Slatepit Dale, Northedge, Alton, Farhill, Ashover, Tansley, and Matlock

I travelled on public transport to Slatepit Dale, a hamlet about four miles southwest of Chesterfield on the Matlock road. The first photograph is where I got off the bus.

I walked downhill towards Alton, just another hamlet consisting of a few houses, going along footpaths, tracks and country roads. I got lost though and after about an hour I found myself needing to return to the main road, only about a mile from where I'd started. I did enjoy looking at the countryside as I was going nowhere in particular...and I was greeted by three cats at one farm and seven dogs at another. I really should take more care with the quality of the maps that I produce when I'm printing them off from online sources - my computer monitor screen might be high definition but my printer certainly isn't. 

 So...I tried again to head off towards Ashover...this time managing it without any problems. 

There was nothing to photograph at Northedge or Alton; I didn't take my camera out of my pocket until I reached 'The Fabrick' most likely the highest point on my walk today - it was certainly the location with the most extensive views. It's a small area of high moorland with rocky outcrops and a toposcope on the summit. There's also a trig point and the ruins of some sort of building complete with the remains of electrical or pumping equipment.

Farhill is only about a mile to the north of Ashover, high on the hill above the village. I didn't see much though because the footpath descends through a couple of short tunnels and there are high walls at either side for much of the length.

I passed three pubs in Ashover, the first one, The Black Swan has a welcoming sign. There was also an eggs vending machine outside, which was only selling cartons of milk today.  If I hadn't lost so much time earlier in the day I would have popped inside for refreshments and sustenance.

There's a building directly opposite to the church that looked interesting to me.

There was a large 'welcome' sign pinned to the door of the church stating the opening times, so I went inside. The interior is pleasant enough but the radiators must have turned up to the maximum heat because it was uncomfortably hot inside.

The roast dinners being served at The Old Poets Corner smelled delicious [I immediately noticed the lack of punctuation]. I doubt that my custom would have been appreciated in this establishment though.

I took the footpath down into the valley, crossed over the River Amber and climbed up the other side to reach the foot of Cocking Tor. A short section of road then followed before I made my way over to Tansley. On the way I noticed this gate incorporating an old oven shelf into the construction.

For the final mile into Matlock I needed to walk along the road. I timed my arrival so that I didn't have long to wait for the TransPeak bus to Bakewell, then had only a few minutes to wait for the Sheffield bus and then literally walked straight onto the train at Sheffield.

As I was walking through Doncaster town centre I was harassed by a junkie asking for money. When I refused he made unwanted and unpleasant remarks and comments so I had to politely, yet very firmly, tell him where to go and what he should do when he gets there. He seemed to still  be staying too close behind me for my liking and so I walked to my house the long way round, cutting through back alleys and across a bit of waste ground. He soon lost interest in me. I think that many of these characters think I'm a fellow traveller...they couldn't be more wrong.

Kelstedge, Tansley, Lumsdale, and Bentley Bridge

I woke up this morning with a painful twinge in my lower back, obviously restricting my movement. Maybe I must have pulled a muscle last night clapping too enthusiastically at the ballet. Northern Ballet's first visit to the new theatre in Doncaster was amazing and was well appreciated, and enjoyed, by a full house. I must admit that I enjoy ballet even more than walking.

Today's walk was therefore an easy one, mainly along country lanes and across fields.

I got off the bus at Kelstedge and walked down the hill towards Ashover, taking the first footpath on my left; being careful not to approach too close to the village and going to areas where my map coverage ends.

The weather forecast was for it to be a bit murky in the morning, but brighten up by mid-afternoon; the first part was correct but the second wasn't - it stayed murky all day, spoiling many good opportunities for taking photographs.

The countryside at the start of the walk was quite pretty though and I think these two pictures are okay.

The most difficult part of these section was when I'd arrived down in the bottom of a valley and had to cross the infant River Amber; I could use the stepping stones, or the 'Tarzan' rope swing. I chose the former; they were actually very easy...the steep climb up steps cut into the hillside through woodland which followed was more difficult.

At the top I was walking along the edges of fields, across grassland, and occasionally through more wooded areas, but most of the time I had extensive views to my left of Ashover and the Amber Valley...with Ogston Reservoir in the distance.

Just before I reached the road which leads to Tansley I had to cross a field with cows in it. I'm always wary when I'm near to cows because they can get quite aggressive at times; these animals just seemed to be puzzled - they were keeping their gazes on me though.

A few minutes later I arrived at a crossroads and noticed signs advertising two garden centres, one of which was in the direction I was going. There was an ice cream van parked there and so I bought an orange juice lolly and sat on a comfortable grass verge to enjoy it.

Not long after I'd stood up and started walking again I came to Scotland Nurseries and Garden Centre [and Café] and popped in for a cream tea at the café.

Not much further along the road there was another garden centre, the third in a very small area.

I walked through Tansley, through the centre of the village and then the track which leads to Lumsdale, past some very pretty countryside.

Lumsdale is an amazing place, somewhere I have been looking forward to visiting for a long time. The entire valley is a series of linked mills, all ruined now of course, and weirs and waterfalls. Despite being spoiled for me by the poor lighting conditions, a very flat and uninspiring light not suited to photography at all, and it being busy with several dozen people I was still not disappointed with my visit at all. I would have spent longer there if I could have explored on my own.

I took a lot of photographs and some have turned out not to be too bad; I've had to convert some to black and white and adjust the contrast and brightness though.

In my dreams I reckon that Lumsdale would be an excellent location for a future Indiana Jones film, with its extensive overgrown ruins, steep and twisty steps, inaccessible caves, rocky overhangs, narrow precipices, noisy and powerful waterfalls and deep splashpools, shear-drop weirs, picturesque ponds...and potential danger round every corner. I had the tune and the lyrics to the chorus of the 1990s pop song, 'Dr. Jones' by Aqua bouncing about in my head as I was enjoying myself here.

I'm actually quite an Aqua fan; I was early on in their career, seeing something much more profound than the mere bubblegum pop tunes and the corny comedy videos that they served up at the time. They've moved on a lot now, still performing live regularly. Lene, the female lead singer is really very sexy and now performs in the style of a hardcore bondage porno rock diva.  

During the journey home on the bus and the train more of my favourite Aqua tunes were in my head, 'I'm A Barbie Girl,' 'Cartoon Heroes.' 'All Around The World'...and....wait for it...'F*ck Me Like A Robot.'