Passing the pike ...

... not a Victorian parlour game but what I did when taking a walk a couple of years ago in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. 

You see there's a pike that lies in the water at the Cromford end of the Cromford Canal that must be over  two feet long ... no, really ... just look at him or her ...

 

I know it would have helped if there had been something else in the water to help you compare but take my word ... this pike is over two feet long.

Sir Richard Arkwright's Cromford Mills were my starting point for a springtime walk in 2011. After passing the pike I walked past this rather attractive old redbrick building set amongst the even older stone-built ones of the Cromford Mills set-up ...



  I passed the old Primitive Methodist Chapel at Scarthin, now a private house, with this engraving above the front door ...



 I have shown this engraving before but I still think it is one of the most poignant ones I have ever seen.

Almost immediately I took the paved path up towards Hillside on my way towards Matlock Bath ...



 ... and, in particular, Upperwood. Isn't it beautiful ?



  The path runs along the private drive hereabouts on the hillside above the busy village of Matlock Bath ...



 ... from where you can get a distant view of Riber Castle across the other side of the valley ...



 The lane up to Upperwood has its drawbacks as you can see but it is a lane open to all vehicles. Imagine driving up here in any sort of car ...



 After a while I took a narrow, overgrown path leading downhill towards Matlock Bath ...







On reaching the main road, the A6, as it passes through Matlock Bath, I turned right back towards the start, passing this trough belonging to the Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association where it stands not so far from the church ...



 Then I was walking beneath another of Arkwright's amazing mills. This time Masson Mill built in 1783 but 'established' in 1769 ...







  A riverside path between the River Derwent on the left and the limestone tor of Scarthin Rock on the right leads to Cromford Church where you can turn right back to the canal ...

 

... and that enormous pike.

This walk was followed on the 27th May 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 2.82 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 198.98 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 27th May 2011 ~ 720.72 miles

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

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

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