12 April 2013: 24km. Started 09:00. Arrived 15:30.
This turned out to be an easy 15 mile stroll. The youth hostel breakfast was as good as the dinner; it included orange, apple, fruit juice, baked beans and tomatoes so I had all of my “five a day” before even setting foot outside (not to mention the full fried breakfast!).
The big party of school children who had been remarkably quiet all night turned up noisily but politely for breakfast. They had travelled a long way in that big coach I saw the previous day – from Hounslow.
Aware of having only a relatively short day ahead of me, I took time to walk down to the nearby bridge, which was not quite on my route, to take some photos.
I enjoyed a very quiet, peaceful and glorious stroll along the Manifold Valley road and then to the path up Dovedale. The sun shone intermittently and the rain never really arrived. I met a man out walking his dog who chatted about LEJoG – some acquaintances of his planning a cycle ride in 2014. I passed some awesomely stunning scenery including the impressive Dove Holes, all the better for the peace and quiet with only a handful of people around.
All too soon, I was at Mildale where I bought some things from a conveniently placed “hatch” shop – coffee for immediate consumption, a sandwich for later and a postcard of Dovedale and the stepping stones. The kind lady remarked that business was down and it was too quiet for them when I commented on the peaceful beauty. However as I left another walker arrived, so hopefully her luck was changing.
I continued up the peaceful Dovedale, drinking up the calm beauty, until turning off at Biggindale. Almost immediately, the peace was broken with a noisy family coming towards me. However it was soon quiet again until I met a group from Solihull (University of the Third Age). I remarked that I would be far too young to join when they expounded its virtues. Apparently not as it is for anyone who is retired or even semi-retired; actually even seven years on I don’t really fall into that category but they weren’t to know. Oddly the less popular Biggindale was busier than the renown Dovedale and soon I met two more men out for a walk. They were from Ashbourne and “always” go for a walk on Fridays – for some reason I thought of the group of men in “Last of the Summer Wine”. Actually I was now perhaps far enough north for it to count as being in the north of England, and the best comedy is usually rooted in an extreme of reality.
Walking out of the dale I encountered a few paths where there were still appreciable snow drifts. I reached the Tissington Trail – a disused railway line converted into a footpath. This consisted of easy and almost level walking to where I left the trail and made my way along a quiet road (mainly cyclists, walkers and horse riders with only a few cars) to my destination at Arbor Low Farm.
Good timing as my host, a keen tri athlete was just leaving for a run and cycle ride so I dumped my bags just inside the door and had plenty of time to walk up to the impressive Neolithic Henge Monument on their land. The whole area has been called the “Stonehenge of the north”. However it has been much less explored, with no excavations either at the henge or at the nearby round barrow (Gib Hill) for over a hundred years. It is likely that the whole area seen today represents many phases of construction between 2,500 and 1,500 BC. The massive bank set high on a limestone ridge would have been visible from miles around but the huge stone circle within it (41-43 upright stones) and the central group of stones, probably forming a rectangular box shape 3-4 m wide would only have been seen by those on the bank. I am not sure that our present day buildings will stand such a test of time.
The next day could start early as my hostess realised this would mean that she could get to Buxton for “Parkrun” starting at 09:00. I also discovered that she was friends with the longstanding chair of my local running club – a small world!
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