Parsley Hay and Hartington Station Walk

Another trip out to the Peak District with my support worker today, to a part of the White Peak area where's there's some easy walking for her. We drove to Parsley Hay to the southwest of Bakewell.

After heading south along the High Peak Trail for a few hundred yards, the route of a disused railway line, we reached the point where the Tissington Trail diverges from the route, and that's an old railway line as well. We then had to decide whether to go to the right along the Tissington Trail towards Hartington Station, where like at Parsley Hay there were toilets and refreshments after about a mile and a half, or take the left fork along the High Peak Trail and loop back to Hartington Station going across some fields and a stretch of road, taking either two  miles or four miles depending on which route we'd choose.

We chose to branch off to the left, heading down the High Peak Trail to the brickworks at Friden. We got off the trail there and walked down the road to Newhaven, like Friden just a hamlet. As we walked along the next stretch of road there was a choice of six paths going over to the Tissington Trail to start the return leg of our walk. We decided to not bother with the first path because the terrain looked too difficult for Siobhan and there was a bullock keeping his eyes on me in the field which the second path would have crossed. The third path looked more promising, going down a short farm track, but once we'd passed through the farmyard our way was blocked by a padlocked gate. There were nettles and brambles at the beginning of the fourth path. The fifth path, yet again seemed promising...until we reached a stile that was higher than Siobhan and she obvious couldn't climb over it. The sixth path is clearly marked on the map, but we couldn't find it.

In this area we saw two of the ugliest sheep either of us had ever seen.

We'd run out of paths and so now had to take the road that leads to Biggin, getting up onto the Tissington Trail a few hundred yards later. We headed north to Hartington Station for a toasted teacake and a drink of tea each.

With travelling in the car it was a circular walk and so we returned to Parsley Hay.

On the way home we were delayed  by cows crossing the road in front of us.