Bamford, Shatton, Bradwell, and Castleton

I caught the bus to Bamford Railway Station, the location I finished my walk on Friday. I crossed the road and walked down the lane to Shatton and then took a path that goes at the back of the village 

The next path goes right alongside the unclassified road that goes to Brough. It's obviously not a busy road but it would be quite dangerous if I'd encountered any traffic; it's a narrow sunken lane with steep embankments either side and poor visibility.

Fortunately I didn't have to deal with these horses; I would have been quite apprehensive being in such close contact with the animals.

I climbed up to Elmore Hill Farm and then dropped down into Bradwell. 

I then headed west and called at the quarry viewing platform before continuing across Old Moor to the top of  Winnats Pass.

I finished the walk by going down Winnats Pass into Castleton.

I've never seen it so busy in this area: hundreds of people were climbing up to the summit of Mam Tor and then walking along the Great Ridge, naturally hundreds of cars were also parked on all the approach roads and traffic jams were forming both uphill and downhill  through the pass. 

When I reached Castleton there were two small groups of loud drunken women and a lot of people seemed to be visiting with their dogs.

Baslow, Bubnell, Calver, Stoney Middleton, Eyam, Shatton, and Bamford

I travelled to Devonshire Bridge at Baslow and continued through Bubnell until I reached Bramley Farm and the path that goes to Calver.

I needed to walk along the road to Stoney Middleton and then went up and over The Cliff to Eyam.

I climbed up to Eyam Moor and then descended into Bretton Clough.

Shatton Moor was the final moor I crossed today. I then walked through the village of Shatton and finished at the bus turnaround opposite to Bamford station.

Walking Along The Canal Towpath To Worksop

It was a later than usual start this morning because I needed to go to the chemist's to pick up my tablets; so I went on a local walk. I travelled on the Retford bus to Barnby Moor and walked for about a mile along the road until I reached the Chesterfield Canal. I then walked along the towpath to Worksop.  

 

There can't be many places in the country where a sign points to two different crematoria.

It was bright sunshine at the start of the walk, but it did cloud over in the afternoon.

There were a couple of fallen trees lying across the towpath; the first one was easy to get by but the second one required a bit of athletic gymnastics and a pulled muscle.

Whenever I walk past this pumping house I always think it wouldn't look out of place in Venice.

When I got to the bus stop at Worksop the bus had been cancelled and so I had to wait twenty minutes for the next one; fortunately there's a live departures board. 

There's an area of the town known as Wensleydale, it was showing a bus was due on the destination board, but when I took a photograph this was what I got.

Thornbridge Hall Gardens, Ashford in the Water, and Bakewell

It was only yesterday that I found out that it's free admission to the gardens at Thornbridge Hall near Bakewell throughout January and February and so have decided to go there at the earliest opportunity.

I travelled to Bakewell today and got off at Pineapple House Farm, the easiest access for the Monsal Trail and walked about a mile and half along the trail to just before Great Longstone Station.

There was a sign placed that was advertising Quackers Cafe and some gardens that were open...there was no mention of Thornbridge Hall though. I decided to leave the Trail here and investigate. 

It was Longstone Hall Gardens - admission was by walking through the cafe. The gardens were quite interesting; there's still a lot of work that still needs to be done though. I spent forty five minutes there.

I returned to the Monsal Trail and walked about a hundred yards to Great Longstone Station. I left the Trail there and then continued along a narrow road until I reached a path that took me to Ashford in the Water.

This building is a separate property; it's opposite the vehicle entrance to the hall for wedding guests.

This sign attached to a tree at the side of the road is obviously not in its original location, and by reading the wording I'd judge it to be at least fifty years old.

When I reached Ashford in the Water. I spent a bit longer than I usually do taking photographs and then took the riverside path back to Bakewell.

I wasn't in a rush to get back home and so I lingered in Bakewell for nearly an hour.

I immediately spotted the deliberate mistake here, did you?

There were some other interesting signs in Bakewell...all correctly spelled though.

When my train arrived back at Doncaster I was worried I'd not be able to get off and I'd end up at York. A young woman was struggling to get off with her bike and I had to wait for her because the train was very busy and some suitcases were blocking the aisle so I couldn't reach the next door. After having no success at all because the handlebars seemed to be stuck and the brake cable snarled she had to push the bike further into the carriage to be able to twist it free and then carry it out onto the platform.