Youlgreave to Matlock.

Another walk today where I travelled to Bakewell and then caught one of the local buses to the start of my walk. 

I got off the bus at Youlgreave and after having taken some photographs of the church I walked down the hill to Bradford: after a few minutes I needed to step aside to let the local hunt pass me, being careful to stay well away from the dogs and the horses...there were a lot of both.

I picked up the Limestone Way at the clapper bridge at Bradford - it was a steady climb up through pleasant countryside with nice views both in front and behind.

I needed to walk along a short stretch of road before approaching Harthill Moor Stone Circle; I didn't actually enter the circle because this would mean a bit of a detour for me, but the main path goes close enough to get a decent view of it. The last time I was here the farmer had deliberately parked a trailer inside the circle...this received a lot of criticism and possibly ended in legal action, I think.

It's only a short walk and an easy climb up to Robin Hood's Stride, an interesting rock formation. I had the time, and the energy, to climb to the highest point I could reach - it was a good place to eat my sandwiches.

For the next three and a half miles I continued to follow the Limestone Way, both the walking and the navigation was easy. The route passes close to Birchover and Winster, without actually entering the villages. At the nearest point to Winster I took a photograph of the Lead Ore House.

To the south of Brightgate I temporarily left the Limestone Way to take the shortest route down to Matlock, walking along a road for about a mile. As I passed by the footpath that leads to Jughole Wood I saw a lot of cars parked on the side of the verge; I'm assuming there must have been a large group of cavers down in the old mine that's located there.

A few hundred yards later I picked up the Limestone Way again and followed it for the rest of the way to Matlock.

I only had seven minutes to wait for my bus at Matlock, and fewer than five minutes at Bakewell for the next bus back to Sheffield.

I'm feeling really good after finishing today's walk of about seven miles...which is good because I'm going out walking again tomorrow with my friends from Leeds. The walk tomorrow won't be as hard or as far as today though. Today wasn't difficult at all for me though, it was a bit of a doddle...in truth at times it felt as though I was flying. I've really noticed this past year how much less the gravity is on planet Earth these days. Taking both vitamin D and metformin [and now weighing six and a half stones less] has worked wonders for my health.