Promises, promises............

We left Bakewell in the heavy mist, but with the glow of a blue sky slightly coming though. THIS was the sort of morning that showed promise! We planned to go up onto Kinder Scout, as we'd heard there was snow there last week, plus the weather man had said 'sunny all day'. I suppose we should know by now NOT to trust the weather man, but you like to believe, when it says what you want to hear, don't you? Anyway, as I said, these misty mornings usually burn off to leave that sunshine we wanted.
When we got to Castleton, it was MAGICAL! I couldn't stop up Winnats pass, so all I can do is tell you it was like a dream world, with mist rolling off edges like an ethereal waterfall. I was SO angry that there wasn't one place I could pull over, even though it wasn't busy. The best I could do was get a shot into the Hope valley when we got to the top of the climb.

As you can see, the blue sky was now really in evidence, and we just expected the mist to have all burned off, and be walking in the warm sunshine in no time at all.
We crested Mam Nick, and looked down into the Edale valley, which was surprisingly fairly mist-free, the only bit being at the far end of the valley?
There ahead was our goal for today - the Kinder Scout plateau, looking good.

A glance back to Lose hill still saw the 'misty water' flowing over the top, and into the Edale valley to dissipate in the warmer air.

We left the car park and set off in completely the opposite direction. Because of path layouts, you have to walk WEST for a mile or so, before you can turn EAST towards Edale. Upper Booth farm is where it turns East.

Looks like the winter store of cut wood has almost run out!

The path to Edale is good, and in some places paved, as this is a very popular path.
You can see Kinders' southern edge on the right, and the cut of Grindsbrook.

We also planned to go over Rushup edge at the end of the walk, but it didn't look too inviting yet, swathed as it was in mist.

Oh well, it would probably clear later (we hoped).
This is Mam Nick, where the road cuts through from the Hope valley, to the Edale valley.

As we walked the path to Edale, we saw this lovely poem on a bench.
To be honest, it didn't apply to us at ALL, but we thought it a nice sentiment.

A look left showed us 'Ringing Roger' (the lump on the right) and the southern edge of Kinder.

Here's the first thing people who walk the Pennine way see at the 'official' start - the Nags Head pub, closed this month.

And so the climb up Grindsbrook began. The birds were singing like spring, and we even heard a woodpecker tapping rhythmically in the woods to our left. It looks like we ALL have high hopes for today!

As usual, some interesting fungi on the fallen trees.
The first ones are the birch bracket, the second, gelatinous mass, I am not sure.
I think it's the 'Jews ear' family, judging by the colour.

So, it was coats off, and get stuck in lass!

Another shot of Ringing Roger, this time somehow more foreboding looking up at it.

We had only been climbing a short while, but a look back showed us we already had appreciable height under our belts.

There was quite a bit of water coming off the tops, and it made for some pretty waterfalls.

Now Sue was giving it some 'grunt'. This path is very steep and rocky in places, but she wasn't complaining.
We both LOVE this type of terrain, and can't wait to get up onto the top of Kinder Scout.

My happy bunny!

A lot of people would be worried by this kind of stuff, but if you take your time, you're soon up it.

The water makes some very strange and unusual shapes, as does the wind and erosion on the top.
These 'holes' have been worn over thousands of years, beginning with a pebble, or group of pebbles that are harder than the river bed rock, being washed around and around until they wear a hole. The result is a perfect hole in the bedrock.

And then there we were - atop Grindsbrook, and on Kinder Scout.
Now then, it's here that I should tell you about how Kinder can be a dangerous, unforgiving place.
The weather can change in an instant, and I mean an instant, so you MUST have a compass, and know how to use it, especially if you wander into the middle, where it is featureless and unrelenting peat hags. Only a fool would get lost here.
That sky is beginning to look a bit angry, don't you think?

Anyway, after getting lost and wandering about in the middle for about 45 minutes, we decided enough was enough, set the compass and followed it south, southwest for about 20 minutes and emerged, more by luck that judgment, just where we wanted to be, the outcrop of rocks known as 'the woolpacks'.
One 'comforting' fact about Kinder is, if you DO get lost, set the compass and walk direct on a bearing, and you WILL hit the edge in less than two miles, wherever you are on the top.
Note - Sue now has her 'serious' coat on! (So did I).

We sat down for lunch.......and THIS happened!

As I said before, it came from nowhere, and happened in an instant! I was just glad this didn't happen when we were in the middle.
It then started to rain quite steadily, so we battened down the hatches, and decided to cut the walk short.
I had intended to take us over Brown knoll and then Rushup edge, but we dropped down Jacobs ladder as soon as we could.
The Peak park are doing some path repairs here, and it's a good opportunity to see how they helicopter in huge slabs of stone to be laid in a path to stop the serious erosion that so many boots are doing to the peat.

We were glad, looking up, that we had decided to come down, as the gloom never lifted off the tops for the rest of the day.
It was only slightly better down here, and at least the rain had now stopped.
That ridge in the murk in front is where we should have been by now.

And a look back showed the same story up on Kinder.

We got back to the car wet, but happy. We had 'stolen' the best part of the day, so no regrets.
Time to get home and into a warm bath.

Two out of three aint bad!

Two weeks ago, we had a PERFECT day for walking. This week, it was the same again. Dry, cold and clear, just the way we like it. We decided to walk around Chelmorton and the dales, simply because it was a long time since we'd done that area, and it was close to home, so we got to the start fairly quickly.

This is Chelmorton church.
Its claim to fame is the wind vane on the spire - it's a golden grasshopper, the only one I know of.

As we set off walking, I paused to take this picture. The sheep must be fed at this time of year, because as soon as they saw me, they came running towards me.
Lots of snow about, and that fabulous blue sky.
It was cold, but we were well wrapped up against it, so we could enjoy the day.

I always think that a tree, standing starkly against a clear, azure blue sky in winter, is really beautiful.

We walked along this long, frosty track, each of us giggling and cracking the frozen puddles.
Ours were the only set of prints this morning. Virgin snow!

Chelmorton low. A paradox, but in Derbyshire, 'low' means 'high'???
There is even a house I noticed in the village, called 'high low'.
On a good sunset night, this hill catches the red rays really well, and looks like Ayers rock (when viewed from a certain angle).

As you can see, the snow hadn't fallen as much lower down.
I really like this situation, when you can see the green fields, but are standing in snow.

LIFE!!!! Tractor marks showed the farmer had beaten us to it on cracking the puddles on this part of the track.

More trees against the sky, this time a small copse.......

....and Sue ( maybe she should change her name to 'Dot' - geddit???)

The entrance to Horseshoe dale. It would be quite tricky and messy in normal temp's, but with the ground frozen, no problem.

How strange, as we walked into the lower part of the dale - NO SNOW!

I'm not sure how long this has been there, as I've never noticed it before. I don't think it's ancient, but today the snow picked out its borders. I wonder who took the trouble to lay this, and why?

After Horseshoe dale, we met and walked down Deep dale. The terrain here is very difficult at the best of times, but today in the snow and ice, it was treacherous so we had to take great care. What did we see next? A RUNNER!!! However he kept his footing to run on this sort of stuff defies logic. Sue & I both commented, what if he slipped and broke a bone? He was in very light clothing, and there was no phone signal in the dale. In that situation, you would rapidly freeze to death.

Anyway, each to his own, and we were in no rush whatsoever to get away from this beauty.
This is the mouth of a huge, inominate cave in Deep dale. I'm told when it rains very heavily, water issues in a huge gushing torrent from the mouth of this cave.
It's one of my ambitions to photograph this phenomenon.

We emerged from Deep dale, crossed the A6 and dropped into Wye dale. We were only there briefly though, as we climbed out, onto the trail, and up onto the tops again to head for Blackwell......at least, THAT was the PLAN!

Before we left though, I got a nice shot of a dipper on a rock.

Here's Sue, again, carefully negotiating an alpine-style path. If you look on the hillside in front of her, you can see how the path continues in a zig-zag up and over the top.

A nice view of the Monsal trail and Chee dale

Yes, the plan was to go through Blackwell, but shortly after we left Wye dale and climbed up onto the top, we got......errmmmm..... TEMPORARILY MISPLACED (oh, alright, I got us a bit lost!). We did eventually find the path, but not until we'd messed about for about 45 minutes, time we could ill afford at this time of year, as the sun goes very early! I blamed the snow - Sue just kept giggling!

The evening light was now fading, and the long, white track led to Chelmorton, and the car.

The sun began to set on our lovely day, so we watched it's last rays before going home to a nice, warm bath. The sky, which had been clear all day, now began to cloud over.
Another special day locked away.

Around Eyam

Pestilence and plague??? Not today, we hoped!

Last week, we had a superb day, I would say as close to perfect as you can get. Today was more typical, with showers forecast all day, and a grey outlook. Oh well, not to worry, it IS January, after all. We decided on somewhere not too far from our door, and chose Eyam. I erred on the side of caution, and packed my brolly (umbrella), as I always like to keep my camera to hand, if possible. With a brolly, you can cover up for the duration of the shower, if you pack your camera away each time it rains, it becomes a pain in the a...... well, you know!

We parked in the centre of Eyam, and started the walk through the churchyard.

As most people know, Eyam is famous for one thing - locking itself away when the bubonic plague, or 'black death', became virulent in the village. Rather than infect the surrounding areas, the residents locked themselves away, with terrible consequences. If you don't know the whole story, look here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyam
Here's where it all started - plague cottages.

Eyam is FULL of cottages with a similar, tragic story.

Anyway, don't want to get all morose! As you can see, rather grey, but that was to be the pattern for most of today. The fields and paths were boggy too, again, not unexpected. We passed a rather large collection of new houses to our right, before climbing up to the path that runs behind the Eyam youth hostel.

Still very murky out there. This was just before crossing Sir William Hill road, and Eyam moors.

Looking over to Burbage rocks.

The path across the moors.
It kept on spitting with rain, but we still considered it better to be out than stuck indoors though.

Now and then, it showed a promise of a brighter day.

We eventually dropped off the moor to Stoke ford. This beautiful place is a meeting place for lunch and can get very crowded in summer. Today, we were alone - just us and a pile of orange peel some idiot had just discarded.
I picked it up, noting it was surprisingly light, and no trouble AT ALL to take home!

There are not many flowers around this time of year, well - not much of anything really, but fungi and mosses can still provide a pleasant sight.

Again we had to face the deeper mud where there was no side tracking it. This path up Abney clough was probably the worst all day. Good job we had good boots on.

We soon reached the hamlet of Abney. I first noted this lovely post box on a house, then the Victorian letter box, and (rare these days) a RED phone box!

The little robin, the gardeners friend, also pops up to say hello fairly often when we're walking.

We turned left at Abney grange, then right to drop steeply into the top of Abney clough. This really IS a steep down and up but, there being a handy bench seat, we decided to have lunch anyway with Sue complaining she didn't fancy the climb up the other side with a full tummy. It rained again while we sat there with our soup (Heinz tomato again - mmmmmmm) and tea but the brolly saved us!
On the top of the grange outbuildings was this unique 'sheep and lamb' weather vane.

On the far side of the clough, we saw this land feature. At first, Sue thought it was maybe spoil from mining, but we couldn't see any mines? After another look, we decided either a landslip, or glacial 'drumlins'.

At this point, the sun peeped out at us and bathed the grange in light.
I have marked our path to give you some idea of the terrain.

Sue tackles the final few metres of the steep path out of the clough.

But a look left showed us that the weather could change at any second.

Now, this looks more promising!
A lovely glow, as the light catches the escarpments of Burbage rocks.

There are some really good field patterns around here, and the way the light was catching them today made them even more impressive.

The Barrel inn, Eyam edge.
I had been here on a number of occasions, but Sue had never been in.

Time to put that one to bed - cheers!

The lovely bar in the Barrel Inn.

And what they would term 'essential equipment' in these parts.

After slaking our thirsts, we dropped off Eyam edge, past a REALLY ugly factory (no pictures), and made our way back to the village.
We passed some interesting places and things on the way though.

'Would suit enthusiast'

We entered the village, and I couldn't leave without getting a picture of the stocks.

And, of course, the final rays of the day were captured for all to see.

Snow, snow, QUICK QUICK - SNOW!

.....or; 'slow, slow, sat nav, slow'!

Our first day off in THREE WEEKS! We had worked hard, and we deserved it. It dawned (for a change) JUST how the weather men said - cold, sharp and clear - PERFECT for walking. There was a sprinkling of snow on the high ground, so I decided we'd do the Castleton skyline walk.
Sue had been given a new sat' nav for Christmas, so we turned it on. ( http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nWFj3fPLx8I ). We knew the way, but just wanted to see which way it would go. A big surprise was; 'at the end of the road - turn LEFT'????? We ALWAYS turned right, but we let her have her head, and followed the instructions.
I wish someone had told her that it had been snowing;

I soldiered on, but it WAS very dicey! It's probably a great way to Castleton in good weather, but I think I'd give it a miss on the way home, and go via major roads.

The views across the fields gave us a taste of what was to come. The skies were clear, pristine and bright
We soon arrived in Castleton, found somewhere to park, and set off.
To say it was cold was an understatement. Sue didn't start to feel her feet for about an hour, and it hurt my teeth to breathe, but that was all just small asides - what mattered were the SUPERB conditions.
A quick look left, and there was Mam Tor - the 'shivering mountain'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mam_Tor

We saw this young Shire horse in the frost and snow.

The sun, as it rose, came through the trees with a magical light. The fields had that frosty mist on them, the one where you KNOW it's damn cold just by looking at it.

We walked along the road to Lose hill hall, and set off on the climb to Lose hill.
This track doesn't look steep in the picture, but believe me - it WAS!

A glance back to the Hope valley revealed the only carbuncle in the area - the Hope cement works.

Ah well, just keep looking forward then, there were PLENTY of great views today.

I had been given a snowman hat for Christmas, so I thought I'd give it an outing.

It seemed like ages since I'd heard the 'creak' of fresh snow underfoot.
Today I was reminded just how much I love that sound. Every footstep brought pleasure!

Looking right, we could see the tip of the Derwent edges.

But it was time to press on for the top. Sue is just about there in this picture.........

....and her reward was this spectacular view along the ridge to Mam tor (left), with Rushup edge beyond, and Brown Knoll to the far right.

Not many people about today, but I managed to get two walkers in this pic with us!

The Edale valley, and the southern edge of Kinder Scout. We thought there'd be even more snow up there, but as you can see, not much more than where we were.

We set off, with huge smiles on our faces, towards lunch at Mam Tor. I had packed my favourite canned soup - Heinz tomato - JUST the thing, with a hunk of fresh bread, to warm the cockles of your heart on a day like today.

Deep and crisp and even.

The shivering face of Mam tor, from Back tor.

Looking back to Back tor.

The old, collapsed road was a sliver of silver with the coating of snow.

This picture of the sky tells it all, what a GREAT day to be out.

We eventually reached the top of Mam tor. The sun was now beginning to get lower, and the final hundred feet or so we walked in shadow. NOW you could feel the biting cold eating into even the warmest of clothing.
(We still had another layer though, just in case it got any worse)

Someone, the Peak Park, I imagine, had added six icons, or pictures, depicting events on Mam tor.

Again, the Sparrowpit road, like the old road, was picked out in the snow, snaking across the moors.

Our next destination - the gorge of Winnats pass.
When the old road collapsed the last time, the road up this pass was improved to take the increase in traffic, and the old road was abandoned.

Come on Sue - get the snow shoes on!

Looking back to the face of Mam tor in the lengthening evening shadows.

A solitary vapour trail over Winnats pass.

The road, as it snakes down the pass.
These limestone cliffs make for a really impressive walk at any time of year, but when there's snow, it's probably at its best.

You just have to be careful, and watch where you put your feet.

SUE!! I said CAREFUL!

Oh, now she's just plain showing off!

Towards the end of the walk, and this is cave dale.

Soon, we were surrounded by the smoking chimneys of Castleton, and back at the car.
The light was fading, and the sky was turning pink in the evening glow of the sunset.

It had been a super day, and when we woke the next morning, it was drab and wet, so we felt even better that we had 'stolen' another good day to walk.

We felt it was well deserved!

Christmas in the Three Stags Heads pub

Remember when pubs were about just meeting up with friends and actually TALKING?? When what mattered most was the company and the beer? A place where most people felt at ease and relaxed, warm in the knowledge that little would change. Well, the Three Stags Heads is such a place! Stuck back in time, there's no TV, but LOADS of people, characters and a storyline to watch. No music, except the music of laughter, conversation and the crackle of a real fire, no computer games or fruit machines, you can get rich on life in there, that's all.

Jeff Fuller is a master potter, as well as a damn fine host. He and his wife Pat make the Three Stags what it is. You either LOVE it, or you hate it. I am firmly in the former camp. It's clean but basic. Dogs are welcomed, nay, ENCOURAGED to sit anywhere. If they squabble, so what? They'll work it out, just like people do!

Christmas is a very special time at the Stags. Jeff & Pat make ALL the decorations from local flora. The 'piece de resistance' is the kissing bower in the back room. (Of course, there are always plenty of places to kiss in the Stags, as they also collect mistletoe locally, and hang bunches all around the pub).
It's my ambition to spend a new years eve there one day soon.
Enjoy the pictures, and if you're nearby, enjoy the superb beer that Jeff serves - it has NO equal!

Here it is - doesn't look much, does it?

It never pretends to be anything but a pub. A good, old fashioned pub.

First job at Christmas - make GOOD use of that kissing bower!

The lovely display over the main fireplace in the front room.

And what fire would be complete without a roasting of chesnuts?

Centrepiece of the fireplace decoration. Yes, those apples ARE real.

Jeff Fuller, mine host.

That chair is Jeffs. Sit in it at your peril!

Look, I'll move if it gets TOO warm.......ok?

The main window, candlelit.

The kissing bower in the back room, by flashlight.

By candlelight.

The full monty!

Look here boy, a stuffed cat!

Can I eat it?

COURSE I can - with a little help from my friends!

Now this is what I CALL a bunch of mistletoe!

Right, better get a pint in.

CHEERS

(Better not be in this chair when Jeff gets back).