Limestone Way: Grangemill and Ible

It was getting mistier and mistier. As I drove past Carsington Water, the world around grew dimmer, and when I parked near Brassington, the nearby trees were hazy shadows in the murk.

I was glad I was wearing a red coat as I started off along Manystones Lane. At least I had some chance of being visible. Fortunately it was a short road section. I navigated my way across a series of small fields, from one dry stone wall to the next, and crossed the old railway line which is now the High Peak Trail. I could just imagine a steam train emerging out of the fog.

The next fields were larger. It was as if the landscape was being sketched around me as I walked across it. A tree or an electricity pylon would appear as a few faint lines, increasing in detail when I got closer, and fading away behind. Up ahead, the land dropped into a huge hole - Longcliffe Quarries. I couldn't see much, but the noise from the machinery dominated the next section of the walk.

I skirted the edge of the quarry and gradually descended to Grangemill. There was a pub, and an interesting building which now houses a holiday cottage management company. Further investigation when I got home revealed that it was built as a cheese factory; the strange contraption at the front was an old cheese press.

An indistinct path cut the corner to reach Grange Lane. I said hello to a couple of horses and some Highland cattle. Ible was a rather tumbledown little village perched at the top of the Griffe Grange Valley. I liked the row of spring-fed stone drinking troughs.

By this point I had resigned myself to a rather dull trek. I ate lunch in a damp grey field, and did a loop back to Ible to get to the point that I wanted to reach on my next walk.

And then the mist cleared and the sun came out.

I splashed down a path which alternated between stream and cattle-trampled bog, crossed the Via Gellia, and followed a track up the other side of the valley to Griffe Grange Farm. Here the path ascended through a beautiful wooded combe.

stream / path

Once I reached the top, I was well on the way to Harboro' Rocks. There were views in all directions, and a trig point - which of course means you have to take a selfie!

I had to do one more short stretch on Manystones Lane. This was just as unpleasant as the earlier one - less mist, but more traffic. The ordeal was soon over, and it wasn't far back to the car. Maybe the walk hadn't been so dull after all.

Brassington - Ible, 3 February 2025

8.2 miles / 13.3 km

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