Tideswell, Miller's Dale, Wormhill, and Blackwell

As the bus was travelling down the hill towards Grindleford the driver stopped the vehicle and told us that on his way in to Sheffield earlier this morning he'd seen a herd of deer in the woods over to the right, right up against the boundary wall. He then deliberately drove very slowly for a few minutes until we could see them - a stag and two hinds, a bit deeper inside the wood by now. This was a good start to my day; I've never seen deer here before - of course I've seen plenty in Chatsworth Park and on the Eastern Moors...and in other places away from the Peak District.

I travelled to Tideswell to start my walk, took some photographs of the church and then headed off to Miller's Dale down some narrow country lanes.

At Miller's Dale there's a path that goes up and behind the church and leads to the Wormhill road.

I was able to use a footpath for the last few hundred yards as I approached Wormhill; it comes out right at the back of the churchyard...a delightful spot to eat my sandwiches in the sunshine.

I then walked through the village and turned left to join the Pennine Bridleway, going through a farmyard.

I was interested to read this sign [a different farm.]

The village of Stilton is now in the county of Cambridgeshire, but only cheese made from cows grazing at specific farms in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire which meet strict criteria can legally claim to be 'Stilton Cheese.' No cheese is produced at Stilton, but if it ever were to be it couldn't legally be called 'Stilton Cheese.'

A few minutes later as I was carefully closing a farm gate behind me something at the bottom of the gate got caught up with the back of my left boot and instantly ripped off the sole. I had no means of re-attaching the sole and there wasn't much left at all to protect my foot...so I needed to put on both socks of the spare pair I always keep in my rucksack, a thick heavy pair of hiking socks. These provided quite a bit of padding, but I still needed to be very careful where I placed my left foot in case I trod on something painful as I hobbled to the nearest bus stop at Blackwell.

That's two pairs of boots and a rucksack that have fallen apart as I've been walking in the Peak District in the last six months...it's not a cheap hobby is hiking.