Fox House, Upper Padley, Nether Padley, Baslow, Chatsworth House, and Edensor

At this time of year with there being so little daylight I can't afford to be sitting at the bus station in Sheffield letting buses that are going to the Peak District depart whilst I'm waiting for a specific service to take me somewhere to start a pre-planned walk. So this morning I immediately got ready as soon as I woke up and headed for the railway station, arriving there just before seven o'clock. I had thirty minutes to wait for a train, which got me to Sheffield for eight o'clock. I hurried up the hill to the nearest bus stop and caught the first suitable bus that showed up...the 272 service to Castleton. I then planned my walk as the bus set off on its journey; I decided to get off at Fox House and head down into Padley Gorge to try to capture some of the remaining colours in the late autumn foliage.

I was too late though, most of the leaves had already fallen, and anyhow it was a murky start to the day this early in the morning...so I concentrated on photographing the moss covered boulders and the gnarled and twisted trees.

During the descent I enjoyed the constant sound of the water in Burbage Brook tumbling and splashing over the rocks as it rushed down the gorge. I arrived at Upper Padley, where Grindleford Railway Station is located; the former waiting room is now a quirky cafe.

Confusingly, I then had to climb uphill to reach Nether Padley. I then continued climbing further uphill through some woods until I reached the main road and the footpath which goes along the top of Froggatt Edge and Curbar Edge.

Ironically, someone has tried to scratch out the symbol for cyclists on this sign.

By now the sun was starting to break through the mist and clouds.

I dropped down into Baslow and popped in to The Cafe on the Green for a slice of my favourite Bakewell Pudding anywhere in the Peak District.

My time in the cafe was ruined though by an obnoxious man with an overwrought sense of entitlement who got up twice to change his order and then was arguing with the waitress about the bill because she'd got confused and might have overcharged him.

I continued south into Chatsworth Park and discovered that the Christmas Market was being held.

The Christmas Market is a lot bigger than it was when I last visited a couple of years ago, at least twice as many stalls. It was also very busy, even though it was only the second day; it was so busy that there were two areas I couldn't reach at all because of the crowds. There was some lovely food on sale; pies, fresh and prepared game, cheese, hot food, and all sorts of delicious cakes and pastries. I could very easily have spent a lot of money, but didn't buy anything.

There were about a dozen people in the queue at Edensor Gates waiting for the bus back to Sheffield - when there's a major event at Chatsworth the buses don't go all the way right up to the house...they drop people off here, about half a mile away.

I didn't have very long to wait for the bus to arrive, but it took quite a long time for the passengers to get off due to the confusion about how to get to the Christmas Market and Chatsworth House, and then the time it took for the bus driver to do a three point turn to turn the bus around, a six-wheeled double-decker...she was a very petite woman and her arms didn't seem to be long enough.

  

Moscar, Fairholmes, Yorkshire Bridge, and Bamford

A bit of confusion this morning on the platform at Doncaster Station - a young woman from Eastern Europe asked me which platform the train to Hull, or maybe she said Goole, went from. She spoke with a very guttural accent and I couldn't understand her; fortunately for her Hull and Goole are on the same line and so she should easily have got on the right train...I couldn't help her though because I was just getting on my train going to Sheffield.

After arriving at Sheffield I then travelled on the bus to Moscar, high up on the moors and headed north along Mortimer Road until I reached the first footpath, leading to Derwent Edge.

The sign gave very precise directions.

I found the turn-off to the left, but the next few hundred yards were quite difficult, being boggy and overgrown.

It was an early start for me and still overcast and misty...it was gloriously sunny  for a couple of hours just  after lunchtime though when I took a lot of photos.

I walked north along the Edge for a couple of miles and soon got my first glimpse of Ladybower Reservoir and was shocked to see how low the water level is now. It was too misty to take any photographs of anything in the distance so I just concentrated on the rocks. 

I gradually made my way down to the visitor centre at Fairholmes, the path staying just below the Edge for a while and then looping back to the south. I passed some grouse butts done on the cheap, propped up against an old dry stone wall.

It's all Access Land up here and there are paths everywhere...so I just kept taking the one leading downhill until I arrived on the road not too far from the dam wall of Derwent Reservoir.

I ate the last of my sandwiches at the visitor centre and then walked along the western shoreline of Ladybower Reservoir...and quite often actually stepping right down into the reservoir: The water is so low that it's easy to do. It meant that I got some rare and unusual angles to photograph from.

The ruins of Derwent village were clearly visible and several people were exploring them.

Further down the valley some water was now visible in the reservoir.

I continued along the road, crossing over Ashopton Viaduct and walking past Yorkshire Bridge and through Bamford to reach the bus stop near to the railway station just in time to catch the bus back to Sheffield.

Although I was in a hurry for the final few minutes I still briefly stopped to take a picture of the church from the roadside...the lighting conditions were perfect.

Castleton, Old Dam, and Beytonsdale

Northern Trains is still running a limited service every Saturday until the end of the year due to an ongoing strike; all other services are running normally though. For the last few Saturdays I haven't risked travelling to Sheffield on the train because I thought I might have to wait for quite a while - not particularly a problem when setting off, but not nice on the return journey if my muscles are stiffening up as I'm waiting for a train on the platform at Sheffield...it's bad enough having to sit in a confined space on the bus...at least I can stand up or walk up and down on the train.

A train departing for Sheffield was already on the platform when I arrived at Doncaster Station this morning; it started moving before I could run up the steps two at a time though so I had half an hour to wait for the next one: I only had a couple of minutes to wait coming back home. Both my trains today were operated by Northern Trains and on the second train there were three ticket inspectors - maybe it's a new tactic being tried by staff in their industrial dispute.

The church bells in Castleton were ringing for nine o'clock as I passed by.

I headed straight for Cavedale, where the Limestone Way starts. 

Although it was sunny, because Cavedale is deep and narrow, it was still in the shade this early in the morning, but Peveril Castle on the top of the crag wasn't.

Further up the dale as I walked past a blocked up entrance to one of the old mines I could hear the noise of machinery in operation, maybe a pump or a ventilation fan...I've not noticed that before.

Not far from the top of Cavedale I had a chat with a couple of mountainbikers who had decided to push their bikes, rather than ride down.

I left the Limestone Way and took a path which runs at the side of Oxlow Rake until I reached Old Dam. I turned right and walked along the road leading to Perryfoot and took the second path leading back northwards, just beyond Beytonsdale.

I then turned right again along the old quarry road, with good views looking down into the quarry - by now it was cloudy and not very good for taking photographs.

It was an easy walk across the grasslands all the way back to Castleton, apart from the final few yards which consist of a very steep slippery descent which I partially did on my backside...I didn't stumble or slip, I decided this was the easiest, quickest, and safest way to get down the hill.

It had been drizzling for awhile when I got down into the village, a bus was due and so I got on it. This gave me plenty of time to do some shopping in town and then phone up the box office at Leeds Grand Theatre and book some tickets when I got home.