Giddy Edge, High Tor and Matlock Bath ...

Most of the buildings of Matlock lie on the northern side of the River Derwent. On the southern side Masson Hill rises high up the town ...




 The Derwent Valley Heritage Way follows a riverside path into the town ...



From the old stone bridge crossing the Derwent look downstream and you will see 19th century Riber Castle rising high above the town ...



 Turn to your left at this point and you get a view of Bank Road rising up from Crown Square. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries a tramway ran up the hill and down again, taking visitors to and from the hydros on the hillside ...



 A walk alongside the River Derwent brings you to Knowleston Place with some of the earliest dated houses in the town ...



 The property above is now an outhouse ... with a very fine date stone.

Keep left beside the river from Knowleston Place and follow the riverside path ...



 This soon brings you to the bottom of Pic Tor ...



 Verious path options present themselves ...

 

One day a couple of years ago I decided to follow the path up to High Tor ... and there were plenty of warnings to keep to the path ...


 

Another sign shortly afterwards wasn't quite so professional ...

 

The path ran alongside a fence on the left with a big drop [out of sight] on the right ...

 

On reaching High Tor there's a great view looking back towards Matlock in the distance ...

 

In between there's the big drop down to the A6 and the surrounding houses of course.

 

Another warning sign !

 

The spectacular viewpoint is, of course, High Tor which rises high above the River Derwent. Just beyond the tor is a path leading down to Giddy Edge ...

 

A thin metal handrail attached to the limestone on your left is all you have to hold on to as you walk above the river and the A6 one hundred yards or so below. I have a noisy video of the path which I will not inflict upon you.

Eventually I zig-zagged down to Matlock Bath and the Derwent ...


 

I called in at the Princess Victoria for a pint ...

 

Adequately refreshed I then climbed back out of the valley ...

 

As I picked my way along a narrow woodland path the cable car rising to the Heights of Abraham passed overhead ...

 

I was now well away from the noise coming from Matlock Bath and its visitors ...

 

Tucked away in the woods above Artists' Corner between Matlock and Matlock Bath is St. John's Chapel. Most of the visitors to the area probably won't be aware of its existence. Indeed without some help from Friends of Friendless Churches the chapel might have fallen into disrepair by now ...

 

 

Through a gap in the trees I was able to glimpse High Tor across the valley ...

 

A hundred yards or so later Riber Castle was visible ...

 

As I walked across the field, back towards Matlock, I reflected upon a walk full of marvellous scenery ...


 

This walk was followed on the 21st May 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 4.73 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 196.16 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 21st May 2011 ~ 717.90 miles

  43 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was still averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

Farley Moor and more ...

On Farley Moor, above Matlock, you can wander through the Forestry Commission plantation ... and lose yourself, metaphorically I mean.

Park along the road from Sydnope Stand, pass through the gate and head straight away from the road ...

In this woodland, we found a Chinese Lantern that had run its course. There has been talk about these being fire starters ... it makes you wonder.



Keep straight on ...



 ... until you see a wall in the distance ahead of you ...





Benjamin stood at the wall as I explained that my father, his great grandfather, had reclaimed the fields beyond the wall from the surrounding moorland. Dad's hard work still fills me with awe as well as pride ...

It's not the best of land but Dad grew crops on this ground and kept sheep and cattle. I used to be able to wander these fields until he died and the farm was sold.

The only livestock we could see were some Highland Cattle ...



 We left the past behind us and headed into the future ...



 Farley Moor is still a working environment and we took due note of this sign ...



 A largish area had been cleared ... ready for replanting ? If so what with ? Broadleaf trees ?



 We were soon back into the trees. You can almost feel the warmth in these photos ...




  
We reached the boundary of the access land ...



 We looked across the ugly barbed wire fence towards Darley Dale where I live ...



 We had a coffee at this point sheltering under the trees rather than in the glare of the sun. We headed back towards the start though the path was vague ...
 
   

Once we'd found the path it was plain sailing all the way back ...





  This walk was followed on the 23rd April 2011
 
Length of stroll ~ 1.93 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 131.05 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 23rd April 2011 ~ 659.10 miles

  29 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap 

Bay watch ...

You may have read my blog about my mallet finger ... but that wasn't the only mishap on Wednesday. Early in the morning, after a coffee with Katy, I returned to the car park to find I'd been given a ticket [or a Penalty Charge Notice to give it the proper title]. I had 'Parked beyond the bay markings'.

I don't lose my temper often but I'd parked in the same spot many times before and there had never been a problem. 

After taking Katy home I stomped into the District Council office and slapped the ticket on the counter. I explained that I was a reasonable man but this [the ticket] was the limit. I did really well though ~ I didn't swear.

The guy I needed to speak to was out but to cut a long story short I met him yesterday at the bay ... and he said the ticket wasn't enforceable anyway because the bay wasn't defined clearly enough.

I had to challenge the Penalty Charge Notice though [which I did online] so that he can comment and have it discharged. 

My challenge to the PCN read : "I do not believe I had parked beyond the bay markings. I have parked in this particular spot many times since the car park opened and never had a PCN before."

How many motorists would have paid up though. Still, I'd better shut up, the Penalty Charge Notice hasn't been discharged yet.

Here's my car in the bay ... or is it ?
 

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