A Visit To Eyam

A visit to another National Trust property this afternoon with my support worker, we went to Eyam Hall. We arrived in the village and immediately walked into the courtyard area to discover that a guided walk of the village for National Trust members was due to start in the next few minutes - so just enough time for the toilets. The walk lasted for ninety minutes but was more talking than walking; I really enjoyed it though. Eyam is famous as the 'Plague Village' and we told all about how the villagers quarantined themselves to prevent the plague from spreading, but there were also interesting anecdotes about bull baiting, the production of best beef, hanging live animals from a wire and spearing them on horseback, illicit affairs, a sham marriage, a drunken corpse which came back to life, and a sad story with an even sadder ending.

The walk finished at 3:30 which gave us the best part of an hour to look round the hall and the gardens. This was ample long enough; it's only small and there's nothing much to see. It was lived in by the family until only a few years ago and one of the rooms is left just as it was when the occupants moved out. I found this to be a bit strange and unsettling, especially the family photographs, and wondered why the family didn't remove the more personal items.

A trip out with Siobhan wouldn't be complete without a cream tea, or at least tea and cake. We had cream teas today, fairly average fare I would say.

It made a pleasant change for me to visit the Peak District as a tourist and to be able to wear some smart clothes, instead of my usual scruffy walking gear.

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.