There's a good-sized car park in Tideswell Dale and it has toilets ! That can sometimes be a great relief.
Take the path south from the car park ...
Further down the dale, there's one of the Peak Park 'poetry benches' that I am tracking down ... in a lazy, uncoordinated way ...
There's also a giant wooden water vole !
Tideswell Dale is one of the Derbyshire Dales lovely limestone dales ...
I reached Litton Mill where the old mill has been renovated and restored ... and is now luxury apartments. The property at the easternmost end is the Old Gas House. As I stood there about to take a photograph a woman appeared from in the house and pretended to do something down the side of the property. All the time though she was staring at me and giving me rather suspicious looks. I approached her and told her not to worry I wasn't taking a photo with a view to doing anything else ... so was it alright if I took a photo ?
She agreed ...
I continued down the valley with the River Wye on my right and sunshine shining through the Spring leaves ...
It was shortly after this that a man walking up the dale told me to look out for a mole on the path ~ "it looks dead to me". This sounds interesting I thought. Once I got there though the mole 'came to life' ...
This short video actually appeared on BBC TV's Springwatch programme BUT THEY FORGOT TO MENTION MY NAME ! Not that I let it bother me ...
This stretch of the River Wye in Millers's Dale is probably one of my favourite stretches of rinverside walking ... anywhere ...
I think it's delightfiul ...
Further along the path I could see men working on the old railway line above ... what were they doing ? Well it subsequently transpired that they were laying a new surface and preparing to open up all the tunnels on the Monsal Trail ...
Quite where Millers Dale becomes Water-cum-Jolly I'm not sure but I think it's generally accepted that this part of the dale is Water-cum-Jolly ...
Like Litton Mill Cressbrook Mill was in danger of falling into disrepair until a few years ago but now it has been converted into luxury apartments ... with a few holiday flats thrown in.
I'd now reached the point where I had to start the return section of the walk ...
[to be continued ...]
I agree Charlie it is a lovely dale to walk through,I love the water vole, do you know who carved it?.Ann
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't know who carved the vole. There seem to be a few people around now who carve with a chainsaw ...
DeleteAll of your walks are wonderful. Your photographs would make a perfect coffee table book (or series of them). Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pet. That's very kind but there are some top of the range photographers who leave my efforts in the shade :-)
DeleteGlorious. I love the mole vid!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the walk Alison ... and the mole.
DeleteA lovely walk, Charlie....so green and leafy in many places. I agree with you about the riverside sections....it's really beautiful. That building at Litton Mill has been restored really nicely. I loved the vid of Mr Mole.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it Mitch ~ it's a very quiet stretch of river except at weekends. Yes, both Litton and Cressbrook Mills have been restored really nicely. I would love to look around inside. Mr. Mole has now been seen by thousands except the vast majority of people don't know who took it ! Hmph ...
DeleteWe all know who took it Charlie,I also told some of my friends when it was on Springwatch.Ann
ReplyDeleteIt's obviously a select handful who know then Ann !
DeleteThis is a lovely walk, beautiful and relaxing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it Diane ~ this is only half the walk though. The rest should be coming along sometime today.
DeleteI have never seen a mole; that was great! I can see why it's a water and not a dale!
ReplyDeleteI've seen a live mole three or four times now Neil. They are blacker than you think. They always seem to be coloured grey in pictures and paintings etc but when I've seen them [as in this video] they're black ... or at least a very dark grey.
DeleteWell your first sentence made me laugh and I am tired. That mole must have thought you were Goliath and he forgot his slingshot.
ReplyDeleteFor a man with my problems let me say that I always prefer a car park with a toilet. I know it's easy enough for me to go in the bushes and sometimes I have had to do so but it's surprising how busy some of these paths can be and I don't like being disturbed. It's a case of "I've started ... so I've got to finish ..." :-)
DeleteAs for the mole, the speed he scurried away I think he probably thought Goliath was going to stamp on him ... and of course I never would.