I'm always keeping a watchful eye on the weather to spot some nice walking windows, sometimes though the need to walk overtakes the importance of nice weather and you just have to head out. I'm not scared of a little rain which is a good thing as this year has offered up plenty of it. When the weather looks bad I just adjust my plans accordingly and plan a route that will keep us out of the worst of it. Today was one of those days where staying low was a good choice, a months worth of rain had been forecast over a 24 hour period and it came down with full force as we walked :-)
We started off by parking the cars at Alport and then heading northwards up Lathkill Dale from SK 2202 6455. The rain was coming down hard at this point and it didn't relent at all throughout the day. We wandered while chatting up to one of the many impressive Weirs that are along the River Lathkill, The one pictured below can be found at SK 2145 6518.
[caption id="attachment_1792" align="alignnone" width="600"] Lathkill Dale - Weir at SK 2145 6518[/caption]
We continued on up this wonderful dale passing many great looking spots up to Conksbury Bridge at SK 2117 6561, This interesting historic bridge is a Grade-II-listed structure from the 18th century. The rain was particularly heavy at this point so sadly I don't have any pictures to show you from today. Here is an image of the bridge that can be found on the Geograph website.
As you proceed up the Valley from Conksbury Bridge it opens out slightly and you can see the many wiers that alter the flow of the river, You really can't help but notice how clear the water is that flows through here. The Dale itself is littered with signs of its past where it was widely mined for Lead, There is even the remains of an aqueduct and a ruined pump house near the old Mandale Mine.
[caption id="attachment_1791" align="alignnone" width="600"] Lathkill Dale - River Lathkill[/caption]
We decided to leave Lathkill Dale at SK 1747 6553 by heading over the bridge and joining the Limestone Way in Cales Dale. We followed the way as it climbed up the steep steps then came out on to farmland which then leads across towards Calling Low. We were out in the open then on which meant we were met by the full force of today's weather. It was a misty wet wander across the fields as we were just below the cloud line today, in no time at all though we arrived at the road at SK 1927 6447. We crossed over then decided to leave the Limestone Way by headed down Moor Lane to Youlgreave. Moor Lane is one the many Quiet Lanes in the area and its an interesting concept that I welcome. Here is the definition from the Department for Transport "Quiet Lanes are a Countryside Agency initiative, which has the support of the Department for Transport. Quiet Lanes are minor rural roads which are appropriate for shared use by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and motorised users. They should have low traffic flows travelling at low speeds."
After Walking down Moor Lane we arrived in the narrow back streets of Youlgreave, we Proceed down Holywell Lane to the Bridge of the River Bradford at SK 2089 6399. We followed the river down stream and in no time at all reached the Swimming Area at SK 2112 6405. I doubt you would have wanted to swim in there today as not only was in raining it was pretty cold. I can imagine this place gets rather busy in the summer months.
From the swimming area its a nice gentle walk down the dale past Rheinstor Rock and then to were we had parked our cars at Alport. It had only been a relatively short walk today but given the conditions it was probably a wise move. As a result of the rain I haven't managed to take many pictures or do an episode of the Podcast, I did however record a quick before and after AudioBoo for you to have a quick listen to. Thanks for stopping by to read this pretty short post, its a great route than can be done easily in 3-4 hours even with a few break along the way to take in the history.
This episode of the Peak Routes podcast follows a walk from the Howden Reservoir up Swaines Greave, the source of the River Derwent. I have a very interesting experience on the way up as the true beauty of nature and this area of the Peak is hard to ignore. From Swaines Greave I head up to Barrow Stones, then over to Grinah Stones where I accidentally come across a Geocaching. From there I head down Grinah Grain and take in Westend Forest before heading back along the road to the car.
If you would like to download this episode or any of the others then you can visit the Podcast page of the site. You can also subscribe to get them delivered to you via iTunes or Feedburner.
The summer holidays are over, the kids are back at school and that means more hill time for me. I really enjoyed the 6 weeks holidays with my daughter this year, we spent a fabulous week in Northumberland, did a Wild Camp up near Bamford Edge, Cycled the Monsal Trail and did a few local walks. That did mean however that my time has been limited when it comes to updating PeakRoutes.com. Over the coming weeks I will add more posts and images from those days out.
Today's little wander was another one of those great and memorable ones. I didn't really have a plan as such, I knew where I wanted to head but basically made up the route as I went along. I started off the day by heading to Howden Reservoir in the Upper Derwent Valley, I parked up near the roundabout at the top of the tarmac road and got all my kit together.
It was a stunning morning, the weather was absolutely perfect and there wasn't another soul in sight. You will get the idea of how pleased I was by listening to the AudioBoo that I've embedded above... I set off walking northwards along the road and made my way up towards slippery Stones on the gravel path.
[caption id="attachment_1737" align="alignnone" width="600"] Bridge at Slippery Stones[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1738" align="alignnone" width="600"] Sheep Pen at Slippery Stones[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1731" align="alignnone" width="600"] Sheep near Slippery Stones[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1734" align="alignnone" width="600"] Upper Derwent Valley - Summer Heather[/caption]
As you can see from the first few images in the post the weather was stunning, The Upper Derwent Valley was in full summer glory with beautiful purple heather lining the hills. I made a few friends on my way up too, not human friends but sheep. Strangely they followed me for a short while instead of running away like their friends usually do. I made good progress up towards Broadhead Clough where the path swings westward towards Oaken Bank and Lands Side. Oaken Bank as the name would suggest is lined with Oak Trees and the odd Silver Birch.
[caption id="attachment_1736" align="alignnone" width="600"] Upper Derwent Valley - Lands Side[/caption]
If you listened to the AudioBoo entitled "Peak District - River Derwent & Grinah Stones - Part 1" then you will no doubt have heard about my breathtaking experience near Lands Side. If not, then here is a quick explanation. I was listening to Mark Knopfler's brand new album called "Privateering" during my walk today. As I was walking up to the top of a brow of a hill along Lands Side I was listening to the track called "Haul Away". Just as the track came to an awesome celtic crescendo the wind begun blowing and the view I got was stunning. The purple heather and lush green ferns were blowing in the wind and the views over towards Fair Bank and Circle Hill were amazing. My moment of tranquility was however spoiled just seconds later by a low flying Chinook Helicopter that almost stopped my heart beating :-) haha. An awesome sight but I sadly couldn't grab my camera quick enough.
[caption id="attachment_1735" align="alignnone" width="600"] Upper Derwent Valley - Humber Knolls[/caption]
I kept on moving and followed the River Derwent as it got smaller and smaller. Last time I was here the conditions were very different, it was earlier in the year and the weather was icy cold and there was snow on the ground in places. you can have a look at a blog post from that day by heading to Peak District - Howden, BLeaklow & Alport.
[caption id="attachment_1730" align="alignnone" width="600"] River Derwent - Mini Waterfalls[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1733" align="alignnone" width="600"] Swaines Greave - Source of the River Derwent[/caption]
It was great to be back at the source of the River Derwent, I had recently walked the Derwent Valle Heritage Way but it doesn't come all the way up to the source. I've had some great times on the River Derwent and I have fond memories of day's spent at Chatsworth and down in Matlock Bath.
[caption id="attachment_1729" align="alignnone" width="600"] A Balloon found up on Swaines Greave - I took it home and put it in the bin[/caption]
I was rather disappointed to find a balloon jammed in one of the dried up cloughs at Swaines Greave. I always make a point of bringing with me an empty carrier bag so that I can pick up litter that I see. Over the years I've removed many things like this, Balloons, Chinese Lanterns and basically things that would take hundreds or thousands of years to biodegrade. I'm a huge fan of the Peak District and I like to see it as doing my bit to keep it as perfect as can be.
I didn't stay for long up on Barrow Stones as had decided to make Grinah Stones my lunch stop. I had intentionally made it a shorter route today to give me some time to relax up on the moors and take in the experience more.
[caption id="attachment_1724" align="alignnone" width="600"] Bleaklow Stones from Grinah Stones[/caption]
As you can see from the video above I accidentally came across a Geocache while minding my own business on Grinah Stones. I am a Geocacher myself and as I was sat there having lunch something caught my eye... A strange looking pile of stones hidden under a huge rock, one of the many huge rocks on Grinah Stones. It was the sort of pile of stones that I knew mother nature couldn't have put there naturally. I know there are many many caches in the Peak District but I make a point of not looking for any while I'm out walking, I'm either out for a walk or out to go Geocaching. So.. I wandered over, moved a few of the stones and there it was.. The "Grinah Stones" Geocache. Obviously I logged it and I planned to log it online when I got home. It looks like I accidentally found the final cache in a multi cache series too :-)
After my fun but relaxing stop on Grinah Stones I decided to make my way back to the car via Ridgewalk Moor and down Grinah Grain. I was following sheep tracks down Grinah Grain and there is now actual route so you may want to pick up the road that starts on the moors near bye.
After a knee and ankle testing wander down Grinah Grain I eventually made it down to where it flows in to the River Westend. There the path was more defined and I picked up the road that leads down to Westend Forest.
[caption id="attachment_1716" align="alignnone" width="600"] Grinah Grain & River Westend[/caption]
I had a lovely walk through the forest and even stopped for a moment by the river to take it all in for a while. I decided to record another AudioBoo which made it 3 for the day. The river was flowing gently down into the Howden Reservoir and my only company were squirrels and sheep :-)
I made it back down to the tarmac road and then walked back around to the car at the roundabout. I was enjoying the day that much that I put my stuff in the car, changed out of my walking boots and then sat on the banks of the reservoir for a while gazing at the views. It had been another really great day out in the Peak District.
Thanks for reading, viewing, listening and watching. Keep you eyes and ears out for the forthcoming episode of the Peak Routes Podcast that I recording during my walk today.
Lathkill Dale - Weir at SK 2145 6518[/caption]
Lathkill Dale - River Lathkill[/caption]
Bradford Dale - Swimming Area[/caption]
Bradford Dale - Swimming Area[/caption]
