Monsal Head Round Walk

Another absolutely glorious Sunday morning. Up with the larks at silly o'clock and out for 8.30.  Arrived at Monsal Head well before 9 and spent a few minutes taking in the stunning view which was the walk ahead of us today.

First part of the walk was down some very steep steps and along to the now defunct Viaduct with the River Wye winding it's way lazily below us and out onto the Monsal Trail.  The trail is a former railway line having been part of the Midland Railway line through the Peak District National Park.

We continued along the trail with the river  on our right until we got to Cressbrook Mill.  The original mill was built in 1783 as a cotton mill, this burnt down and was replaced by the current building in 1812.  The mill was originally powered by two large water wheels until 1890 when they were replaced by turbines. 

We wound our way down by to the river eventually crossing at Water-Cum-Jolly (yes, really!) and followed the river along past the limestone rocks. This part of the Peak District is called the White Peak because of the prevelant limestone landscape. 

The walk along the river was very peaceful, and we didn't pass anyone else on this stretch of the walk. 

We carried on until we got to Litton Mill - another cotton mill.  Litton Mill was opened in 1782 and became notorious for the harsh treatment of the children who worked there. Children were imported from Sheffield and London and many of them died because of the conditions there.  The mill has now been converted into luxury flats and holiday lets. A far cry from the days of child labour. 

We stopped here for a drink and snack.   Next we followed the trail towards Millerdale.  What a shock.  After the steep descent at the start of the walk, we had mainly been walking on the flat. We knew that at some point what comes down, has to go back up, and our time had come!  Up some steps through the woods, onto a short plateau, marking the start of Priestcliffe Lees Site of Specific Scientific Interest Nature Reserve.  Up more steps and then we were confronted by a very steep hill, which just seemed to go on forever, but probably took us about 20 minutes to get to the top of.  The views from the top were lovely though and worth the climb.

Once again the trail steadied off and we set off over the fields towards Upper Dale.  At this point we had to decide whether to carry straight on over the top of the fields or head down to Lees Bottom.  By this time the pub back at the start of the walk was calling us, and we decided the delights of Lees Bottom would have to wait for another time.  

The pathway here and in other places was awful.  Snidy little stones had been poured along the way, I guess to make it easier to walk, but they were horrible little things, all sticking out at right angles making it uncomfortable to walk on.  I think they may have been inhabited by the souls of the children who died in the mills, and this was their revenge.  And who could blame them!!

Again we followed the line of the river, but from above once more. 

By now we could see the pub in the distance.  Another very steep decline, over more of those awful stones and we were back on to the Viaduct and within striking distance.

Our last climb of the day was back the way we had started, up the steep steps to the Monsel Head Hotel and The Stables, where we had a very welcome, and I'd say well earned pint!

Time taken: 2 hours 45mins

Distance: 5.89 miles

I've Won!!

How exciting!  I knew all this walking would pay off eventually!!

Some weeks ago I registered with Active Travel Challenge. This is a Derbyshire-wide initiative for companies and employees throughout the region to register their intention to become more active. I decided I would park the car at the bottom of the hill every morning and do the hour round journey to the hospital and back to the car every day.

Ha!! That didn't last very long - getting up at 6.30 is bad enough without having to set the clock even half an hour earlier, and by the time I got home at lunchtime I felt like I'd put in a day and a half.  Not to be deterred, I've been walking most days elsewhere and been logging them all on the site here: http://www.activetravelchallenge.org.uk/

So in 7 weeks I've walked 57 miles, burnt 1,800 calories and saved 18kg of C02.

Sadly there are only 15 days left of the challenge, but I do hope they extend it.

Oh yes, my prize - coffee and cake for 2 at Fresh Basil in Belper.  http://www.freshbasil.co.uk/eaterie.htm



I don't think I've ever been to Belper before, so that's a good excuse to find a nice walk which ends up in a nice little coffee* shop.










* Not a fan of coffee but I'm hoping they will give me a hot chocolate in lieu.

Lathkill Dale via Over Hadden

LATHKILL DALE WALK - one of the first Dales to be designated as a National Nature Reserve.

What a glorious morning.  Up and out just after 9 and arrived at Over Hadden car park for 9.30.  Over Hadden is just outside Bakewell, but we've never been through the village before.  Set off down a very steep lane and had an idylic walk alongside the River Derwent.  The River is one of the pursest in the country and you could see right through to the river bed - the water was so clear.  (It's not very deep mind you).

The route took us up through Quiet Lane and on to Alport.

Alport was the halfway maker so time to break out the water.

Alport is a gorgeous little village with some stunning houses and gardens.  And a water mill, but it's privately owned so we didn't get much of a view of that.  We crossed the road and set off on our first real uphill climb. 

The climb didn't last long though and soon we were back in the fields with a view of the Derwent below us and Over Hadden ahead.  A trudge through the fields full of sheep, little orange butterflies and ladybirds followed and then we saw the most wonderful sight ahead.

Yes!! A pub!  The Lathkill Hotel.  Very friendly hostilery with a stunning view back over Lathkill Dale.  Sitting in the beer garden supping a cold drink was the perfect way to end the walk.

We'll be back!

Dronfield Rotary Walk

Well - this last week the walking has started again in earnest.  After a very uncomfortable weekend, last week, the Doctor thinks I have an hiatus hernia, and amongst other things, said that losing some weight may help it slip back into place. 

So in an effort to achieve the above, Jenny and I have been out most days this week, walking around the town instead of taking the car.  Yesterday we went to one of my favourite spots, Curbar Edge and walked for about 5 miles.  We encountered a short hail storm bookended by blazing sunshine, which was a little surreal. 

Earlier in the week Simon and I decided to do a segment of the Dronfield Rotary Walk. 

In it's entirety it is just over 14 miles, and we've promised ourselves to take a full day out sometime soon to do the whole thing in one go.  The plan this week, however, was to walk from Holmesfield through to Unstone - a distance of about 6 miles,  We set off at 7.30pm  and hoped to be finished before the light gave out.

It's nice to get off the beaten track outside Holmesfield,  Going through by car you miss the absolutely fantastic view behind the houses.  Stepping out onto the first public right of way, this was our view at the start of the walk.  This was taken on my mobile phone so apologies for the quality.

We headed off down the hill past some amazing 17th century houses which we didn't realise were there, complete with knot gardens and dovecotes.  I shall be going back with my camera. We headed off across the fields to pick up the road at Cowley.  From there we crossed over towards Monk Wood.  It's 8 years since we did this walk last, and at that time we came from the opposite direction.  We climbed the hill up to Monk Wood, stopping to take some snaps of the horses that greeted us (my phone had died by this point so I'll upload one from Simon's mobile when I get a chance).  The route is well sign posted.  That is when the sign posts haven't been uprooted making it difficult to ascertain whether it's actually pointing in the right direction or not.  

We knew we had to go into Monk Wood so decided to follow the most well worn path.   

Some time down the path we realised that we should be going uphill by now to hit a mobile phone mast which is near the bridge over Dronfield by-pass which we needed to take to get back over into Dronfield.  Unfortunately we were going downhill at an increasing pace. Not to be deterred, the noise of the traffic from the by-pass was getting louder and louder as we walked.  We expected to come out at Sheepbridge Industrial Estate, just outside Unstone, and then walk through the streets  to my car which was parked on the otherside of the village.

Unbeknown to us, the path we took was taking a steady right hand swing away from the by-pass and we eventually emerged from the trees to be greeted with the sight of Barlow about a mile and a half away.  This was way off course. Our only option was to either go back through the woods or head for Barlow.  The woods weren't a viable option as we would have the last 45 minutes of the walk treking through them in the dark without a torch, and neither of us fancied taking the chance of tripping or twisting an ankle, so we decided to head for Barlow and see if we could get a friend to pick us up from there.

Our friend Julie kindly came to our rescue, much to her amusement, and she picked us up at about 9.30pm  by which time it was pitch black. 

Overall an very enjoyable walk with an unexpected ending, which just added to the fun.