Walk: 11:15am to 3:15pm - 5.4 miles and 480ft of ascent
There has been numerous occasions in the past when I have fancied a trip down to Dovedale, but always been put off by the fact that it's right at the bottom edge of the Peak District. However, when I 'plumbed it in' to Google Maps this morning I realised that whilst it is a little further than Bakewell, because of the route that you take it makes it more or less the same drive timewise.
So, after a visit to check on my mum, and then a trip to HSBC to pay some money into the bank for Jake we set off; it was around 9:55am. The trip took us down the M1, a detour around the southern edge of Chesterfield, then across country down past Matlock to Dovedale. The roads were a little more snakelike than we expected, so by the time we arrived Donna needed a little time to recompose herself. Fresh air was the order of the day for 10 minutes.
It took me that 10 minutes to get a ticket from the parking machine as it continually threw my cash back at me, however after penning an explanation on a notepad and putting it in the car window I decided to give it one more try. And eureka, it worked. What I didn't mention however was that it was only after another gentleman who was having the same problem, told me that it wasn't accepting 20p and 10p pieces, however using £1 coins and 50p pieces would make it more agreeable; so the risk of a clamped car and 1 month hard labour for us was averted.
So, we headed up up the Dale, it was relatively busy today however nothing like I imagine it is during school holidays, in the summer, and at weekends where I would bet that it is packed! After the first quarter of a mile or so you come to the famous stepping stones where you have to traverse the river atop some large flat topped boulders set into the river. Not much of a challenge, unless of course you are one of those who had just turned up in a pair of plimsols, and you wouldn't believe how many do.
We followed the path up the dale, and there was a lot to see along the way. Numerous weirs, some very large rock formations, caves, planked walkways, an old pumping station; just so much to keep a rambler interested. We stopped for some lunch at the far end and then just headed back down the way we came.
What we were both surprised at, was that considering how popular a walk it is, you could count the number of benches we saw on one hand, and we didn't see a single 'dog faeces bin' along the route. We did however see plenty of plastic bags full of the stuff hung on trees; not nice and you would think they would do something about it.
Never mind, it didn't spoil our walk, we spent 4hrs doing the 5.4 miles, a steady walk with little incline, but I'll be honest it really took it out of me and I was glad to sit down back at the car. A lovely walk in a lovely setting.
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