I've been on the hunt for animals today on another of my themed walks, this time in the Peak District.
I travelled to Baslow and soon found my first animal, the Italian restaurant there, 'Il Lupo' [The Wolf.] I soon found my next one as I was walking up Bar Road to the Eagle Stone, located on Eaglestone Flat, a tract of open moorland. The word 'eagle' in this name actually means 'church' - but I'm still claiming it. I also passed a house called Hawkfield, so that was four animals within the first mile or so.
The rock obviously looks nothing like an eagle; the name 'eagle' means 'church' in the old Celtic language...does it look like a church though?
At Curbar Gap I walked down the road for a bit until I found the footpath that would eventually take me through Bee Wood.
This was the third of five stone structures I passed; I don't know what they are but they seemed to be evenly spaced out along the route through the wood.
I continued along the road for a few minutes, walking through the upper part of Froggatt. I took a path going through some more woodland, and although I couldn't see it, I knew that I would soon be at my nearest point to Goatscliffe, the southernmost part of Grindleford, over on the other side of the river.
A few minutes later I passed through Horse Hay Coppice and then climbed up through Hay Wood to the Grouse Inn, located at an isolated spot on the moors.
It was then a straightforward easy walk through the Longshaw Estate to Fox House, my eighth animal encountered today...happy hunting. Not far away there's Houndkirk Road, a track going across the moors to Ringinglow - it will feature on another of my animal themed walks though.
I had a pot of tea at the tearooms at Longshaw; the cakes are quite expensive and so I didn't buy one...anyhow it was too early, it was only 12:40.
