When I arrived at Sheffield Railway Station this morning I was handed a Costa gift card pre-loaded with £2 credit as part of a promotion by East Midland Railways. I put this in my wallet because I knew I'd be using it quite soon. I then walked over to the interchange to catch the bus to Curbar Crossraods.
I needed to walk for nearly two miles along the road until I reached my first footpath at Freebirch.
It was quite misty today for the first couple of hours and so I didn't take many photographs, and the few that I did take didn't come out very well because I've been having some problems with the camera; the on/off switch is sticking really quite bad and the lens is struggling with focusing - fortunately things did improve the more I used it...I think a bit of damp must have got in the electrics at Lichfield on Friday; it did rain a lot.
I headed eastwards towards Linacre Reservoirs, passing along country lanes, across meadows, and through woodland areas.
I think I must have crossed over more footbridges today than on any other walk; I also counted at least four abandoned and overgrown JCB diggers along the route as well.
At Old Brampton the footpath comes out near to the churchyard and so I didn't need to go out of my way to visit the church. The building was open and so I went inside; the first thing I immediately noticed as soon as I stepped inside was the loud ticking noise of the clock in the tower.
I then headed south to Nether Chanderhill and then west to Nether Loads, another tiny hamlet like Freebirch. A few minutes later, in woodland, I had to check my map to confirm that there isn't a fork in the road.
I came up to a stretch of dead straight road on higher ground which led to another road, which for a few hundred yards delineates the boundary of the Peak District National Park.
One of the JCBs mentioned earlier is visible in this photograph.
A few weeks ago, Siobhan my support worker, told me what hacking is; she's started riding again after more than ten years.
I took the track leading down to Beeley Hilltop and then walked along the riverside path to Chatsworth House.
On my return to the railway station at Sheffield I was handed another Costa gift card; this one I immediately redeemed for a slice of chocolate tiffin. I've still got the other one...which I'll be using at the earliest opportunity.
