8 July 2025

218

Thornbridge Hall near Bakewell - has a long history
that dates back to the twelfth century

Shirley and I used our senior citizen bus passes today. We caught the number 218 bus at 9.54 from a bus stop that is just a three minute walk from our house. Three Chinese people had bagged the prime front seats on the top deck but even so we had a great view.

The bus took us via Totley, Owler Bar and Baslow to Bakewell in the Derbyshire Dales - a journey of some forty five minutes.

I was there to undertake a long circular walk but Shirley had come along to check out the shops and mooch around in the little market town. We expected that she would return to Sheffield long before me and so it transpired.
Telecommuications engineer up a pole in Bakewell

My most pleasant summer stroll took me three and a half hours to complete. It took in the village of Ashford-in-the-Water as well as Thornbridge Hall and part of The Monsal Trail - an old railway track that ran from Derby to Manchester via Bakewell.

It was a lovely, varied walk on which I had three or four conversations with strangers. The longest chat happened to be with a drystone waller called Simon. What a coincidence - given yesterday's post! He seemed to appreciate my curious questions but he would not let me snap his photo. He said he was too shy for that. Fair enough.
Cracknowl House

South of Cracknowl Wood, I came across an isolated house that has no track to it. Fortuitously, arriving from a long sheep pasture, I met a woman with a sheepdog who knew all about the man who has lived at Cracknowl House for thirty years or more. She has conversed with him several times.

Seems he lives "off grid" without mains electricity, gas or water. He collects rain water and forages for firewood in the adjacent woods. The woman reckons that he is something of an artist and has occasionally sold pictures to make a bit of money. 

We shared some envy about the fellow. There's something very appealing about his free lifestyle. Apparently, the authorities never bother him. Seasons come and seasons go and years go by.  I could find nothing on the internet about the man and his hermit-like existence.

After a pint of bitter shandy and a vanilla ice cream cone in Bakewell, I caught the 218 bus back home at 4pm. Again the inscrutable Chinese had bagged the front seats on the top deck. Somebody should impose tariffs upon them!

Betty Lane in Ashford - this is not a drystone wall as mortar has been used.

26 comments:

  1. A few good visits along the way make for a good walk.

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    1. Yesterday's walk was very satisfying.

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  2. Loved the story of the man in Cracknowl House.

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    1. These days it is so hard to live like that.

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  3. Many years ago we spent some time visiting Ashford -in the Water at Well Dressing time (May I think ?). A delightful village with six wells I believe. We found it when doing the walk from Monsel Head through wooded areas full of flowering Wild Garli . What a sight that was ! Hope you are keeping well. We have just returned from 6 weeks over your way with our first stop being Haworth. You know how I love Yorkshire. Cheers

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    1. Glad you enjoyed another great trip Helen and this time the weather gods put out the red carpet for you and Lord Tony.

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  4. ummmm, I know you are joking about a hackneyed phrase but "inscrutable" might be a bit of a no-no these days.

    Life off the grid at Cracknowl House is an enticing prospect so long as the weather is as in your picture.

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    1. Why should "inscrutable" be a no-no? It means hard to understand/mysterious. Though hackneyed it remains applicable in my opinion.

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  5. A great day for a good walk in beautiful countryside. I envy you that, but I certainly do not envy the hermit his frugal existence - I am too fond of hot showers, central heating, my washing machine, a well-stocked fridge as well as the internet and Netflix.
    Curious that you should mention the (presumed) nationality of the three passengers occupying the front seats. It doesn't matter, does it?

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    1. Well it doesn't matter but they were Chinese so this I think makes my account a little more accurate. Besides, some overseas visitors may be interested to learn that Sheffield has a significant Chinese population - mostly connected with our two universities.

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  6. I used to love mooching around the shops in places I visited. These days I don't dare. I might see and buy more stuff I don't need and where would I put it? Better to stay out of the shops in my case.

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    1. You are a shopaholic. Best to go cold turkey.

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  7. Interesting story about 'the hermit' in Cracknowl House, it has a modern picture window. I love the way the Chinese people bagged the front seats on top, normally you see young lads fighting to get them.

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    1. The Chinese of Sheffield generally love to travel into The Peak District.

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  8. I envy your but route.

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    1. My but route? Do you mean butt route? Our downstairs lavatory is in the very next room.

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  9. Lovely photos YP, and what a glorious day for a walk in such beautiful surroundings. Cracknowl House and the history of it's owner is intriguing. Looking closely, I don't think that's a modern picture window, I think it's the entrance to an open-ended store. In this day and age of "Big Brother and the taxman" cataloguing your every move, it takes determination to live off grid completely.
    I'm betting those Chinese on the front seats had probably stayed on the bus all the time! Just to make sure no-one else bagged the seats.

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    1. Actually, the Chinese people on the return bus were different from those who were on the outward bus.

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  10. Sounds like a delightful day out.

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    1. It was and the temperature of the day was perfect.

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  11. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing them. That little cottage is beautiful. A part of me would love to live alone and a part of me couldn't stand it. I like talking to people too much, but I also need my quiet, alone time.

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    1. In that regard I am just the same as you.

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  12. I wonder what the hermit does for food? Wouldn't he have to shop at least once in a while?
    So, what exactly prompted you to describe the Chinese people as "inscrutable"? Were they indeed hard to understand and mysterious?

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    1. "Inscrutable" is a term that westerners have frequently applied to the Chinese and I was just carrying on that tradition. I am sure that they often find westerners inscrutable too. I don't think of it as a negative, disrespectful term. I think the hermit could do with a bigger garden to grow more of his own food. It would be fascinating to converse with him.

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  13. I always grab those upper level front seats if I can. Definitely the best view in the house! Is Thornbridge Hall a private house? Many years ago Dave and I stayed in a similar place in Oxfordshire that had been turned into a hotel. The Cracknowl hermit now has an Internet presence, via your blog!

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    1. If you are genuinely interested in Thornbride Hall, it has its own Wikipedia page Steve. I slept there one weekend long ago during a sixth form conference for A Level English students. In those days, the hall was in the possession of Sheffield City Council.

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