I went to the honeypot tourist village of Castleton today. I started by doing a loop out to the west to photograph Mam Tor and Winnats Pass...and also took a few shots of the Hope Cement Works, facing into the sun.
I returned to the village and then continued on the low level footpath to Brough, further down the valley.
I had planned to finish the walk at Hathersage but decided to end it at Brough because my knee was hurting a bit. Some days it's fine...and others it's not,
I travelled on the Bakewell bus this morning and got off at a stop known as 'Pineapple Farm' just to the north of Bakewell. I climbed down the steps to the Monsal Trail and headed to the gardens at Thornbridge Hall, which are free admission until the end of January. As I passed by Hassop Station I noticed that there are now toilets there, so you don't need to go inside to the cafe.
About a mile further on I reached Thornbridge Hall. After exploring the gardens I went for a bowl of tomato and basil soup in the cafe there.
There's a tropical beach hut which is serving as a library and art gallery.
I returned to the Monsal Trail, still heading west, passed through Headstone Tunnel and then climbed up to Monsal Head, this climb was the steepest and most difficult I'd done since my knee injury.
I walked down the road to Little Longstone; the church there is actually a chapel and it's always open so I went inside. I didn't take any photographs this time though because there was a young women inside doing some sort of auditing or surveying work.
I took the footpath going across the fields to Great Longstone. I didn't enter the main part of the village, I just headed immediately back over to the Monsal Trail and re-traced my steps from earlier this morning. I considered taking the path that goes to Bakewell but my knee was aching a bit and I knew there was a stony descent near the end and so continued on the Trail, which is easy going. I arrived back at Pineapple Farm and had twenty minutes to wait for a bus; the number 257 turned up, it goes a really long way round to get to Sheffield but I boarded it because it's a beautiful route...I was rather disappointed that the windows were dirty though.
Another one of my days out with my support worker, this time to Louth in Lincolnshire. There aren't many photos because we spent most of the time going in the shops; many of them had sales - we also had to wait quite a long time in the pub for our meals...and finally, it started snowing so we decided to cut the day short and head for home.
On the journey home we stopped at the toilets at the lay-by at Willingham Woods - I took a photograph of the snow as I was waiting for Siobhan.
Today's walk, starting at Curbar Crossroads, was my third choice because the train I went to catch to Sheffield was cancelled. I got off the bus and walked down a road and the across the moors to the path that goes along White Edge. I continued, heading north, to Longshaw Estate, and then caught the bus at Fox House.
As soon as I'd hurried up to the bus stop at Fox House the bus was coming round the corner and ten seconds later I boarded; at Sheffield Railway Station I walked straight on to my train and it departed a minute later.
The weather was really quite nasty, prolonged rain and a very strong wind...not the cloudy with bright intervals and a strong breeze forecast: It was sunny and the pavements were dry when I arrived home in Doncaster.
