Peak district boundary walk

Buxton to Wormhill.

25/03/2018.

The day dawned bright and sunny. What a great morning to start our new adventure, for today was the day we set out to walk the Peak district boundary walk. A 190 mile walk around the boundary of Britains first and arguably most beautiful national park. We shall be following the route in short day sections, probably taking us about a year [but then you never can tell...The Pennine way took us over 2 years to complete.] I'm really looking forward to visiting all the rarely visited nooks and crannies around the edges of the peak park. The walk begins in the elegant spa town of Buxton, I would have liked to have had a look around the town before we set off, but with a long day ahead we decided to get cracking. We parked by the Town hall and set off along High street, before long we were free from the town.

What a difference in the weather from last weekends snows, to the spring like conditions today, The sound of birdsong and the sun on our backs made for a cheerful mood...it was Dafodils to the right...Lambs to the left and wall to wall blue skies, seemed a bit strange to see blue skies again. I almost broke into a whistle..As we left Buxton behind we took a look back to admire the impressive Ashwood viaduct.

A nice steady few miles eased us in gently..i always find that it takes a mile or two to get into a walk.With good views and easy ground underfoot we were soon on autopilot.We passed through the hamlet of Staden and then on to the small village of Cowdale [ no cows and not much dale]. Before long we found ourselves on the rim of Deepdale. One of the many Limestone dales around these parts. Such a beautiful place, we didn't want to rush it so we sat in the sun, soaking up the scene, drinking coffee and eating Kit Kats..i do like a KitKat.After 20 minutes or so we took the path that zig zags down into the dale, crossing the stream at the bottom.

No chance of a fast passage along the valley as the path is so rocky, screes running down from the slopes. We slowed down and picked our way between the ankle twisting rocks.

Very quiet along here today, just as it should be. We passed Topley pike quarry to make it down to the River Wye one of Derbyshire finest rivers said to be popular with Anglers due to its large numbers of Grayling, Brown and Rainbow trout. We saw a few fluff chuckers trying their luck along the banks. At Blackwell mill cottages we crossed the river to follow the path into Cheedale. Must be great to live here in one of these cottages I have long admired Cheedale as the river and rock scenery is superb along here.

The path leaves Cheedale after a couple of hundred yards to follow a steep path [Pennine bridleway] up and out of the valley There are some tremendous views along here. The views are one of the main reasons I go walking. A walk amidst scenery this good makes you feel great. Steep ground doesn't matter, I fact I love that ache in the legs after a climb.

We had planned to walk as far as Peak forest and catch a bus back to Buxton, But this was a sunday and buses in the countryside are few and far between, so we would walk as far as Wormhill, have a bit of lunch,peruse the map and plan a route back to Buxton. Over a sarnie there seemed one obvious route back but the path went through an area of quarries, not fancying that we decided to simply retrace our steps. It was no hardship.The walk turned out to be 14 miles long which is the furthest we have walked for years. A year or so back I suffered with a bad foot at first we thought it to be Plantar fasciitis but an X.ray revealed it to be a bone fracture. Writing this a day after our walk with no pain in my foot, I think I can say it has well and truly healed....Back in Buxton we had to have a celebratory pint...so many pubs to choose from, we opted for the old Sun where I was happy to see my favourite pint on the pumps...That Sneck lifter was like a gift from the gods.

I'm looking forward to next weekend now, getting back to chip a few more miles off. Nothing beats a good walk.

The Hole of Horcum, Levisham and Newtondale.

17/03/2018.

It happens every year, you begin to think that spring is just around the corner, then "smack" winter has one last sting in her tail. Well today we felt the whiplash as the tail was wagging like crazy. Not known a day quite like it. Rosy cheeks would be guaranteed today....The route for todays walk was taken from the latest [ spring] edition of Country walking magazine, only instead of starting from Levisham we chose to start from the Saltergate car park to make the 7.5 mile walk a little bit longer. A great start to the day, as the pay and display machine wasn't working, the whole thing was frozen solid. I tried to pay [honest I did] but it kept spitting my money back at me...Saving me the princely sum of £2.50...A good start.

We crossed the road to be instantly greeted with the impressive sight of the Hole of Horcum. The ground drops away before us in a most spectacular fashion, its one of the grandest sights in the whole of the North York moors national park. Local legend has it that it was formed by Wade the giant, who while arguing with his wife, picked up a huge handful of earth and threw it at her, resulting in this giant crater. The earth landed a short distance away to form what is now the hill called Blakey topping..He must have had massive hands.!!..That's just nonsense. In reality the hole was created by a process called Spring sapping, where water welling up from the hillsides gradually undermines the slopes above, eating away at the rock,over thousands of years to produce the fantastic landscape we see today. There was a dusting of snow on the slopes today making the whole scene look that little bit more beautiful. We picked up the path that dropped down into the hole. The problem here was the ice as we slipped slithered and slid downhill.

We made it eventually down into the valley where we passed the old farm building of Low Horcum. There were once two farms in the hole, Low and High Horcum, only Low Horcum remains, but it hasn't been occupied since 1966. When I say "it hasn't been occupied" that's a bit of a fib as it has been kitted out to be a home for the local wildlife. In fact the whole farm has been turned into a giant nestbox. With lots of entrances for our feathered friends.Popular with Bats, Owls and Swallows so I am reliably informed. What a great use for an old abandoned farmhouse.

We continued along the valley following the Levisham beck to Levisham village. Its probably a couple of miles to the village but a couple of miles that seemed to take an age due to the mud. The path in places turned into a quagmire..it was a case of head down and get on with it. Levisham is a nice little settlement with a nice pub [The Horseshoe], its well known for its good food. If you are ever in the area you should pop in for a meal, or maybe just for a pint....All quiet in the village this morning. No one about except for the local postie [wearing shorts]. I had a laugh with him saying that I had thought about wearing shorts todays but I had decided to leave them for a week or two. He laughed ,but probably though "what a prat".

We left the village following a lane to reach the moors, Lonely moors, windy moors, bloody windy moors. The snow showers came every 15 minutes or so, battering us, only to be basking in sun a few minutes later. The sun was so welcome as the wind was so cold, chuffin cold. We were now heading along a moorland track bound for Skelton tower.

The romantic ruins of Skelton tower are perched on a hilltop overlooking Newtondale. This 2 storey tower was built as a shooting lodge in around 1830 by a former rector of Levisham. Some say he came up here to write his sermons but it is also rumoured that he escaped up here to enjoy a quiet drink...Even vicars need a drink from time to time. I had planned to have a drink here, Coffee and maybe a butty, but the wind was so strong and cold that the idea never really took off. The only thing that took off was my hat, I had to run to catch it. On a nice day the views from up here would have been the highlight of the walk, looking down into Newtondale where the North Yorkshire Moors railway winds its way along the valley floor. I made the mistake of removing my gloves to take a photograph of the view, what a mistake, I could have cried, the pain was that bad. I shall return in fine weather to admire the views.

Looking at the map,all seemed easy now as we had to follow a decent path back to the start. But this wasn't to be as the wind and snow slowed us down to a crawl.

Before long we rounded a corner and there before us was the road and the Saltergate hairpin bends. The sun came out...It had been a grand 4 hours.

Langsett.....Silence broken by chuckling Grouse.

04/03/2018.

Sitting at home this morning munching on a Sausage and egg butty....Are we going out or what?..The day looked totally miserable, misty and murky and the last of the weeks snow was turning to slush, not very inspiring but we said sod it. At least we will be out, even if we can't see out...We set off to do a walk from Penistone but at the last minute I changed my mind..We would do a walk around the reservoir at Langsett. Snowing quite hard as we pulled into the car park...We followed the path through the trees along Langsett bank. Nobody about, just the sound of falling snow.

We reached the bridge at the end of the reservoir and decided to change our route [again] to follow the valley of the Porter brook, glad we did as I love it along here. I always enjoy this path above the river. Its been an interesting week with some great weather, great to see so much snow still knocking around. I was a happy bunny, in a beautiful white world.

Like little kisses from heaven the snow continued to fall, we left the valley and headed uphill following a wall up to the Hordron road. Well its called a road on the map but in reality its a rough track up to a barn. A beautifully remote spot. We commented on the fact that we couldn't hear a thing...complete silence...have you ever stood and listened to silence?, its wonderful.Then from out of the blue its "go back go back go back" the call of the Red grouse...The countryside is great to listen too, never a dull moment. Anyone that knows the Grouse will know what I mean..and if you don't then sadly you are missing out...The snow got serious up on the moor, deep crisp but not very even.

Downhill along Hordron road..Amazingly we saw several people along here. I said morning to one chap that overtook us. "are you ok" I said."As long as it keeps snowing" was his reply..glad I'm not the only one I thought. Some pretty big drifts across the track up there and we sank in thigh deep in places.All good fun though.

Made it down to Swinden lane. 

Winter is nearly over, its been great, we have had a few snowy walks but spring is just around the corner a whole new world awaits. Soon we will be going out to see the Primroses and Wood anemonies followed by the Bluebells, Cowslips and Orchids...Damn it I'm getting carried away. That's what I love about my country, things always move on...But maybe there is time for one more winters walk....Please.

Penistone,Thurlstone and High bank.

25/02/2018.

Decided to stay local [South Yorkshire] for this mornings walk. Well I say local, but its still a fair drive to Penistone, probably about 25 miles. The hill country in South Yorkshire is so underated, this is probably due to its closeness to the Peak district.Everyone rushes through South Yorkshire to get to the Peak park, which is a pity as there are some great walks around these parts. When I woke this morning I couldn't decide between Bradfield or Penistone, a toss of a coin and we were bound for Penistone. Its a fine little town situated on the South bank of the River Don. It is said to be the highest market town in the whole of Yorkshire although there is not much of a market there these days, since the closure of the Cattle market.

We started off along the Trans Pennine trail for a mile or so before turning off to drop down to the village of Thurlstone. It felt almost spring like. Although I have heard talk of a cold snap heading our way. Don't think I will pack my thermals away for the year just yet..I like Thurlstone [once away from the main Manchester road]..A proper Yorkshire feel to the place.

We gained height quickly as we walked up to High bank, some lovely old stone cottages along here.We soon left the village behind and some grand views opened up. Several folk about today, walking dogs, Riding Horses, jogging and cycling...good to see people enjoying the countryside, its like one big playground. I saw one particular bloke walking towards us with 2 massive dogs, he suddenly disappeared, only to pop his head up from behind a wall, "lovely morning" he said loudly in a Bristol accent. I said to him "I thought I was going mad as you disappeared so quickly"....."I'm a Ninja" he replied...he was a character..

Near the top of High bank we came to the wind farm on Spicer hill. Like them or loathe them you certainly cant ignore them. I quite like to see them, they certainly add something to the scene.

Downhill now as we headed back to the Trans Pennine trail. We came across a field of Penistone white faced sheep also known as Whitefaced Woodland sheep a hardy bunch of locals that have been reared around this area for hundreds of years.

Back on the Trans Pennine trail now all that was left was to follow the disused railway track back to Penistone..Birds were singing and the sun was out, heavenly.There is no better was to spend your free time..Back in the town I couldn't resist a look around the churchyard. Its a really nice spot.

Only 6 miles but its a cracking little walk....An area I shall be returning to soon.

Eyam...Village of the Damned.

18/02/2018.

A dark, grey, miserable day. But a walk around Eyam and the weather is soon forgotten as there is much to see here. Think of Eyam and what instantly springs to mind?, Obviously the Plague that swept through the village in 1665, around 260 of its residents died. During this time the Plague was kicking off big style in London where it is said to have claimed 60,000 lives. The folk of Eyam would have thought they were safe here, away from the Rat infested streets of the cities. And this was true until on 7th of September 1665 a local tailor bought a box of cloth from London. As he unpacked the cloth he unwittingly realeased some plague infected fleas...The Tailor was the first to die. Soon after other villagers fell victim. Something had to be done, led by the rector, William Mompesson, the village put itself into quarantine. No one was allowed in and no one left the village for a period of around 14 months.Without this action the terrible disease would have spread like wildfire around the country.

The walk today started with an amble around the streets of the village, admiring the many interesting buildings, Notably Eyam hall that was closed as we passed. This lovely old Jacobean manor house is looked after by The National trust and is worth a closer look. [but not today]

The Church and churchyard are also worth a look..Many interesting features here including an old Celtic cross that dates back to the 8th century, an old sundial that dates from 1775 and the Tomb of Catherine Mompesson, the wife of the vicar, William Mompesson.

We left the village via Lydgate where we saw the Lydgate graves in a small enclosure, these are the graves of George Darby and his daughter Mary..We set off across an extremely muddy field heading down to Stoney Middleton...On the boundary of the village of Eyam we came across another interesting feature of the Plague, The boundary stone, This was as far as the people of Eyam were allowed to venture, This stone has several holes drilled into it, into which the folk of the village would place coins soaked in vinegar, as it was believed to kill the infection. In exchange for the coins outsiders left food and Medical supplies.

We dropped down to Stoney Middleton, another interesting village steeped in history. It is said to have Roman connections. From Stoney middleton it was up and up on a steep path through trees to eventually come to yet another Plague site. In the middle of a field to the east of Eyam we came to the Riley graves. Here is the spot that Elizabeth Hancock buried her husband and 6 children. More victims...It is said that she dragged their bodies up to this lonely spot.

Back in Eyam now we fancied a cuppa in the tea room, it looked jam packed with cyclists so we pressed on up to Mompessons well...Named after William Mompesson, this is another spot where medicines and supplies were left for the people of the village. Mompesson also conducted services here throughout the ordeal. Services are still held here every August to commemorate the heroism and the self sacrifice of the entire community.

I enjoyed this fascinating walk.

Ramsley and Big moor.

11/02/2018.

Our walk today started from the little car park at Shillito woods above Ramsley moor in Derbyshire. We nearly didn't make it here due to the adverse weather, the snow whipped across the road, covering it and I was beginning to think about turning back as we slipped and slid along the road from Owler bar. However no heavy snow was forcast so we decided to carry on to Shillito wood. The walk was to follow a route that is completely new to me, so we were in for a treat. We booted up and set off down the road in weather that quite frankly you wouldn't send a dog out in. Our dog on the other hand didn't mind and was soon rolling around like a fool.It took a while to get into the walk as the strong wind was giving us a bit of a battering. Wont be taking many photos today I thought. I did manage to whip the camera out to get this shot of the rough weather.

Soon after passing the little reservoir on Ramsley moor the weather calmed down [a bit]. Now we could begin to enjoy the walk. Its a decent path along this part of the moor.

Crossing the Owler bar to Baslow road and we were now on Big moor, Much quieter on this side of the moor, We could see people scurrying along like little ants along White edge which is situated on the western side of the moor. Its a place with a lot of historical connections Bronze age settlement sites, Cairns and field systems are dotted around the moor. There are also 3 stone circles here on Big moor and we were lucky enough to visit one on our walk, it goes by the name of Barbrook 1 and is a typical small embanked stone circle. Standing close to the path this is a circle of about 12 or 13 stones on gently sloping ground above the Bar brook. There are many stone circles around these parts and I hope to get round to visiting more of them some day.

We continued along the track up to Barbrook cottage. This lonely spot on the moors was once home to the reservoir keeper but is now the office of the Eastern moors partnership who look after these moors, what a grand job to have...

We enjoyed walking through the snow up here, no other walkers about although we did meet two or three cyclists following the tracks, enjoying their day. Heading downhill now and the snow began again. Most peoples thoughts will be starting to turn to spring now,but I'm hoping to get a few more snowy walks in this winter first... Winter goes far to quick for my liking, in no time at all we will be moaning that it is too hot, lets enjoy winter for a while yet.

Downhill and we picked up the route of the Peak district boundary walk, the path is a quagmire along here, I have heard that the mud never dries up all year round as the water drains down from Ramsley moor creating a bit of a swamp, still for a new walk  I enjoyed it on the whole and will be returning to do it again, at only 5.5 miles its a great walk for a half day. Back at the car park,one more thing, I had to visit the old Cross in the woods, probably erected in the 13th century by the monks of Beauchief abbey as a guide for early travellers across the moors. Well that's another walk over, looking forward to the next.

Pateley bridge and Brimham rocks.

04/02/2018.

I always found it odd that Nidderdale was excluded from The Yorkshire Dales National park when it was designated in 1954. The reason given was that the three reservoirs,  in the upper reaches of the valley had spoilt the natural environment. In a way I suppose this is something to cheer about as exclusion from the park has left the valley much quieter than the vast majority of the dales. It has however been made into an AONB [An area of outstanding natural beauty] and anyone that visits this beautiful dale can instantly see why. Our walk today was to explore the mid reaches of the valley around Pateley bridge and Brimham rocks. We parked up beside the river in the showground car park £1.80 for the day which I thought was reasonable. We sat in the car for a few minutes waiting for the wet snow to stop. It didn't last long and we were soon booted and off.

Walked up the main street, stopping at regular intervals to clear up after Alfie, why do they always show you up like that?..We headed up to the old church of St Marys high above the town. Now just a shell the old church is worth a visit, having great views above the town and across the dale. We picked up the path that is known as the Panorama walk, a popular walk in Victorian times apparently. Its a nice walk [dry],we were soon well away from the town.

After leaving the lovely tarmac of the panorama walk, we soon entered another world...a world of mud, never seen so much and we slipped and slithered along the Nidderdale way, a 52 mile circular long distance walk. I wouldn't mind walking it in its entirety, maybe in summer,allowing time for some of this mud to dry up.Before long we came to a farm that was a bit unusual as it was a place where you could go trekking with Llamas..i wondered if you had to clear up behind them like you do dogs?...At £39 for a 2 and a half hour session I don't think I will be walking any Llamas in the near future.Bloody cheek,why don't they walk their own Llamas.

We pressed on heading uphill towards Brimham rocks. Snow showers came and went. we could see the rocks on the skyline.

It was snowing quite heavily as we made our way up to the rocks, but upon reaching them the snow stopped and a fine mist came down,it was most peculiar and quite creepy, thinking back now I can remember the silence. It felt like people or things were watching us from the rocks. These are not just rocks but I cant quite put my finger on it, they reared up all around in every direction. It felt strange, not really scary, just strange....I remember feeling like this a few times before, notably on Stanton moor, Bodmin moor and at the Stiperstones in Shropshire.

There are paths going off all over the place up there, its quite a big area. We picked a path and suddenly all changed, all around were people, a visitors centre, a refreshment kiosk and dogs, loads of them charging around, rolling in the snow, letting off steam. After a butty break we carried through more rocks, weird and wonderful rocks. Many of the rocks have wonderful and weird  names such as The Camel, The Sphinx, The Turtle and The Dancing Bear...All good stuff.

We walked through the car park on the way out, £8 for the day [ well that's the national trust for you].

Downhill all the way now to Smelthouses and Low Laithe where I noticed lots of Dafodils in bloom Couldn't believe it as its only the 4th of February, I suppose our winters are getting shorter. A bit like my legs.

Back in the valley bottom now all that was need was to follow the path alongside the River Nidd back to Pateley bridge via Glasshouses. Its been a good walk, Nidderdale has really left a good impression.