The blisters I picked up on my walk on Saturday weren't too bad and after a couple of long soaks in a hot bath and covering them with corn plasters held in place by fabric dressing they were fine today; I only did six miles today though.
The bus arrived on time at Litton, and after taking a few photographs in the village I headed off along the footpath which goes across the fields and stays on the high ground just to the west of Cressbrook Dale.
It was sunny when the bus left Sheffield, but it wasn't now - there were a few spits of rain and a cold wind. There was plenty of sunshine to follow though.
The path reaches the edge of the woods at the top of the valley and after a few hundred yards there were some steep steps leading down into the dale; the entire hillside was covered in wild garlic...and I could certainly smell it. I'd not walked down here before, one of the few stretches of footpath in this part of the Peak District that I haven't.
On the way down I got chatting to a very nice woman who was part of a family walking group; she showed me her recently taken photograph on her tablet of a couple of 'amorous' frogs...as she described them. She was really quite excited.
I soon reached Cressbrook, entering a part of the village unfamiliar to me.
The church isn't very old, it was built in 1902.
Most of the buildings at Litton Mill have been converted into holiday cottages but I can remember visiting thirty years ago when they were derelict. there's a pleasant paved sitting area where I ate my sandwiches before climbing up onto the Monsal Trail and onwards towards Miller's Dale.
There are two groups of old limekilns at the side of the trail at Miller's Dale.
There were no abseilers on the bridge today.
When I reached Blackwell Mill Cottages I couldn't find the footpath I needed, and no-one could help me with the directions and so I just walked down the track to the main road at Topley Pike. That's twice now I've not been able to find the footpath that goes through Woo Dale to Buxton.
I had thirty minutes to wait for the bus back to Sheffield; I didn't fancy walking along the road to pick up another footpath so that I could finish my walk at Buxton as intended - there's no causeway, or even verges as I recall, and there are several dangerous blind corners. My other option was to cross the road and walk down Deep Dale, looping back to Taddington. I've been walking in Deep Dale twice in the last few weeks and both times it was muddy and waterlogged. I'm fed up with the wet conditions underfoot - so I stayed put.
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