We began the walk at the Old Bridge of Tilt car park- a lovely space with lots of trees, and the river nearby. We passed a bug hotel on the way up towards the castle.
Bug Hotel
We stopped to admire the statue of Hercules from the 18th century near the entrance to the eponymous Hercules Walled Garden. This statue cost £25!
Hercules and his walled garden
In front of the castle we saw (and heard!) the piper who presumably comes out at regular intervals to entertain (or scare away) the visitors.
We went into Diana's Grove where there were some truly spectacular conifers, again largely planted in the 18th century.
The path took up to the few houses which constitute Old Blair and then we went into the woods along the high riverbank. This took us, after a sharp turn back, up to open country with lovely views. The track then went into another plantation, passing a small reservoir which was a surprise, leading to the firing range and a bridge over a small stream.
Bridge by the firing range
Luckily there was no activity there that day and we just wandered down the track towards Gilbert's Bridge (an excellent lunch spot), passing Siobhan running the opposite direction- she had already clocked up 12 miles when we met!
We turned around at Gilbert's Bridge, the shorter version of the walk in the Cicerone guide that Rachel had given to us- this meant that we messed the opportunity to see Marble Lodge again (visited in June 2018, just before Jacinta's retirement). It was a lovely walk back to the car park, with extensive views of the rolling hills, the various lambs and their mothers (some limping...).
A field of limping sheep
Most memorably, we passed two pigs who were having the best sleep in the sun at the side of their custom built house.
Most of the way back we were able to take a green, grassy track until it joined a lane above Fenderbridge from where it was a pleasant stroll downhill to the car park, passing the private drive up to Marble Lodge.
Marsen and March Haigh We had a leisurely start and headed off to Marsen, where we had a pleasant Dark Woods coffee at Arcade . We parked up in the station car park- always ample space, and no charge then walked along the canal to the start of the Standedge Tunnel. Just beyond this, there was a small enclosure with a number of beehives. Beehives at the Standedge Tunnel These had been set up and managed by a Syrian refugee. We made our way up towards the March Haigh Reservoir, by now a familiar route. On our way to the March Haigh Reservoir It's quite a stiff walk up to the top of March Haigh itself, and we stopped for lunch just before the very top. As we wanted to get home in good time to talk with Rachel and DK, we took a shorter route back, down Willykay Clough and down to Close Gate Bridge, where a passerby kindly took a picture of us. Portrait on Close Gate Bridge The return to the car was back along the outward path beside the canal- lots of toads about! 7.6 Miles, 320m asce...
Eyam Moor, Abney Moor and Offerton Moor Another walk from "Day Walks in the Peak District", and a complement to the walk that we did on May 4th .The walk starts from the Hathersage car park and rejoins familiar territory at the Leadmill Bridge, where there's a short overlap with the May walk. Inscription on Leadmill Bridge On reaching Hazelford Hall, the two routes diverge and this time we went more or less directly up to the Sir William Hill Road. Rather than following the public road, we used the byway to skirt Bretton Moor and stopped for light refreshments (including crisps!) at The Barrel Inn at Bretton. From there, we followed the (currently closed to traffic) road across Hucklow Edge- easy walking, and very quiet. It was clear why the road was closed- there were landslips to its south and the road itself had collapsed at its western end, although not to the extent of the Mam Tor road! On nearing the Gliding Club, the route took a welcome break from tarmac, cuttin...
Holmfirth, Upperthong and Lots of Reservoirs After consulting Mike Dale's "Adventures in the Northern Peak", we decided to go to Holmfirth to do something different and, at 10.5 miles, we chose what seemed to be a reasonable walk in a new area. After a lovely coffee at the Holme Coffee House and a trip to the Co-Op for provisions, we started on Stage 1 of the walk. Essential rations... when in Yorkshire Stage 1 went from Holmfirth to Bilberry Reservoir, starting from the main road and going up the (very steep!) side of Victoria Park. There was a fair amount of twisting and turning down lanes and footpaths on this leg, including a walk though Upperthong. Door to waterworks in Thongsbridge The houses were interesting and the views were good- there was a constantly changing perspective on the Holme Moss Transmitter, familiar from Black Hill walks. We got to the Digley Reservoir and had lunch in a good spot above the reservoir. Outflow from Digley Reservoir After lunch, th...
