Our lovely English summer is still refusing to die. Autumn and Winter have been kept waiting in the wings by The Summer of 2013 - and even here at the end of September she continues to take well-earned curtain calls. On Friday, I had half planned to begin decorating the kitchen at my son's house - craning my neck at the top of a step ladder to emulsion the ceiling with paint droplets in my hair and eyes. Instead, the weather forecast drove me out to Tideswell in the High Peak from where I walked down to Miller's Dale and then up the other bank to Priestcliffe and High Dale. Back down to Litton Mill and then back along Tideswell Dale to the car. It was another super, energising ramble - up hill and down dale - feeling glad to be alive:-
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| Old railway good wagon near Tideswell - now an allotment shed |
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| View across the fields to Heathydale Ward |
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| Deteriorating Meadow Farm south of Tideswell |
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| View over the Wye Valley above Litton Mill |
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| Back to the allotments at Tideswell |
And then today, Sunday, Shirley was up for another walk with me. She often complains that I walk too fast and too far so I filled my boots with lead and planned a manageable stroll out of Ashford-in-the-Water, through limestone uplands to Monsal Head with its magnificent views of the Wye Valley. And then we'd walk along the Monsal Trail for a mile or so - through the Headstone Tunnel cutting south on the path back to Ashford which is where we were befriended by a black cat:-
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| Shirley with the black cat at her feet |
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| Victorian postbox in Ashford |
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| "The Bull's Head" in Ashford |
Two wonderful walks.
ReplyDeleteYou missed stopping at the Packhorse in Little Longstone. Appalling planning.
Adrian - Please remember that we are not all alcoholics - like you! There's more to life than boozing in country pubs.
DeleteI was not trying to convert a Methodist. I was just suggesting the path to normality is paved with the amber liquid.
DeleteI don't think old Yorky is a Methodist....
DeleteI don't think old Yorky is a Methodist....
DeleteWe've done a bit of walking around Ashford-in-the-Water and Monsel Head and loved it though I'm with Shirley on this fast walking caper. Tony has to slow down for me and we amble along taking photos and enjoying the wonderful views. Hale and hearty English walkers like yourself often pass us at tremendous speeds and I often wonder if it is because they are used to the beautiful countryside while we are still in such awe at the beauty around us.
ReplyDeleteIf I came across you two on a country path, I'd be barging past like a mad bull - "Get out of my way!"....But you are right - there is so much beauty and in good light the view from Monsal Head is surely one of the best in England.
DeleteWe have been planning to get to Monsel Head for ages......maybe next Spring.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I look at your pic I am reminded of how beautiful this land is.
Don't just plan to go to Monsal Head Libby! Do it! But make sure the weather forecast is promising. Try to blend in a short walk and lunch. It will be a lovely day out.
DeleteYP you are right....I know you are....but as I'm still working and caring for elderly parents I am sometimes short of weekends.....excuses I know but oh how I long for retirement!
ReplyDeleteGo in the Spring when the wild garlic is blooming Libby. There's a spot not far from Ashford-in-the-Water that is absolutely amazing!
DeleteI did idly think, (alright it did resemble a fit with my leg in the air), I might suggest I jump on a train and accompany you on a jolly jaunt. A case of the 'As I (we) walked out one Mid Autumn Day' type of thing... trouble is, I'm with Shirley on this, what is the point if the countryside flies by at speed, stopping only to admire the scenery (as a cunning ploy to enable you get your breath back).
ReplyDeleteOn balance I'll flop back on the sofa and wait for your next photo's.
LLX