Ladybower Inn, Fairholmes, and Heatherdene

I caught the bus to Ladybower Inn and walked along the road until I reached the track that goes alongside the reservoir, heading north towards the visitor centre at Fairholmes. I returned, heading south now along the western shore; there's a path through the woods and I was much nearer to the water's edge.

There's a lot of new signage and artwork along the route - the small metal sculptures haven't been placed with photography in mind...the angles are awful.

I retraced my steps going over Ashopton Viaduct and caught the bus back to Sheffield at Heatherdene, with nice views of the reservoir to enjoy as I waited.

Early on I saw a squirrel and so decided to count how many I saw today; my tally reached fourteen, and I heard a lot more. I tried to take a few photographs but they were far too quick for me.

Chatsworth House, Calton Lees, Rowsley, and Bakewell

Today's walk started from Chatsworth House, where they are busy preparing for the Christmas market and so many areas are blocked off, spoiling some of the views. I crossed over the picturesque bridge and headed south along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way to Rowsley.

As I was leaving Calton Lees I climbed over my first stile in three months; there might have been only one or two more on the walk today.

As I approached Rowsley I could see that some cows were totally blocking my way ahead by standing under the railway bridge. It was a planned ambush but I spotted them in time and fortunately there's an alternative route through the graveyard and the churchyard.

I continued by taking a short footpath that starts off by going right through someone's garden and then across the fields to the main Matlock to Bakewell road. I needed to walk along this road for over a mile but fortunately there's a causeway all the way. I soon noticed a traffic jam building up...there was an artisan market at Haddon Hall. 

When I reached the footpath just beyond the entrance to Haddon Hall three woman hikers told me that it was flooded up ahead and they had turned back and so I decided to continue along the road for a few hundred yards more until I could rejoin the path further on. I finished the walk at Bakewell and caught the first available bus going back to Sheffield - my leg was aching quite a bit.

Beverley

Another run out in the car with my support worker to Beverley; we chose there because we had to head northeast to keep ahead of the oncoming rain for as long as possible. Although it was quite cloudy, it did stay dry until about 1:30 by which time we were ready to set off for home.

We went inside St. Mary's church, we much prefer it to the minster. There were some interesting things inside to look at.

We went inside Wetherspoon's pub for a drink, a sit down, and to get warm right next to a roaring log fire...the photograph came out a bit dark though.

I noticed that several of the shops, pubs, and cafes were taking measures to reduce the size of their heating bills.

On the way back we called at Drewton Farm Shop cafe; we both ordered the dark chocolate cake served with soft fruits and viola flowers. It looked, and tasted great...I forgot to take a photograph - I did take a photograph of the Yorkshire Wolds countryside from the carpark though.

 

November Update

I've just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow for the Peak District and it doesn't look too promising so I think I'll probably go on the train to Wakefield for a few hours. I was hoping to go to Thornbridge Hall Christmas Market and have a look round the gardens, which are free admission from today until Sunday. It would have been an easy day's walking, nothing too strenuous for my knee, which I don't think has really improved for the past month or so. The main problem I seem to be having now is pulling muscles in my thigh, groin, and buttocks - I think it might be because I need to start walking short distances without the compression stocking and the strapping to give my muscles a chance to get stronger. I'll only wear the compression stocking tomorrow and put the strapping in my pocket; if needs be I'll be able to put it on over my trouser leg.

Whirlow, Ringinglow, Porter Clough, and Endcliffe Park

I caught the bus to Whirlow at the edge of the urban area of Sheffield and walked up the Limb Valley to Ringinglow. I continued along the road to the top of  Porter Clough and returned to Sheffield, coming out through Endcliffe Park on to Ecclesall Road. I had planned to catch the early train from Doncaster but it wasn't shown on the destination screens so I walked over to the bus station and caught the bus, which takes a lot longer. This meant that I arrived much later at Sheffield and so had to get a later bus to the start of the walk.

 

These barrels at the Norfolk Arms pub at Ringinglow provided a bit a colour.

I popped in to the coffee shop at the alpaca farm at Ringinglow for tea and cakes. Normally it would be too early for cake at eleven o'clock but I opted for a large slice of sticky toffee cake to cheer me up on a miserable, misty day when I was expecting sunshine from the weather forecast.

The upper part of Porter Clough is quite steep and uneven underfoot so I walked down a country lane to pick up the footpath further down the clough. Obviously I couldn't see anything from the viewpoint where the toposcope is located.

The Shepherd Wheel museum was open and running as I passed and so I went inside for a few minutes.

Walking Along The Derwent Valley Heritage Way From Baslow to Hathersage

An easy low level walk in the Peak District today, going north along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way from Baslow to Hathersage.  It was generally problem free, I don't remember having even one stile to climb over.

I took one of these apples at Bubnell, a large juicy one which I immediately ate.

It took me a few minutes to eat it as I continued heading northwards.

Either two buses didn't show up at Hathersage or only one didn't and the other one departed a couple of minutes early - whatever, it meant I had to wait for over two hours there. I did fit in a visit to one of the cafes though.