Castleton, Bradwell, and Hope

A walk from Castleton to Eldon Hill today, the highest point in the White Peak area of the Peak District. When I reached Sheffield I walked up the hill and caught the bus at the Howard Street stop; nearby there's a brightly coloured fibreglass bear. These bears are placed all over the city, just like similar elephants were a few years ago.

I arrived at Castleton at nine o'clock; I wasn't the only hiker on the bus at that time.

I walked up Cave Dale and then took a path heading to the west towards Eldon Hill Quarry and another path which goes alongside the edge of the quarry. Just to the right of the path it's Access Land and so I was able to walk across the grassy scrubland to the summit of the hill, overlooking the now disused quarry. There's nothing to see at the summit, not even a trig point and because it was misty I couldn't even walk over to maybe get some good shots of the quarry.

I did manage to take a photograph of Eldon Hole though, I thought it looked quite haunting, although that doesn't come over very well.

I then returned to the path a few hundred yards further along and continued to just to the north of Old Dam and then took a series of footpaths and a long stretch of road heading east towards Bradwell. 

I entered the Smalldale area, on the northern edge of Bradwell and finished  by walking along the road to Hope to catch the bus; I didn't have long to wait.

The final photograph features the Hope Cement Works which I always think looks like a fairytale castle when looked at from certain angles.

I'm sorry there aren't many photographs today, and those I've included aren't really that good. it seems that my eyes are better in poor visibility than my camera's lens is, the camera's not a cheap one either, it's a Kodak. I only paid £10 for it though from the secondhand shop.

Miller's Dale, Wheston and Bradwell.

Due to a change in my regular weekly schedule I was able to fit in an extra walk today. Although still not fully recuperated from Sunday's walk I decided to take advantage of the good weather forecast, even though the day turned out to be far more hazy than I'd hoped for. It was mild and dry though, and neither foggy nor windy, so it was okay.

The walk started at Miller's Dale, this time climbing up the other side of the valley than I'd done a couple of weeks ago. It was less steep, not as slippery, and not as high either, so I only needed to stop a couple of times for breath. Underfoot it was good walking, due to this being a bridleway and a section of the Limestone Way.

Once I'd reached high ground I was progressing quickly, well aware of the fact that it would be dark by four o'clock and I had over eight miles to cover. It was an almost straight, level track for the next mile and a half to Wheston, with only a short stretch of country lane. Just before I reached the village it seemed to be the brightest part of the day; I turned round to admire the view behind me and noticed these trees which seemed to look rather threatening, as though they were attempting to reach out and grab me.

The next section was entirely along a country lane, but I made good time to Mount Pleasant Farm on the main Chesterfield to Stockport road. Just beyond the farm I could look down into Peak Forest, which appeared to be much larger than it's depicted on the Ordnance Survey map. At this point I also noticed a strange feature on a distant hill; it looked like a gaping hole. I got my binoculars out, and indeed that's what is was. Just before writing this post I checked online, and it's known as Eldon Hole, a deep cavern with many interesting tales about it. It seems only experienced cavers are able to explore it though.

A few minutes later I turned right onto the path that leads to Bradwell, across an area of old spoil heaps: not an unpleasant area to look at though. By now I was looking at my watch and wondering if I'd arrive in time to get some fish and chips. It was too late though when I got to Bradwell, the chip shop had been closed for over ninety minutes; it seems to have rather limited opening times.

I was hungry though, and so went into one of the shops and bought some sausage roles and jam tarts which they were selling cheap. It was a bit of a wait for the bus, and so I sat on a bench and enjoyed my food; attracting a few strange glances no doubt.

The bus arrived about ten minutes late and so I thought I'd miss the express train at Sheffield. It was late too...so I was able to catch it.