Walk Number 11 - "Ashford in the Water and Monsal Dale" - 6 miles. The weather was glorious today so I just had to get out there again. I parked near Holy Trinity Church in Ashford:-
Then headed northwards and along Pennyunk Lane, passing this magnificent old limestone barn:-
Soon I came to Monsal Head with a magnificent view of the dale and Monsal Head railway viaduct erected in 1863:-
Down in the dale, some people were relaxing in the sunshine:-
I passed this weir:-
After another mile I was out of Monsal Dale, trudging up into Great Shacklow Wood then back down to the River Wye where I came across this old bobbin mill:-
Then back to Ashford where I bought a pint of milk from the village shop and glugged it down before heading back to Sheffield where I stopped to photograph these daffodils at the entrance to Bingham Park:-
Oh Yp, I've been there !! We did that walk when the wild garlic was blooming in a wooded area just be. fore the old mill. It was absolutely beautiful and lined the path all the way. Then when we arrived at Ashford it was Well Dressing time and the village folk welcomed us into their kitchens where they were preparing the decorations for the wells. We returned the following Sunday to join the procession from well to well. It was such fun and so interesting to see these old traditions still alive in the villages.
ReplyDeleteOh to be in England now that April's nearly there !!!!
Cheers
These places are just almost unbelievably gorgeous. I can hardly wait. And this is the end of March? Hmmm...next year...
ReplyDeleteHow much clothing are you wearing YP, on the walks I mean. Just wondering what the temperatures are like at the moment there.
HELEN Well that's nice - to have rung those Derbyshire bells in your memory.
ReplyDeleteKATHERINE This March has been the driest and warmest on record in Britain so please don't expect a repeat next year - you know how unpredictable our weather is. What was I wearing? Just boots and my leopardskin thong!...Seriously though - a polo shirt I bought in New Zealand and my Craghopper walking slacks. On previous walks I've had a fleece on. Today's temperature as I write is 19 degrees centigrade.
Lovely photos, but how did you know that bobbins were produced in that mill? It is not intuitively obvious.
ReplyDeleteRHYMES WITH... My trusty guidebook informed me of that fact and I have done some other light research on the internet which tells me that the site was also used for bone crushing! Of course in the nineteenth century when Britain's textile industry was going full tilt less than thirty miles from here, they'd have needed a lot of bobbins. Bones were crushed for fertiliser and for use in the pottery industry. They were brought here from far afield but not from Georgia USA so you may sleep easily in your bed!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of you today YP
ReplyDeleteIn RHyl with the great unwashed
The mayor is asking for you!
oh Mister Pudding, you take a very nice photograph - I think about you every time I walk past Black Moss Reservoir!! Perhaps we should organise a walk together sometime?
ReplyDeleteMilk?
ReplyDeleteSo did you see Thornbridge Hall? Now a brewery I believe. It's half way between Ashford and Monsal Head. Hubby and I did some of our courting there. Nowhere else to go, so we'd go to Ashford, back up to Longstone and on up to Monsal Head and back again.
ReplyDeleteBRIAN Milk? Yes please!
ReplyDeleteCHRIS J Yes I passed Thornbridge Hall. It was owned by Sheffield Council as an outdoor education centre. But then it was sold off to an entrepreneurial couple. The husband began the successful brewery in the grounds while the wife - Emma Harrison - has recently been in the news in relation to a large scale fraud involving government money and her A4E job finding organisation. Still not resolved.