Baslow, Longshaw Estate, Fox House, and Totley

I travelled to Baslow today; the Bakewell bus was the first service leaving for the Peak District when I arrived at Sheffield Interchange. I got off at Nether End and walked up the hill to reach the moors. I headed north along Baslow Edge, and then, Froggatt Edge, and Curbar Edge.

To the south of Longshaw Estate I found a path I'd not used before, it was quite overgrown with bracken though. It cut across Access Land and so wasn't shown on the map.

The new cafe, outdoor seating area and toilets at Longshaw are very nice; the area was quite busy and so I didn't take any photographs. The views were still available though.

There was over an hour to wait for the bus at Fox House and so I continued with the walk, going down through the woods at the Blacka Moor Nature Reserve and caught the bus on the main road at Totley. It started raining just before three o'clock when I was on the bus travelling to Sheffield city centre - the forecast was for the rain to start anytime after one o'clock.

Walking From Curbar Crossroads to Fox House With Damo and Lydia

A short afternoon walk in the Peak District today with my friend Damo from Leeds, and Lydia, his friend who lives in Sheffield.

We arranged to meet at the bus station at Sheffield for two o'clock; fortunately they were twenty minutes early and so were able to catch the 13:40 bus, arriving at the start of our walk about forty minutes later.

We headed over to the Wellington Monument and then the Eagle Stone.

We continued walking along the Eastern Edges until we reached Fox House, calling en route at the Grouse Inn, which is at an isolated location up on the moors.

We had a Diet Coke each at the Grouse Inn - I took photographs of the foreign banknotes which are displayed throughout the pub.

It was a bit too windy on the edges, but otherwise it's been a lovely afternoon and early evening spent walking and chatting in Derbyshire with friends.

Derbyshire Life: The Ten Prettiest Peak District Villages

Here's the list, in alphabetical order:

Ashford-in-the-Water: A very pretty village with plenty to see...and a good base for accessing the Monsal Trail. The article states that Sheepwash Bridge is the most photographed bridge in England.

Bakewell: The unofficial capital of the Peak District; plenty of quirky shops, pubs, and cafes.

Castleton: Tourist honeypot - easy to reach from Sheffield. Plenty of shops and pubs. The village specialises in the production of blue john jewellery...the mineral is found nowhere else on Earth.

Edale: It wouldn't be on my list. It's surrounded by stunning countryside but the village is nothing special.

Edensor: A unique village on the Chatsworth estate. Every cottage is different yet they were all built at the same time.

Eyam: The 'Plague Village' A fascinating history and an uplifting example of self-sacrifice for the common good. Plenty to see and do, and some pretty, yet quite easy walks in the area.

Hartington: I've only visited the once and wasn't that impressed with the place.

Hathersage: More workmanlike than most places in the Peak District; it has nice areas though. Easy access to nearby climbing areas on the Eastern Edges.

Tideswell: Plenty of shops and cafes, and a large parish church known as the 'Cathedral of the Peak.'

Tissington: I've not been yet, so can't comment.

Personally I wouldn't include Edale and Hartington on the list and would replace them with Monyash and Froggatt.

Kelstedge, Beeley, and Chatsworth House.

After walking about nine miles on Saturday in the Meanwood Valley area of Leeds I was back walking in the Peak District today. I probably walked a similar distance, but today's terrain was much more challenging and I'm feeling rather tired.

I got off the bus at Kelstedge, about four miles north of Matlock, and took the lane heading due west. There are some expensive houses down here and I noticed that there was a large pink Buddha statue in the garden of the last property.

The lane soon petered out into a track, and then a footpath; and was rather overgrown with nettles and brambles in places. For the next two miles I passed, or walked through, a lot of wildflower meadows such as the one in the photograph - the buttercups were particularly impressive...as I passed Shooters-Lea Farm I stopped to stroke a very friendly cat.

Not long after my encounter with the cat I was walking along a short stretch of road, then grassy fields; and then, due to a lapse of concentration because I was keeping an eye on a herd of cows rather than looking out for the footpath signs, I ended up walking through a deep bog near to Sitchs Plantation. I decided to walk along the edge of the bog, using fence posts for support - I still sank in up to a depth of eighteen inches though. I would have liked to walk diagonally across the deepest part of the bog; I would have enjoyed the challenge, but would have most likely fallen flat on my face and then probably not been allowed on the bus back to Sheffield.

I soon reached Big Bumper Piece, my first area of open moorland for the day, and then walked along the Rowland road for a few minutes before entering access land above Fallinge. I decided to walk along the top of Fallinge Edge, it's not that spectacular compared to the more well-known Eastern Edges further north, but the views to the west, and down into the wooded valley were okay. Walking along here was hard work though; a relentless slog through knee-high heather and bracken.

I couldn't find a way down onto the road and so had to struggle over a wall topped with barbed wire; grazing myself a little in the process.

I hurried down the road into Beeley and arrived just in time for the bus, but when I reached the main road I didn't know which way to turn for the bus-stop. Unfortunately I made the wrong choice and turned right; there was a bus shelter on the other side of the road; but nothing in my direction. A couple of minutes later the bus passed me as I was walking on the other side of the road, facing the oncoming traffic as is standard safe practice.

I continued north along the road, then through Chatsworth Park towards Chatsworth House, which looks a lot better now that most of the scaffolding has been removed.

I arrived at the House and bought a cup of tea and a caramel confection of some sort. They were very expensive, but I needed them - I was feeling rather weak.
I enjoyed my refreshments and then walked to the bus-stop, which is right outside the entrance to Chatsworth House; and the design even ties in with the Chatsworth Estate style of signage.

The bus was nearly twenty minutes late, due to delays in Sheffield caused by the Olympic Torch relay. If I were to write exactly what I think about the Olympics and the inconvenience caused by the torch relay I'd probably lose a few regular followers and the blog would end up being banned by the inappropriate content filters at schools, libraries, and workplaces up and down the country.

As the bus was entering Sheffield, coming down Eccleshall Road, there were thousands of people, and hundreds of police officers lining the route...I just leaned forward in my seat and scratched my piles.

Baslow, Curbar, Froggatt, Eyam and Hathersage.

Today I got off at the same bus stop as I did last week, Baslow Church. This time I walked north along Gorsebank Lane, passing some lovely cottages.

I made quick progress, first reaching Curbar and then Froggatt. The route was fairly flat, mainly along farm tracks, country lanes and across fields; north of Curbar there are stretches of woodland and heathland though. Heathland is quite rare in the Peak District.

I crossed the picturesque bridge at Froggatt; I couldn't quite get in the right position to take a photograph I'd be happy with though.

It was then a bit of a climb up to the Eyam road. As is my habit now, I stopped at the tearooms for some refreshment. After walking through most of the village I took a footpath which led up to Eyam Edge; this being the most difficult part of the walk.

At the top I walked along a limestone track for a few hundred yards and then across Eyam Moor, which eventually leads down to the Hathersage road. This section of footpath is one of my favourites because it goes gently downhill for nearly two miles, and the views of the Derwent Valley and the Eastern Edges are spectacular. Today I was even more impressed with the views since I seemed to have timed my visit to coincide with the peak of the foxglove flowering season. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them, all at their best.

I arrived in Hathersage with just enough time to pop into a shop and get something to drink before the bus arrived.

Foolow, Eyam and Hathersage

The walk started with a gentle stroll across the fields to Eyam; I've never had to pass through so many gates on such a short section of footpath before though.

Eyam is known as 'The Plague Village' because when plague arrived in the village in the seventeenth century the villagers voluntarily quarantined themselves to prevent the infection from spreading. Most of the inhabitants died and there are plaques throughout the village commemorating the events.

Today I barely entered the village, almost immediately climbing up a steep footpath through woodland which leads to the summit of Sir William Hill. From here, all the way to Hathersage there were some spectacular views of the Eastern Edges; the lighting conditions were perfect - it's a pity that my camera isn't very good...I have included a couple of photographs which are okay though.

I did six miles today; and a total of forty eight miles since I got my GPS locator in November.