Walk: 10am to 2pm, 8.2 miles and 1,650ft of ascent
Well last week it was myself, Mel and her mum Dianne, but this week myself, Malc and Dianne. I probably don't need to use the reference 'Mel's mum' anymore as we now class her as a friend in her own right. And talking of Mel, she had 'dumped us' for......10 days in Cyprus, ok a fair swap I do confess. And Colin, after his few weeks working in Portugal, today he was venturing up the west coast to Blackpool before heading back to the right side of the Pennines
So Malc picked Dianne up, I dropped Donna off at work and we met at a little before 10am at a place called Leadmill Bridge a couple of miles outside of Hathersage. I'd looked for a good place to meet, and being a Sunday during the summer holidays decided not to go for a popular car-park, so here on the verge at the side of the road was a good place; and the bonus being that the cars would be in the shade.
The first couple of miles or so we were shaded from the sun, as after rising up a hill for a short distance the route took us down close to Highlow Brook in the bottom of the valley where the trees of both Highlow Wood and Mill Wood kept us out of the sun, at least what there was of it at that time of the day. As we reached the bridge at Stoke Ford it was time to burn some calories.
From this point it was all uphill for about a mile, reaching the summit at around 1,300ft. No 'flat patches' for a rest, just a continual uphill path. But oh it was so worth it, the views were to die for. Ok you don't get the rocky outcrops and mountains of the Lake District or Snowdonia, but the green (and purple due to the Heather) rolling hills of the Peak District don't half take some beating. We sat for about 15 minutes at the cairn, refuelling and just taking in the fresh air and the stunning views.
After all the hard work getting up here, it was now all downhill, literally, but not in reference to the enjoyment factor. 10 minutes or so after setting back off we reached Sir William Hill Road which took us the mile and a half down into Grindleford. A more popular route we found, a few cars had parked up here and families were out enjoying the summer weather.
Now we could have taken the obvious route back and followed the River Derwent all the way back to the bridge where we had parked the cars, but no, we would take a more interesting route. We headed across the fields to Upper Padley, then followed the route of the Sheffield to Manchester train through Rough Wood until we reached the semi-abandoned Kettle House where the views across the valley opened up again for a brief spell, then we headed back down to the river for the last part of the walk.
All in all another really enjoyable walk, 4hrs walking, good company, Malc talking, Heather covered hills, the odd ray of sunshine. But, we forgot all about Malc's drone that he had packed in his rucksack. It would have made great footage atop Eyam Moor. Never mind, until the next time....
Oh, and I nearly forgot to add. It was 2:30pm when I arrived back in Sheffield city centre, and with Donna not finishing work until 4pm I had some time to kill. And it just so happened that Sheffield Rotary Club were holding a car show on The Moor. Loads of old cars, stalls, live music, a great way to pass the time. I must remember for next year.
Well last week it was myself, Mel and her mum Dianne, but this week myself, Malc and Dianne. I probably don't need to use the reference 'Mel's mum' anymore as we now class her as a friend in her own right. And talking of Mel, she had 'dumped us' for......10 days in Cyprus, ok a fair swap I do confess. And Colin, after his few weeks working in Portugal, today he was venturing up the west coast to Blackpool before heading back to the right side of the Pennines
So Malc picked Dianne up, I dropped Donna off at work and we met at a little before 10am at a place called Leadmill Bridge a couple of miles outside of Hathersage. I'd looked for a good place to meet, and being a Sunday during the summer holidays decided not to go for a popular car-park, so here on the verge at the side of the road was a good place; and the bonus being that the cars would be in the shade.
The first couple of miles or so we were shaded from the sun, as after rising up a hill for a short distance the route took us down close to Highlow Brook in the bottom of the valley where the trees of both Highlow Wood and Mill Wood kept us out of the sun, at least what there was of it at that time of the day. As we reached the bridge at Stoke Ford it was time to burn some calories.
From this point it was all uphill for about a mile, reaching the summit at around 1,300ft. No 'flat patches' for a rest, just a continual uphill path. But oh it was so worth it, the views were to die for. Ok you don't get the rocky outcrops and mountains of the Lake District or Snowdonia, but the green (and purple due to the Heather) rolling hills of the Peak District don't half take some beating. We sat for about 15 minutes at the cairn, refuelling and just taking in the fresh air and the stunning views.
After all the hard work getting up here, it was now all downhill, literally, but not in reference to the enjoyment factor. 10 minutes or so after setting back off we reached Sir William Hill Road which took us the mile and a half down into Grindleford. A more popular route we found, a few cars had parked up here and families were out enjoying the summer weather.
Now we could have taken the obvious route back and followed the River Derwent all the way back to the bridge where we had parked the cars, but no, we would take a more interesting route. We headed across the fields to Upper Padley, then followed the route of the Sheffield to Manchester train through Rough Wood until we reached the semi-abandoned Kettle House where the views across the valley opened up again for a brief spell, then we headed back down to the river for the last part of the walk.
All in all another really enjoyable walk, 4hrs walking, good company, Malc talking, Heather covered hills, the odd ray of sunshine. But, we forgot all about Malc's drone that he had packed in his rucksack. It would have made great footage atop Eyam Moor. Never mind, until the next time....
Oh, and I nearly forgot to add. It was 2:30pm when I arrived back in Sheffield city centre, and with Donna not finishing work until 4pm I had some time to kill. And it just so happened that Sheffield Rotary Club were holding a car show on The Moor. Loads of old cars, stalls, live music, a great way to pass the time. I must remember for next year.
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