Martha's Marvellous Munchies

From a Heights to a Top and back again: that gives you an idea of the elevation profile of this walk. It looks like a sine wave. Wirksworth provided the trough between each peak - a town I had never thought of as down  before, but which turned out to be surrounded by considerable amounts of up . The weather was cloudier than on my previous visit, but the views from Alport Heights were still stunning. I parked at a respectful distance from a guy who had a four-metre radio mast attached to his car. Across the valley I could see the Carsington wind turbines and the craggy hump of Harboro' Rocks to their right. That would have been the next landmark for ancient travellers on the Portway. I headed down, down, down on a series of small roads, paths and tracks. I spotted a Peak & Northern Footpaths sign, crossed a ford at Folly Well, and passed a farmhouse with the fantastic name of Boggart's Inn Farm.  looking back up to Alport Heights Boggart's Inn Farm Gorsey Bank is a tuc...

I'm climbing into the southern reaches of the Peak District on this walk, and it's all about the views. I am threading my way along the triangle of land between the River Derwent to my right and the River Ecclesbourne to my left. The rivers define broad sweeping valleys, while in between, the smaller streams of Black Brook, Lumb Brook and Shipley Brook have carved out their own dips in the landscape. Grassy meadows are draped over all these voluptuous curves like green velvet, with trees in pompom clumps. It's the perfect weather to appreciate all this springtime beauty. From the moment I step out of the car, I know it's going to be a good walk. This signpost is where I got to last time . I carry on past the Bluebell pub in Farnah Green, and turn left to find the Lumb Brook, which is down in a particularly steep, tree-lined valley. The path runs along the top, and you feel as if you are up in the canopy of a forest. Lumb Valley trees The next field is noisy with sheep...