Slatepit Dale, Uppertown, Bentley Bridge, Lumsdale, and Matlock

I caught the Matlock bus and travelled to Slatepit Dale and headed over to the west, passing by Stanedge Golf Course before reaching Stone Edge Chimney, the oldest industrial chimney in Britain.

Just beyond the chimney there's a series of attractive ponds, associated with whatever industrial activity was taking place there during the past.

It was easy walking all the way today with one exception - when I reached these cows in the corner of a field just beyond Dryhurst Farm.

The stile that I needed to use was right in the corner behind where the cows were standing; there was no way to get around them and I didn't want to force my way through them...and the  idea of shooing them hoping that they'd move out of the way would only result in them heading straight for me since there's nowhere else for them to go. Fortunately there was a broken down section of dry stone wall just a few yards away which I was able to climb over, and then duck under a wire fence. It was dangerous and totally unsuitable for cows to be in this field - there should be guidelines for farmers about placing livestock in fields which public footpaths cross, especially where there's a stile right in the corner and there are high walls surrounding the fields.

If the wall hadn't been toppled, what would you have done? 

I passed through the hamlet of Uppertown and then walked through a wood and some tall bracken before reaching the road. It was then a pleasant walk across fields and alongside the perimeter fence at Matlock Golf Club.

The path took me to Bentley Bridge, just above Lumsdale. As usual I was not alone when visiting Lumsdale - there were a couple of artists with their easels and palettes, a photographer with an expensive camera and a box full of lenses and other equipment, and several couples or small family groups exploring the waterfalls, ruins, and caves.

When I reached the bus stop at Matlock I wasn't sure if the bus was due at just after a quarter to, or a quarter after the hour. It was 14:13...and the bus was due at 14:17. It was on time.

Fox House to Bamford

I got off the bus at Fox House and walked across the moors at the back of the pub, going down to the bottom of the Burbage Valley. The last time I walked in this area was before the extensive felling of the plantation had taken place. The area is much more open now and the landscape has started to recover; many of the logs and deadwood have been left on the ground and this made it a bit difficult underfoot in places - if I wasn't tripping up over the logs or the brushwood I'd be slipping or rolling on the logs instead. It was a new walking experience for me though and I enjoyed the challenge, it also meant I could photograph the scenery from new angles.

There wasn't an ice cream van in the car park at Upper Burbage Bridge so I just briefly stopped for a drink of my orange squash and continued up to Stanage Edge...I had the trig point all to myself, but there were still plenty of people up there.

I only walked along the top of the edge for about a mile before I got down to the road, taking a path through some tall bracken. I then headed off westwards towards the bus stop at Bamford Railway Station but after moving a bit away from the main line of the footpath in a clearing in a wooded area to rest my boot on a rock so that I could re-fasten my lace I noticed some steps cut into the hillside. I checked the map and this was Access Land so I could go up there and see where it led to. Actually the path took me back up to the road, only a few hundred yards from where I was previously but I enjoyed exploring a new area so close to Hathersage, an area I know so well...and there was a nice waterfall which I tried to get some photographs of, but failed miserably...I'm rubbish at photographing moving water.

I thought I might as well walk down the road now; at a property marked as Outlane on the map, but now re-named as Curlew Cottage since it's become a holiday cottage I took the footpath going in the direction I wanted to be travelling.

After climbing over a stile where the landowner had taken particular care in making sure that the electric fence wouldn't be a hazard I noticed this sign.

I arrived at Bamford with plenty of time to visit the cafe at the garden centre for tea and a scone.

I didn't walk very far today, only about six miles, but it has been my third walk in four days and I pulled a muscle in my right thigh today...so I decided to take things easy.

It might just be me, but when I was waiting on the platform at Sheffield Station for the train back to Doncaster I was shivering and felt quite cold. I suspect that I've been harbouring a viral infection for a few days though, so that's probably the explanation.

Gringley on the Hill, Clayworth, Hayton, Clarborough, and Retford

A walk along a couple of short stretches of the towpath of the Chesterfield Canal in North Nottinghamshire today; it's my favourite canal I think.

I travelled to Gringley on the Hill, a pretty place to start a walk but I didn't spend any time exploring the village - I immediately headed southwards across the fields to Clayworth.

I went inside the church at Clayworth and took some photographs of the Traquair Murals.

I climbed down to the canal towpath at the southern end of the village and continued following the canal until I reached Hayton. The next two photographs were taken just as I approached Hayton; I walked along the entirety of the high street which continues into Clarborough and found nothing else interesting to take any photographs of. Both villages have a pretty church in a nice location but it would have meant going out of my way to see them and I didn't have the time...I wanted to catch the 2:45 bus back to Doncaster from Retford.

I returned to the towpath and made good time into Retford and easily caught my bus; the next bus goes the long way round and goes even further by picking up and dropping off children from a couple of schools in the town, and the next direct bus to Doncaster doesn't depart until 5:45...not ideal really, but that's the bus service I have to make use of. 

Castleton, Edale, Upper Booth, Barber Booth, and Hope

The earlier I go to bed the later I seem to wake up the next morning; there must be some complicated and counterintuitive reason or mathematical formula to explain this which if I knew about it I probably could take advantage of it to optimise my sleeping patterns.

I went to bed at 9:50 last night, that's quite early for me, but woke up at 6;20 this morning - about half an hour later than I normally do. Even though I had everything ready to go, my clothes piled up at the top of the stairs with everything I'd need already inside the zipped pockets of my fleece, my map already folded and inside the mapcase, my boots selected and my food and drink and all my other provisions in my rucksack I still didn't reach the railway station until 06:55...and then the first train going to Sheffield was delayed. 

So...I ended up arriving at Castleton an hour later than planned: after a quick visit to the toilets I walked along Hollowford Road towards Hollins Cross, the lowest point on the Great Ridge. I then immediately descended to Edale.

The church at Edale was open today.

I walked along the first two miles or so of the Pennine Way to Upper Booth and then looped back to the south east towards Barber Booth.

There would have been some more nice scenery to photograph as I was heading for Barber Booth but it really was quite misty and it was drizzling a bit. Something interesting I noticed though was several small painted concrete pyramids that had been placed at the side of the footpath all the way to the Methodist Chapel at Barber Booth as part of an installation art project. I got down low to take some photographs of them, trying to feature them in a landscape shot...all I got was sore knees though.

The weather brightened up as I climbed up Harden Clough towards Mam Nick, completing my second crossing of the Great Ridge of the day.

On the way back down to Castleton I called in at the shop at the Blue John Cavern and bought a butterscotch flavoured ice cream. It was delicious and refreshing but would not have been my first choice if there'd been more flavours to choose from.

I arrived at Castleton with enough time to continue on to Hope, taking the footpath that goes alongside the river.

I caught the bus that goes from Hope Valley College [at Hope] to Knowles Lane at Whirlow where the service terminates and we have to get off - there are plenty of other buses going the rest of the way into the city centre though...although it is a bit annoying.

On the train coming back to Doncaster from Sheffield I was standing in the vestibule area right next to a man who was reading his own article in The Geographical Magazine. I decided not to disturb him by telling him that I recognised his face from the thumbnail photograph at the top of the page - he might have thought I was being nosey or rude.