Benjamin and I head to Grindleford ...

I need to catch up with my walking blogs ...

So back to early 2011 and Benjamin and I drove ten miles or so up the Derwent Valley to Grindleford Station. We resisted the temptation to have a bacon butty at the cafe and walked along the path leading to Padley Mill ...

Before that though we had to cross the bridge over Burbage Brook ...

 

As we got near to Padley Chapel one of the locals came out to make my acquaintance ...



My new found friend then took me for a tour of the old stones of Padley Manor behind Padley Chapel ...



He [or is it she] even opened his eyes ...

 

As soon as we'd got past the last of the houses Benjamin started clambering on some of the large rocks ...

 

We left the main and more popular path here and walked through Rough Wood ...







Near Kettle House the view opens out towards Hathersage with Win Hill rising beyond ...



We passed under the railway line ...



Just beyond a watercourse pours out of the hillside ...

 

One of the great things about walking with your grandson is that you realise you've probably become a bit jaded in your outlook. I see old carved stones and wonder where they came from ... Benjamin sees them as a something to jump from ...

 

I've asked it before and I may ask it again, where are these stones from ? The stones that lie on the ground near Harper Lees ...



  

As we left the stones behind to follow the River Derwent southwards I looked back towards Harper Lees and Hathersage ...

 

The spring sunshine sparkled on the River Derwent as we walked south ...



... into the wood ...

 

Part way through the wood we forked left uphill to retrace our steps back to the car. On the way we passed Padley Chapel. No cat this time ...

 

Could those old stones a mile or so away come from Padley Manor, the ruins behind the chapel shown above ?

This walk was followed on the 6th March 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 3.13 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 50.1 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 6th March 2011 ~ 578.15 miles
 
13 of 2011
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap