The Long Walk to Leicester #7 - Shardlow to Loughborough 03/09/19

13.1 miles, via Derwent Mouth, Sawley Bridge Marina, Ratcliffe on Soar, Kegworth Marina, 

 Sutton Marina, Diamond Wood, Zouch, Normanton on Soar, and Bishop's Meadows.

Long Distance Trek
means Selfies!
#7 at Shardlow

We get off to another early start as we head back to the bottom right corner of Derbyshire, with the Parental Taxi adding another 50+ miles to the 130+ miles that it put down on my behalf yesterday, which well illustrates My Mum's willingness to go above and beyond when it comes to accommodating my crazy walking schemes when she could have so easily cast me out to travel by train and the Skylink bus service, so the note of gratitude needs to be posted here, rather than buried in my later summation. We land at the Navigation Inn at Shardlow at 9.10am, so Mum can make a beeline homeward to do here thing with her Church Lunch Club, and so I can get on with the last mile or so of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, which we meet when we return to the bridge of the Trent & Mersey canal and descend to its towpath, heading eastwards into the still intact landscape of wharves and warehouses at the heart of this late 18th century boom town, where goods travelling to and from the northwest would by stored and sorted before going on their new markets on the burgeoning canal network. It's a quiet idyll for leisure boating these days, making it hard to believe just how much industry would have gone on here in the 50+ years before the railways became the new transportation method of choice, it's now a place for waterfront living, and going back in time by visiting the watermen's inns such as the Malt Shovel or the New Inn, which we leave in our wake as we pass under Wilne Lane bridge, and we carry on pass the last few canalside cottages and the flood lock that protects the village from inundation, to meet Shardlow's extensive marinas. We can race the active boaters on the canal as we head east, along the long cut that passes Porter's Bridge, the very first on the canal as it makes its long way to Liverpool behind us, and the Derwent Mouth lock leading us out to the very end of the channel where it spills out into the River Trent, where the Derwent Mouth confluence can be observed from the remaining abutment of the original and now demolished Long Horse Bridge.

The Long Walk to Leicester #6 - Belper to Shardlow 01/09/19

17.4 miles, via The Park, Cowhill, Milford (sorta), Makeney, Duffield Bank & Bridge, 

 Peckwash Mill, Rigga Quarry, Little Eaton, Darley Abbey (Mills & Park), Derby Waterfront, 

  The Holmes, Pride Park, Alvaston Park, Spondon weirs, Borrowash Bridge, and Ambaston.

Long Distance Trek means Selfies!
#6 at Belper Station.

With the High Season of 2019 done, mostly successfully despite the wildly inconsistent weather, it's now time to get away from it all, at just about the best possible time, to head Down Country and get back onto the last legs of The Long Walk to Leicester, this year's crazy scheme that has actually slipped pretty far from my attention over the last three months, and now requires all my focus as I travel away to stay with Mum and utilise what is usually one of the best months of the late Summer for my jollies. Travelling on a Sunday had originally had me planning to ride out to Belper to resume the trail, and the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, by train, but a distinct lack of EMR services north from Leicester scuppered that plan and so Mum offered the Parental Taxi for my usage, despite her having to do an 80 mile round trip to get us underway, and that offer is taken up gratefully, taking a ride that visually stitches us up to the last leg as we get sight of East Mill before I get dropped off at the railway station to pick up where we left off in May, at a bright but chilly 8.35am, a good 90 minutes ahead of the rail alternative. We set off from the station up Albert Street to pick up the DVHW again on Green Lane, heading down it to meet King Street by the Memorial Gardens and the Ritz Cinema, with the town main shopping drag running down towards the A6, and we head up this road to the old Market Place at the top of the town, which feels eerily devoid of life at this early hour, before we head on into The Park, Belper's wild space where the morning exercisers can be found. Down we go through the rough field to cross Coppice Beck, and then rise across dewy grass and among trees to find the hilariously slanted football pitch, from whence we find the wooded path that takes us uphill, where a perch above the Derwent Valley is found, concealing the town rather successfully, before we slip behind and then among the houses of Cowhill, at its southern periphery, where we need to slip down among the older looking terraces of Holbrook Road before we can find the high path that will take us on down the valley, and away from the wrinkles of Derbyshire hills that have spread all the way down from the Peak District.

Hadfield to Marsden via Black Hill 03/08/19

15 miles, via Padfield, Runal Intake, Devil's Elbow, Torside Crossing, Torside Reservoir,   
 Crowden Great Brook Clough, Laddow Rocks, Grains Moss, Dun Hill, Black Hill, 
  Black Dike Head, Good Bent, Dean Clough, Wessenden Head, Hey Cote Hill, 
   Hey Brinks, Rigg Shaw, Rams Clough, Binns and Bank Bottom.

After my Summer Jollies, it seemed wise to take a weekend off, as I'd been going at it on the trail for every weekend since the middle of April, and once back in work we experienced the most horrifying temperature spike, pushing temperatures up past 30C, which were then followed by the most dramatic shift downwards as the last weekend of July came around, more than 12C cooler and with both days blighted with rain that fell for many hours, scuppering any plans for getting out regardless of how modestly they might have been scaled. As it happened, we probably wouldn't have gotten out as it was, as an impromptu drinks get together was had on the Friday evening of the 26th July with my good friends IH & AK as we needed to have one last turn around with M&SW before they move away to Edinburgh at the end of August, which was a nice break from routine and had me snoozing off the booze for much of Saturday as the rain pelted down in a way that seemed entirely inappropriate. As M&S had scheduled up a final session for the next Saturday along, being available for that would be appropriate having enjoyed 23+ years of friendship with them, but a return ticket to Hadfield was starting to burn a hole in my pocket, with the August weather looking just a weird as July's, getting in my statement walk of the year, the one with West Yorkshire's actual summit in it, had to take priority, involving a 2+ hour trip out to the part of Derbyshire that isn't threatened with being underwater after a week of storms, a journey that would be so much easier if we could get the TPEs to stop at Guide Bridge and not have to make the connection at Manchester Piccadilly. So alight at 9.40am, feeling that it's slightly odd that it should be here, about as far south as is possible, that I have chosen to make my contact point on the west side of the Pennine divide, admiring the once mainline station that now sits at the lonely end of its branch line, starting out be retracing steps to the Trans Pennine Trail, admiring the views over the suburban rooftops to the moors to the north of Longdendale before passing under the old Woodhead Line at Platt Street bridge. This leads us into Padfield, among the old terraces and newer arrivals that have clustered around the largely still industrial site of Hadfield Mill, rising with the long uphill terraces of Post Street, which seem to be the way of such things on the west side of the Pennines, heading up past the former Wesleyan Chapel to meet the old rural village on Padfield Main Road, around the Peels Arms inn and displaying a whole wad of rural charm on the lane up to the Whitehouse Farm B&B.

Holmfirth to Hadfield 13/07/19

13.8 miles, via Hinchcliffe Mill, Holmbridge, Holme, Lane, Holme Moss, 

 Heyden Brook valley, Heyden Bridge, Woodhead Reservoir, Crowden, 

  Torside Reservoir, Hollins, Rhodes Wood, Valehouse Wood, and Tintwistle. 

After six weeks of pushing the boundary of my Field of Walking Experience southwards, and using the High Season weekend to probe the upper reaches of the Don Valley, like I'd promised to do, it's time to shift focus and start to looking westwards, so that I might start pressing westwards, so that we might properly investigate the Holme valley while Summer is still in business and can get in the long days of travelling before the days shorten too much, and having made such a big noise about all my approaches toward western Kirklees, my first day of travelling from within it will actually be striking for a finish line far beyond it. An early start is essential, predictably enough, but not just because of the length of the trip, but also because I'm NIW for the week and My Mum is travelling up so we might get some issues with regards my legacy and inheritance sorted out, and so it's away on the earliest of plausible trains and then off on the nearest available bus to land in Holmfirth for an 8.50am jump off, which comes after the necessary use of public conveniences as there are not going to be many places for comfort breaks on today's trip. July ought to be bringing the joy of the season, but the projections for the day have gradually rendered it mediocre, with little chance of sunshine in the day's first half, and thus we're off under gloomy skies, but wholly tolerable warmth, as we note Holmfirth's memorial pillar to the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, a rather premature monument to peace with Revolutionary France when 12 years of the Napoleonic Wars would start only 14 months later, placed opposite the bus stands that have been the focus of all our visits so far, before we make for the opposite bank of the Holme, which takes us up the politely dressed shopping parades of Victoria Street. Even before regular opening hours, the town feel busier than it ought to be, and thus the people need to be shed from our path as we strike westwards on Huddersfield Road, the other main street so far unseen in this town, as it leads past Holmfirth's market and mill, to the division point of the A635 - A6024 where the choice of moorland routes needs to be made, and admiring the landscape of weavers cottages and modest factories that still look the part of a town that originally thrived because of the domestic production of woollen goods, rather than heavy industry.

The Long Walk to Leicester #5 - Rowsley to Belper 23/05/19

17.3 miles, via Northwood, Churchtown, Darley Bridge, Oker, Matlock, High Tor, 

 Matlock Bath, Cromford, the Cromford Canal, High Peak Junction, Robin Hood, 

  Whatstandwell, Ambergate, and Scotches (plus the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail Leg #3).

Long Distance Trek

means Selfies!

#5 at Rowsley

Take two days out from the trail to allow the legs a rest and to blog to my hearts content in the down time, and also to do holiday stuff, because I'm on holiday, which has Tuesday spent riding the train at Peak Rail, because it's not a trip away without visiting a preserved line (which would make Dad happy, for sure) and then Wednesday is spent getting in the industrial heritage in at Cromford Mills, where the concept of factory manufacture took off in the late 18th century. With holiday whims satisfied, we can thus get back in the walking saddle on Thursday, knowing that another 17+ mile day lies ahead, with weather that promises a lot of sunshine and heat, in complete contrast to the already distant feeling trip over the Dark Peak only five days back, taking off in the Parental Taxi with a bag full of food and liquids that I know I'm going to need for a jump off at the Grouse & Claret in Rowsley at 9.05am. We're right by the side of the A6, which as we know is one of Leicester's main roads and could rightly be followed for the remainder of my Long Walk, but we know there wouldn't be as much fun in that, and the Derwent Valley Heritage Way will offer a much more peaceful take as it ventures down Old Station Close, to the sight of the second and longest enduring of Rowsley's stations, lost under industrial units since its 1968 closure, and we could walk the cycle path on the railway formation south from here, but the way wants us to venture into the beech woodlands by the side of the river, and so that's the way we head. A nice and shaded start to the day, feeling that it's much longer walk down to the newer Peak Rail station than it felt when we drove down there, and only slight landscape hints are felt during our passage, and oddly, we miss seeing the confluence of the River Wye as it flows in from the west, and it's odd that such a major branch of the Derwent could arrive invisibly, especially as I knew that I was looking for it.

The Long Walk to Leicester #4 - Bamford to Rowsley 20/05/19

14.4 miles, via Shatton bridge, Goose Nest wood, Leadmill bridge, Coppice wood,

 Grindleford bridge, Horse Hay coppice, Froggatt wood, Frogatt, Calver, Bubnell, Baslow,

  Chatsworth Park, and Calton Lees (plus the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail Leg #2).

Long Distance Trek means Selfies!

#4 at Bamford

Sunday makes for a nicely chilled out day away as we spend it settling into our rather curious cottage in Winster, one which has two double bedrooms, a dining room that seats six, but a living room with only space for two armchairs, so it'll be fine for Mum and myself to fill for the week, and the village itself has a tonne of charm, with many stone cottages crammed together on its hillside, largely borne of the lead mining industry and sat around the National Trust's very first property, the 15th century Market Hall. Thus relaxed, we are ready to go again on Monday as the weather showed a marked spike in improvement, tootling our way back up to the Hope and Derwent Valleys to resume the trail, not getting out quite as early as I'd would have liked, due to Mum accidentally breaking our cottage's shower, and me managing somehow to successfully fix it, landing us at Bamford station for a 9.30am start, hopeful that I haven't seen too much of today's passage already on our way back. Anyway, I can guarantee that this will be a much shorter and gentler trip than Saturday's escapade, as we make our way back over retraced steps over Mytham Bridge and past the Hope Valley Garden centre to resume the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, at Shatton bridge, leading into the dead-end village of Shatton and taking us over the lowest crossing of the River Noe, the main watercourse of the Hope Valley itself, which flows to our left as we pass around an equestrian paddock as we make for the Derwent's bank. Where the Noe converges with the Derwent is where the latter becomes considerable, as both drain an extensive area of moorland, and thus we have a large channel to follow as we join the undulating an occasionally high bank of the river, skirting along the edge of the broad pasture below the rises of Offerton Moor to the south, following it around Kentney barn before we get a reveal of the local Dark Peak company behind us, with Lose Hill and Win Hill flanking Crookstone Moor, the eastern edge of the Kinder Scout plateau. Bamford Edge also muscles into the view as we press on, but there's not so much to see going forwards as the bank gets tight and undulating until we get a reveal of the hillsides above Hathersage, a proud Derbyshire village that looks like it will remain completely unseen from this trail, hidden away on the north-eastern bank, with only signage indicating its presence somewhere beyond the coverage of trees and the string of stepping stones.

The Long Walk to Leicester #3 - Penistone to Bamford 18/05/19

17.5 miles, via Cubley, Sheephouse Height, Midhopestones, Ewden, Smallfield, 

 Bradfield Dale, Bole Edge Plantation, Strines, Moscar, Ladybower Reservoir, 

  and the Thornhill Trail (plus the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail Leg #1).

Long Distance Trek

means Selfies!

#3 at Penistone.

It's a weird feeling to organise a holiday for the family without having Dad around to enjoy it too, but after his passing getting away for a week was one of the first thoughts for the future that Mum and I shared, and with a legacy having come my way, affording a few weeks away over the coming years shouldn't dent my finances at all, and as Mum has gotten her driving confidence going again, added to getting herself a sat-nav app, her being my taxi for a week of walking across Derbyshire should be as straightforward as is possible. Getting going is the first order of business then, leaving Morley at ouch o'clock in the morning, and leaving Mum as custodian of my flat and the baggage as I make for the trail that will link my local wandering fields to the Midlands, which probably aren't as far away as my brain would think, riding the rails and cursing this month of May that still hasn't brought any consistently decent weather, arriving at Penistone for an 8.45am jump-off, under gloomy skies and clouds that look like they could threaten rain at a moments notice. We thus start our resuming path into the unknown by slipping onto the Trans Pennine Trail path which heads south of the station and reveals the platforms of the former MS&LR Woodhead route, which were coated in trees when we visited in 2014 and haven't seen a regular passenger service since 1970, and we then slip down Eastfield Avenue to make our way through the town, rising among the terraces on Church Street to pass around the other side of the parish church of St John the Baptist. Land on the High Street opposite the pubs and the Co-op, and am struck that folks seem to already be out in force despite the early hour and we press on south as the stone houses slip from townhouse style to a scale more modest, and occasionally rural before the lane takes a dip and slips solidly into suburbia, gaining the name of Mortimer Road as it goes. The rise away from the Don valley resumes as we climb towards the bottom end of town, and there's more to Penistone than you'd expect clearly, meeting the council estate at Cubley, right about where the Barnsley district bus terminates and we start to slip into the countryside, past the Cubley Hall hotel and pub, and into the elevated fields that lie beyond, shrouded in an uninviting grey haze, which sadly gives us little by way of gaining a contextual view into the landscape around-abouts.

Lose Hill & Mam Tor 23/10/16

9.7 miles, from Bradwell, via Hope, Lose Hill, Back Tor, Barker Bank, Hollin's Cross,
 Mam Tor, the Old Road, Castleton & the Cement Works.

No real need for a super early start on our Sunday stroll, Dr G might need to dash out so he can cycle solo across the Dark Peak and back, but the rest of us can take a more natural pace as we organise The Girls for a trek over the best (and only?) ridge walk in the Peak District, which will be my first proper hill walk in more than two years, so here's hoping that I'm in better condition for it than I was when we assailed Pendle Hill in 2014. Out of Lillegarth cottage on the edge of Bradwell after 9.45am, and descend the Smalldale lane, pass Ye Olde Bowling Green inn and take in our surroundings of old cottages and rural retreats before meeting the more workaday houses around the green on Gore Lane, it seems that Bradwell might be the largest settlement in the Hope Valley whilst also being one of the least known. We meet the Main Road towards Brough (not that one), and soon find the quieter lane beyond the Samuel Fox in to take the shortest route towards Hope, between the former workings that have become angling ponds and the vast pits associated to the Castleton Cement works, which will be a constant feature on this day's horizon. Spying the hills that will be our targets for the day is fun, whilst trying to not draw The Girls' attention to them so they might not get dispirited, and as the descent comes on towards Hope we get the bold shape of Win Hill and the spire of St Peter's church to draw the attention in the autumnal sunshine. Meet the village, and drop the predictable 'To Live in Hope is to Live in Derbyshire' joke, and this looks like another village worthy of more attention in the future, wearing a darker face than Castleton as we move our way across the White Peak - Dark Peak divide. Hit Edale Road to head for the upper branch of the Hope Valley, and it's going to feature just a bit too much road walking as we head off among the farmsteads and cottages hanging above the River Noe, Passing under the bridge of the Cement works railway branch and note that the Cheshire Cheese inn is an unusually popular pub name in these parts.

Castleton to Hassop station 22/10/16

14.7 miles, via Cave Dale, Bradwell Moor, the Limestone Way, Hay Dale, Peter Dale,
 Monk's Dale, Miller's Dale, the Monsal Trail, Litton Mill, Water-cum-Jolly Dale,
  Cressbrook Mill, Upperdale, Monsal Head, Little Longstone  & the Monsal Trail (again).

Having failed to get over to Lancashire for walking at any point in 2016, the best way to get together with My Sister and her family in the late season is to join them as they start their Autumn half term holiday in the Hope Valley in North Derbyshire, only a couple of hours distant from work on a Friday evening, so we might be able to enjoy two full days away together, allowing us to get away from it all at a time when it really feels like the best thing to do. Residence is taken up in Bradwell, and when walking schemes are compared it appears that we have both come to the same conclusions when it comes to walking targets, so a stretch over to the Wye Valley is chosen for Saturday, which could be walked directly from our holiday home, but this would miss one of the best features of this top edge of the White Peak, so an early start is sought from Castleton, where Dr G can drop us off between St Edmund's church and The George at 9.05am before he rouses My Nieces so they can have a day cycling the Monsal trail. Depart this Limestone village or townlet via the rising lane through the Market Place and find the way forwards hidden between cottages to find the start of the Limestone Way as it heads up Cave Dale, also known as the hidden valley and giving us an ascent like nothing I have walked since I was in the Wolds, and this particular drag is much, much longer. Rise through the deep cleft in the Limestone hillside, remembering to look back to see Peveril castle rising above, pondering geological history as we go, acknowledging that a post-glacial formation like this could have formed in a ridiculously short period of time, and despite it being notionally a dry valley, the going is pretty wet on a rough surface, forming a bridleway that I wouldn't fancy riding in either direction. The valley gets shallower and the ascent easier as the upper half is reached, but having started at the 200m contour, it's hard to acknowledge just how far you might have ascended as the track emerges on the relatively level expanses of Bradwell Moor, a vast grassland at over 400m up, and it doesn't look anything like any of the moorlands of the north country, neither Limestone nor Grit.