Chatsworth House, Ashover, and Slack

Today's walk started at Chatsworth House. I immediately climbed up the steps to the hunting tower at the top of the ridge and walked through the woods, and then across Beeley Moor. It was drizzling and quite misty, and didn't brighten up until lunchtime.

I headed eastwards taking narrow country roads until I reached a track going across Harewood Moor.

About a mile further on I was back walking on the road again when I saw a sign for the tearooms at Highfield House Farm...and I couldn't resist - I ordered a cream tea. I knew there were some tearooms somewhere in the vicinity, and now I know exactly where they are.

There was an Afrikaner family sitting at the table opposite to me; the husband was gigantic, bearded with a ruddy face and looked exactly like the archetypal white South African Boer. Interestingly, when he spoke English to the staff it sounded like Afrikaans and when he spoke Afrikaans to his family it sounded like English. The two languages are quite similar in many ways - for example, the phrases 'My pen is in my hand' and 'My hand is in warm water' are written exactly the same, but pronounced slightly differently.

I crossed over the Chesterfield to Matlock road and was surprised to see the two locations on this milestone.

I now headed south and downhill to Ashover, passing through some lovely countryside. I turned right at the church and then headed back uphill to the Chesterfield to Matlock road again, this time about two and a half miles further south.

It looked like the church was open but I didn't go inside because my boots were quite muddy - I think the last time I was in the village I went inside and took some photographs.

I had to walk to the top of Slack Hill to reach the bus stop, fortunately it wasn't very far. It's in an exposed position though and the heaviest rain of the day fell whilst I was standing there waiting for the bus. The bus arrived on time and I got on, raucous German drinking songs were being sung upstairs and a noisy game of cards was being played downstairs by the rest of the Germans in the group.

German always sounds like German.