4 February 2014

Fixed

These days I'm like a drug addict but the drug I crave is simply to get out walking in the countryside. If I don't have a fix every few days, I experience something resembling cold turkey and last week's miserable weather kept me housebound. I had a bad case of cabin fever.

Sunday's promising weather forecast came true and  even though I knew  the earth would be soggy with awfully muddy paths to contend with, I was parked up at Brooklands, near Bakewell before midday. Heading up the hill, I came across a small herd of alpacas - far from the Andes. This one is called Bob and though you can't see it, Bob is surveying the Wye valley:-
Slipping and sliding up a woodland path, I get through the trees on to Calton Pastures - part of the vast Chatsworth estate. Dappled sunshine sweeps across the landscape and I capture this image of Moatless Plantation:-
In the dew pond or small lake high on the pastures, a solitary young swan keeps plunging below the surface to find sustenance in the pond weed:-
After passing through the hamlet of Calton Lees I reach the River Derwent beside which is this old corn mill - part of the Chatsworth estate and now disused. The sheep on the estate are far less skittish than most hill sheep. They're used to people passing by:-
Here you can see the River Derwent in flood and beyond is the beautiful edifice that is Chatsworth House - home to the Dukes of Devonshire and arguably the finest stately home in England:-
I plod onwards to the quaint Victorian estate village of Edensor and then along the old drovers' track that leads to Ball Cross. Down through Manners Wood to Bakewell golf club, along the Monsal Trail - a former railway track - thence back to the car where water and clean shoes await me. Three and a half hours. Fixed!

16 comments:

  1. You druggie you :)

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    1. Ha ha ~ funny fella YP. That is the second time you have ignored my comment. You play a cruel game.

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    2. Carol - I never ignore your comments. I may not respond every time but your comments are always logged on behalf of the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment.

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    3. Dear Sir Yorkshire Pudding ~ I have made the statement on more than one occasion that you are my favourite blogger. We may not always see eye to eye, I may not always comment, but I still respect you for your talent and knowledge. Yorky, if I really believed before that not commenting was normal for you, I would not have made a joke of the situation.

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  2. Bob is the inquisitive sort, constantly asking, "Wye? Wye? Wye?"....

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    1. Hee-hee-hee! Judging by his filthy legs, I would say that Bob's personal hygiene needs to be improved

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  3. the ewe in the first photo needs a vet

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  4. A female alpaca is called a fampa from the term fampatronailia which means "spitting cow".

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  5. This takes me back. We used to catch Slowworms on Calton Pastures. Where is Brooklands? I've never heard of the place. Not near Bakewell anyway.

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    1. Brooklands is now a residential care home on the east bank of the Wye Valley facing Bakewell. Shall I inquire if they have a room for you or would you prefer to wait a few months?

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    2. Naughty. Taking up carers spaces. No don't book. I'm fine and want to pass away in the truck.

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  6. I found Brooklands on Google Maps. Bakewell looks like a lovely, lovely town. Followed your steps, Mr. Pudding, and now I am all tired out! Loved the pictures. You are getting better and better. You could publish a book about the Peak District.

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    1. I love the idea of you tracing my footsteps via Google Mama Thyme. If I look up in the sky will I see you watching me from cyberspace?

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  7. My sister-in-law who lives in Derbyshire has told me of Chatsworth House (one of my birthday presents last year was chocolate bought at their souvenir shop), and I plan on a day trip there when I will come to Yorkshire in June.

    You have me, by the way, slightly green with envy at the long walks in such beautiful surroundings. The weekend is just 3 days away, so hopefully I can go for a longer walk than last Sunday (1 hour, and it was wet and cold).

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    1. Arian - I hope the weather is kind for you at the weekend as walking in the rain isn't much fun - unless there are bright spells to follow. I think you will enjoy visiting Chatsworth. The craftsmanship in the great house is awesome but we should remind ourselves that such country estates were developed with wealth that was often dubiously gathered,

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    2. That is the reason why my granddad never went on a guided tour of our hometown's palace. He said (and he was right there) that it had been built on the backs and with the sweat and blood of the duke of Wuerttemberg's subjects and was nothing to be proud of.
      Still, a lot of people had work (and an income) through such places having been built, and they are there today for all of us to enjoy, not just the one family who owned it back then.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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