Heatherdene, Hope, and Almost Reaching Castleton.

I caught the bus to Heatherdene, right next to Ladybower Reservoir, and then walked across the dam wall.

I took the track that stays alongside the water and then chose the route up through the woods to Wooler Knoll. I then descended to Edale End and walked along the bottom of the valley to Hope, following the River Noe.

I went in The Cheshire Cheese pub on Edale Road, an old building with very low timbers that I had to duck under, and then continued down to the main part of the village. A bus wasn't due back to Sheffield for an hour and so I decided to walk it to Castleton, using a path I'd not used before for part of the way. 

I ended up talking with a couple of people and time was tight so I took a track leading down to the main road going through the Hope Valley and caught the bus about a mile east of Castleton.

Epworth Show 2022

A local trip out with my support worker today, to the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire.

When we arrived at the showground the vintage tractors parade had just started.

The owner of this tractor told us about the unusual way he has to start the engine...with a lighted rolled up newspaper.

The vintage cars were next.

This car didn't take part in the parade though.

There were plenty of other things to see, quite a few were inside tents or marquees, which was handy when it rained...much more than forecast.

We finished off the day by driving to the Olive Tree Cafe at Epworth Garden Centre for tea and scones.

Castleton and Sparrowpit

I travelled to Castleton and walked up Cave Dale at the back of the castle.  I then took the bridleway that heads over to Eldon Quarry and then the path that goes down to Perry Dale...briefly having to walk along the road though. I noticed some new permissive paths had been added in this area, going to Eldon Pond and Eldon Hill. Obviously they aren't shown on my current map and so I will need to investigate them further online.

I continued to the main road, only walked alongside it for a few minutes before picking up a path at Pedlicote Farm which should have ended up at Sparrowpit. Just before Pedlicote Farm I grazed my shin against a wall stile when I lost my footing.

My route into Sparrowpit was a mile longer than it needed to be; the most direct route there went through a farmyard and it looked like it was blocked and then I walked by the next two turn-offs in quick succession, thinking the signage would be clear. There was no signage, just a stile hidden beneath some overhanging branches. I needed to walk by the entrance to a farm where two terriers looked like they were fighting to the death, after about a minute the white one gave up and went back to the farm. The other dog, the black one was lovely and was very friendly towards me, too friendly really because it followed me across the fields for over a mile, nearly all the way to Sparrowpit.

I waited for this steamroller to pass before going into the Olive Tree Cafe, located inside the building which used to be The Wanted pub.

I then took a path heading east which took me back to Perry Dale and then a different path back to the quarry, part of this path went through woodland overgrown with waist-high nettles - I was glad I was wearing thick long trousers, but I still needed to hold up my arms. 

I retraced my footsteps from a few hours previously and spent twenty minutes in The Peak Inn pub at Castleton waiting for the bus.

Ollerton, Hardwick Village, Clumber Park and Worksop

There were very few trains running again today and so I've been travelling on the buses in Nottinghamshire.

After arriving at Worksop, I caught the bus to Ollerton and then walked back to Worksop passing through Clumber Park.

The church at Ollerton doesn't feature on the blog because I couldn't find any suitable angles to photograph it from. 

After spending a few minutes exploring I headed north along the western bank of the River Maun.  After a couple of miles I needed to walk along the road for a short section until I joined the Robin Hood Way. At this point there were hundreds of caravans and a lot of dogwalkers attending the 'Fake Festival' nearby. 

A bit further on I arrived at a location known as 'Robin Hood's Cave.'

I continued heading north until I reached Hardwick Village at the eastern end of Clumber Park.

Last year this ford at Hardwick was also closed to pedestrians because the wooden walkway has collapsed, but I managed to walk through the water. I didn't do that today though; a few days ago there was torrential rain in the Worksop area and the River Poulter was a lot higher, and angrier.

I stopped for a drink of tea at the refreshments concession down by the lake and then did a short detour into Hardwick Village, the estate village for Clumber Park.

I finished the walk by taking the most direct route through the park back to Worksop, the bus station is quite close to the priory and its gatehouse.