Sunday, May 20, 2018

Fox House, Longshaw Estate, and then Little Longstone, Monsal Head, Ashford in the Water, and Great Longstone

I arrived at Fox House about an hour before I was due to meet Chris and Maureen, my regular walking companions, and so went for a quick ramble on the Longshaw Estate.

There are some lovely views looking towards the moors, and a quirky little information shed.







One of the hikers who got on the bus as it was leaving Sheffield had clingfilm wrapped round his knees - I've never seen this before and don't know why he will have done it. Anyone got any ideas?

Chris and Maureen were on time; we drove down to Ashford in the Water but the small carpark there was already full and so we continued on to Little Longstone, parking at the side of the road as near to Monsal Head as we could...actually right opposite the small chapel at the far end of the village.









It was only a short walk up the road to Monsal Head. The public toilets are now closed and so Maureen had to make alternative plans a few minutes later. It was nearly midday and very busy and I didn't have time to take any photographs of the classic Peak District view looking down at the river and the railway viaduct.

As we were walking across the fields to Ashford we must have encountered several dozen other people out walking on this fine warm sunny day, and later down by the river in the village there were quite a few people sunbathing and enjoying their picnics on the grass.


There are plenty of pretty cottages to photograph.

We then headed north along the road and took the footpath that goes by Churchdale Hall and eventually we reached Great Longstone, walking through meadows covered with wildflowers, especially buttercups.


Maureen had been struggling all day and I offered her the option of cutting short the walk and heading straight back to the car; she gladly accepted.

A few minutes later we walked past one of the village pubs, the White Lion, and called in for drinks. My glass of Pepsi Max, not even a full pint since the barman just poured in the contents of two small 250ml bottles into my glass, cost me £3.90. This was the most expensive soft drink I've ever purchased; can anyone beat this? Chris and Maureen seemed well satisfied with their non-alcoholic cocktails though. They called them 'mocktails.'

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