Baslow, Bubnell, Calver, Stoney Middleton, Eyam, Offerton, and Bamford...And Then Brough!

I got off the bus at Baslow Nether End and then walked through the village to go and take some photographs of the church.

I walked over the old bridge to Bubnell and continued northwards along the main street of Bubnell and then across the fields to Calver, always keeping close to the River Derwent.

New Bridge is about half a mile north of Calver.

About three or four hundred yards beyond New Bridge I veered away from the river and climbed up to the road and then took the path which passes by Knouchley Farm and on to Stoney Middleton. The church here is rather unusual.

I climbed up the lane to Eyam and sat on one of the benches in the middle of the bullring to eat my sandwiches. Whilst I was there a group of at least two dozen members of Seven Hills Cycling Club in Sheffield arrived hoping for something to eat; the cafe was already very busy, and the tearooms were closed, or not yet open. They stayed awhile and were still there when I left, so I'm assuming the tearooms must have opened at twelve o'clock.

As I was climbing up onto Eyam Edge my mobile phone rang, it was my friend Justin ringing to check the arrangements for Wednesday night when we are going to see an Abba tribute band at Rotherham Theatre.

The signal cut out three times although I was only about two hundred yards from the mobile phone transmitter tower - this can happen with radio signals though when you're near to a tower due to the steep angle...so your signal needs to come from the next nearest available mast.

I continued past Ladywash Mine and then on to Eyam Moor. It was frosty when I left the house this morning, but by this time it was really quite mild...so mild in fact that a young man had taken his shirt off and only had his rucksack on his back. I stayed well wrapped up; three tee-shirts, two fleeces and an anorak - now that I'm  much slimmer I really do feel the cold.

I dropped down to Stoke Ford and then climbed back up the other side of the clough to reach the road that leads to Highlow Hall - I don't think I've actually seen it before...so here's a photo I took.

There's a well-maintained track to Offerton which continues all the way to Shatton, although I opted for the riverside walk; there are some lovely views.

  

It was then only a short walk to the bus turnaround at Bamford Station. I knew I was pressed for time and so started jogging...I took it quite steady, but still wasn't getting out of breath. I arrived with two minutes to spare - but I needn't have bothered, the bus was twelve minutes late...and that caused an unexpected problem for me. There were already people waiting; one of them spotted the bus and shouted to his friends that it's coming...so I bent down to pick up my rucksack and then fumbled in my pocket for my bus pass. By the time I'd done this the bus had arrived and so I got on. However, at the traffic lights the driver turned right and headed towards Castleton...damn, I'd gotten on the wrong bus.

I decided to stay on for a couple of miles, got off at Brough, crossed the road and stepped inside the Traveller's Rest and enjoyed a pint of Diet Coke in the beer garden. I then caught the same bus back to Sheffield.

This mistake by me wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the fact that we need to place our passes on the scanner instead of stating our destination and being issued with a ticket. This is because, we are told, that disabled people prefer to do it this way when travelling on buses...no-one asked me though.

Great Hucklow, Bretton, Eyam, Stoney Middleton and Calver.

Today has ended up being an expensive day for me; I broke my camera. I cracked the viewfinder screen, but wasn't aware of doing it at the time. Even though there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground, I certainly didn't fall over or bump into anything; the only thing that I can think must have caused it is when I was climbing over a stile or squeezing through a gap in a wall. I shall have to buy a new camera before my next walk: it will be an inexpensive one though, because there's a fair chance that I'll end up breaking that too.

The walk began at Great Hucklow with partially overcast skies and the threat of snow, which never actually arrived though, and within an hour I was enjoying uninterrupted sunshine.

I walked along the road in an easterly direction towards the gliding club and Bretton, then taking the track that leads to Bradshaw Lane. After only walking a few yards along the track I noticed some substantial ruins of a group of stone buildings. To me it looked as though it could be the site of an old mine; the location certainly deserved an information board and a seat.

The lane leads onto the road which goes to the hamlet of Bretton; just a pub, a closed-down youth hostel and a few farms. I then headed northwards and walked towards Bretton Clough, the views from here were spectacular with woodland in the foreground and the snow-capped hills of the northern Peak District in the distance. The photograph I've actually selected was taken from a bit further along the walk though; looking towards Stanage Edge.

And then a bit further...

I didn't descend into the clough, I chose a path which stayed on higher ground and looped around to cross Eyam Moor, arriving on Sir William Hill Road just to the east of the transmitter.

I then walked down the road into Eyam, calling at Mompesson's Well. I took a couple of photographs of the information board, but I was casting a shadow onto it and the problems with brightness and contrast makes it difficult to read the text - so I haven't posted the details, which should be easy enough to research online.

The last few yards down into the village were through woodland, and then, after a couple of hours with no problems on the moors, I was struggling with the slippery roads and pavements as I headed towards the tea shop for something to eat.

I tried to time my departure to make sure I'd not miss my bus at Calver. The footpath to Stoney Middleton has some lovely views; it was at this point that I discovered that my camera was broken. I could still take photographs with it, but couldn't see what I was taking.

Finally, I  needed to jog part of the last mile along the road into Calver; the bus was a few minutes late though.

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.