Back in March, I finished a blog post with the words: "If I disappear for two sunny days, I'll be walking from Matlock to Castleton." And on a hot sunny day in August, Mom and I put on our hiking shoes and did exactly that, following the original route of the Limestone Way.
Day 1
First, there was a hill: a steady climb through fields and along holly-enclosed paths, with a wide view up the Derwent Valley as our reward. We dropped down again on a stone-paved track and emerged in the village square at Bonsall. The cross was decked with rainbow ribbons, and bunting fluttered above us. All very cheerful.
Another ascent took us to Upper Town, and then we were out into open fields heading towards Winster. The Limestone Way seemed a little shy of villages; the official route often avoided them. Mom and I preferred to visit, though, and enjoy such delights as public conveniences, postbox toppers and the local church. Winster is a pretty little place, I'm glad we didn't miss it.
The next point of interest was the Hermit's Cave and Robin Hood's Stride. I'd been there once before so tentatively led us towards the cave ("It's somewhere on the right...") where we admired the carved crucifix and lopsided yew. Robin Hood's Stride is an impressive tumble of rocks which we were not in the least tempted to climb. Our legs were doing quite enough already.
Approaching Youlgreave, the view was almost overwhelmingly perfect. Just look at that.
Once again, the Limestone Way wanted to go along the River Bradford and avoid the village. But we wanted a cold drink and a bench to eat lunch on. Youlgreave provided both. We looked in the church, too, and then continued onwards, feeling much refreshed and swigging our lemonade before it got too warm.
The sun was very hot by now. We crossed fields above Lathkill Dale, which occasionally appeared as a gash in the landscape. A steep set of steps took us down into Cales Dale. Fortunately the climb back up the other side wasn't too bad.
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| steps into Cales Dale |
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| climbing back out |
At One Ash Grange Farm was a strange cavey nook with a plastic Mary and Joseph in, and a calf playing king of the castle.
And we'd reached Monyash, and Sheldon House, our stop for the night. The owner greeted us with tea and cake in the garden - what an amazing welcome! - and we gladly had a shower and changed into clean clothes. In the church, we found the entry in the visitors' book from when Toby and I passed through on the Peak Pilgrimage, and in the Bull's Head we ate lots of chunky chips.
Day 2
After a spectacular breakfast (I had a Derbyshire oatcake stuffed with mushrooms and tomatoes), Mom and I set off on Day 2 of our adventure. The weather was cooler and cloudier, much to our relief. This part of the walk had fewer shady trees and cold-drink shops.
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| outside the B&B |
Dad drove past us minutes after we left Sheldon House. He just happened to be heading to Flagg to help some people out. We were going the same way, via a footpath over pleasant fields.
We walked along Flagg's single street, optimistically named Main Road. A brief shower met us at the other end, but it didn't last long. Once again, we diverged from the Limestone Way to visit Taddington.
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| house in Flagg |
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| looking down to Taddington |
This proved to be another good move. In a tent in the churchyard we discovered a group of people working on the village well dressings. They were very happy to show us what they were up to. We had a look at the heaps of materials - pink flowers, green leaves, blue-dyed eggshells for the sky ("they don't come out of the hen like that!") - and admired the patience with which they gradually built up the pictures. The photo shows a small one; the larger well dressing was several metres square.
Rejoining the Limestone Way, we followed a rough rocky track towards Millers Dale. We bought lunch from the cafe on the Monsal Trail, but it was only 11:15 - too early to eat it. There is a viaduct next to the former Millers Dale station. Mom and I had both assumed it was the famous viaduct at Monsal Head, and it wasn't until we walked onto it that we realised we were wrong.
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| River Wye from the viaduct |
We dropped down from the Monsal Trail to the River Wye, where there was an old waterwheel and a church. At Monksdale Farm they were moving cattle. We waited behind a fence while the cows plodded past.
A long quiet road took us past Limestone Way Farm. Eventually we crossed the A523 and got to a path lined with flowers. Bees and butterflies flew around us. Grassy humps and heaps of stone marked the remains of old workings. The names on the map read like a story: Starvehouse Mine, Clear-the-way Mine, Hazard Mine.
Suddenly we reached a many-pointed signpost which told us Castleton was only 2.2 km away. We were almost there! The final descent through Cave Dale was hard work, though. Down and down over loose weathered limestone. Neither of us wanted to twist an ankle on the last half-mile.
Peveril Castle came into view, up on our left. Finally, ankles still intact, we popped out through a gate, and there we were in Castleton. A cup of tea was our first priority, followed by a quick look around the visitor centre and the church. Sadly there seemed to be no marker at all for the end of the Limestone Way.
The 272 bus takes a scenic route to Sheffield. It squeezes through a ridiculously narrow gap in Bradwell, and puffs up a steep hill overlooking Padley Gorge. At Sheffield we caught a train back to Derby, arriving tired but very pleased with ourselves. We had walked 28 miles over the two days, without sunstroke, blisters, unplanned detours, or even electrocution! It had been a good trip.
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