New Timetable For Service 218

This is bad news I'm afraid. At the end of July, service number 214 from Sheffield to Matlock via Chatsworth House is being withdrawn and only partially replaced by an extended 218 service which will now also serve Chatsworth House and Matlock.

This means that there will be a reduction of nearly fifty percent in the number of buses that go to Fox House, and there will now be very few buses travelling between Fox House and Baslow: this covers a lot of good walking country.

I also don't think that having the same bus go to both Chatsworth and Bakewell is a good idea; it might get very crowded.

Rowsley, Beeley, Calton Lees, Calton Houses, and Edensor.

Today didn't get off to a good start: as I was pulling up my trousers in the gents' toilets at Sheffield Railway Station my buckle broke off my belt, and so I had to do an emergency repair with the lanyard from my GPS...which I hoped would  last me the day.

Unfortunately, as I stood up to get off the bus at Rowsley I was aware that my trousers were struggling to stay up. I popped into the shop, as I would have anyhow, and the owner cut me a length of string to tie my trousers up with - I also bought a carton of milk...as planned. Since the New Year I've been on an informal, unplanned diet, merely cutting back on chocolate, biscuits and cake, and have lost about half a stone; or two inches round my waistline...very noticeable, and yet inconvenient when there's nothing holding up your trousers which are now a size too large.

The footpath was right next to the shop and led up along a lane and then through woodland, quite steep in places; but with lovely views of the Derwent Valley along the lower, more open, section.

I then looped downhill into the village of Beeley. Like Edensor, Pilsley and Calton Lees it's one of the estate villages; situated on land belonging to Chatsworth House. There are many buildings in these villages where all the external paintwork is the same colour, a pleasant blue-green which blends in well with the landscape. I think these properties are owned by the estate, and are likely to be tied cottages for the estate workers...or holiday lets.

Just before reaching Beeley I noticed something quite strange; a 'dead' rodent - it looked like a bat to me - which had somehow been melted onto a gatepost...I'm assuming it was a plastic toy: but someone had spent a bit of time and effort putting it there.

The next section, to Calton Lees, was very flat; along the floodplain of the River Derwent. I stopped to take a photograph of what seemed to me, to be an interesting juxtaposition of a thistle and a dead tree.

The track up to Calton Houses is a gentle climb, followed by a steeper section up to what I judge to be the highest point on today's walk; one of the tumuli on Calton Pastures. I stopped here to eat my sandwiches and admire the view in front of me; without looking at the map I could identify the Hunting Tower at Chatsworth, and Beeley Moor...and most of the route I had already walked.

I continued to the road, just before Ballcross Farm, and turned right and then took the track down into Edensor; where I only had to wait a couple of minutes for the bus: I thought I would have had a bit of time to spare though.

Darley Dale, Darley Bridge, Crossgreen, Bonsall and Matlock Bath.

I got off the bus just south of the parade of shops at Darley Dale, walked a few yards down the road and then took the footpath across fields which leads towards Darley Bridge, using a short stretch of road which has a bridge which crosses over the Peak Rail railway line.

I walked through the village today, right to the church at the top of the hill. From here I followed the road which cuts back towards the hamlet of Crossgreen; which is printed as one word on the Ordnance Survey map, but I'm sure was two separate words when I saw the sign at the entrance to the settlement.

The next section of the walk was probably the highlight of the day, with some lovely countryside and pretty much perfect weather conditions for both walking and photography.

The route first cuts across fields and then climbs a shallow valley which runs to the south of Wensley; then steadily climbs up over undulating fields and grassland. I took several opportunities to stop and admire the views northwards behind me of the Derwent Valley, Chatsworth House and the distant moors. On the map this mile and a half of walking looks as though it might be quite boring; but, believe me, it isn't.

It was then a steady downhill walk to Bonsall, the last few hundred yards being along a country road, where at a junction someone had been having a bit of fun with the road signs...but certainly not helping anyone who might be lost. I've never been to Luton myself.

Bonsall is a pretty linear village with some impressive stone buildings and a historic cross in its former Market Place: I didn't take any photographs though because there were a couple of delivery vans spoiling the views.

For the next section I climbed a small hill, skirted a quarry and dropped down into Matlock Bath; Derbyshire's own 'seaside resort' - even though its probably sixty miles from the coast.

It's quite commercialised, with several fish and chip shops, cafés, pubs, amusement arcades and gift shops. In high season, or on a weekend in the winter it can get very busy, especially on Sundays and Bank Holidays when dozens of bikers will turn up with their motorcycles and park them along the Promenade for everyone to admire. It was nearly deserted today, with most establishments closed; maybe they were much busier yesterday.

Miller's Dale, Priestcliffe, Taddington, Ashford-in-the-Water and Bakewell.

Not a good day for public transport.

My day got off to a bad start when I arrived at Doncaster Station and saw a coach parked in the car park; I went into the concourse and the departures board was showing a bus replacement service for the first train to Sheffield. As usual I'd arrived early and had time to walk over to the bus station and catch the 07:45 X78 bus. Although it's an express service it still takes 75 minutes to reach Sheffield: it was a few minutes late and so I missed the 273 bus.

So a change of plan was enacted; the next suitable bus was going to Buxton and so I decided to do a walk from Miller's Dale that I had already planned to do soon.

As I was waiting to get off the bus I could see that one of the information notices was bilingual; printed in both English and Gaelic. Obviously this bus had  previously been used in the Scottish Highlands.

It was still very misty as I began the walk, and it didn't start to clear up until mid-afternoon. I began by walking up some steep steps through woodland; this would otherwise had been very slippery at this time of year with the fallen leaves on the ground. Once I'd reached the top it was open fields and then a country lane to the hamlet of Priestcliffe.

Just beyond Priestcliffe I had a painful accident. I was attempting to open a metal gate which unfortunately was unhinged, and as soon as I pulled at it, it started to fall towards me, just clipping my left thigh as I tried to get out of the way...I now have a very tender bruise there.

I rummaged in my rucksack for my torch so I could safely cross Taddington by-pass; a busy stretch of dual carriageway - one of only a few in the Peak District,    I should think.

Because of the poor visibility, it wasn't a good day for photography; but I did manage to take a photograph of a rather pretty milepost in the village.

The next section of the walk was along another lane and then a footpath which led down a pretty valley, which isn't named on the map. I was soon down to the A6 trunk road; and had to walk along it for about a mile, switching on my torch again. The oncoming cars seemed to move into the middle of the road to give me space in plenty of time, so I'm assuming it has a powerful beam.

At what looked to be a fish farm or hatchery, I left the road and walked along a very easy riverside path to Ashford-in-the-Water, popped into the village shop, and then continued to Bakewell...where the bus to Sheffield was ten minutes late. There seemed to be a lot of extra traffic on the roads, so I'm thinking that maybe there was a major event at nearby Chatsworth House.

Baslow and Chatsworth Park

The weather was rather cloudy today and so I chose a walk that included a lot of woodland on the Chatsworth Estate; areas where I haven't been walking before.

I got off the bus at Baslow Nether End and walked over the old bridge, past the thatched cottages and into Chatsworth Park. Instead of taking the path which runs next to the river, I headed uphill towards Dobb Edge and the woods which are above and behind the house.

After wandering around for about an hour I located my first destination; a ruined aqueduct which used to supply water to Chatsworth House. As you can see from the photograph there's a long way for the water to drop now.

A bit further up the hill there are two very nice cascades, the photo is of the higher one.

A few hundred yards further along the track I reached the Hunting Tower; apparently I had walked pretty much straight past it earlier without noticing.

It was then an easy couple of miles back down into Baslow, apart from the highest ladder stile I've ever come across.

I hadn't walked the majority of today's route, which always adds a little bit of extra interest. Of course it meant that I didn't get a close-up view of Chatsworth House, but I've seen it plenty of times before; I haven't paid to actually go inside the house...I'm not interested. The formal gardens are supposed to be very impressive though, with the Emperor Fountain and the various water features.