestry Commission wood near where I used to live until I was about his age.

The wood is named as Bown Piece and it's only in the last year or two that walkers have been able to explore this wood ... open access and all that.

It's hard to describe a walk like this because although there are some paths on the ground they're often not marked on a map ...

  

Half the fun is just following your nose knowing that you can't get lost in a small wood like this ... can you ...

Find a branch that's the right height and smooth enough and you can sit and have a chat about life and both learn something ...

 

We reached the corner of the Five Fields and I looked across to the spot where Benjamin's great grandfather died 50 years ago. Was it the right time to tell him something of that death. I decided not ...

  

... not today.

I suppose these trees were growing up as I grew up nearby though some of them have probably been around longer than me ...

 



Then we got lost ... a bit ...
 

Once we'd found our way again we were following a good path ...

 

Time for a 'group' shot !

 

Before we knew it we'd found the path which led us back to the car.

 

What I couldn't understand was why the path was so distinctive in places and in other places it just didn't exist.

This walk was followed on the 29th January 2011

  Length of walk ~ 0.96 miles *

 
  Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 32.63 miles

  Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 29th January 2011 ~ 561.68 miles

   10 of 2011

 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

Chatsworth ~ two more sculptures ... and a wooden seat.

I'm just about finished with the photographs I took at Chatsworth in September of this year. 

There are some sculptures that are permanent and there are some seats that are probably less though. 

Here are two examples of the former and one of the latter ...

 



 

Quite a contrast between the three pieces but I rather like them all though my particular favourite is the one in the middle.

An excellent piece of design ...

Whilst wandering around the garden at Chatsworth a couple of months ago I discovered the most impressive bench rather tucked away from the paths.

If you look at it straight on you can see straight through it ...

Initially I didn't latch on to what it was. Then I got nearer and thought what an interesting feature ...



Eventually I realised this is a bench or seat [I can be slow] ...



If I had had more time I would have taken more photographs, it was just so pleasing to the eye ...



One of the best things about it is that it's great to sit upon.

It was designed by Corin Mellor.

I think it's more interesting than some of the sculptures I've seen in the grounds at Chatsworth.

Laura Ellen Bacon ... at Chatsworth

I've posted some photographs of Laura Ellen Bacon's work before. Here are a few more ...