Peak District - Cromford & Via Gellia

The Peak District has a wealth of routes to take, interesting spots to see and has historical tales by the bucket load. I do feel lucky to live within a close proximity of this great national park and I'm reminded how lucky I am on a regular basis. The area I have frequented the most over the years is the eastern peak, Bakewell, Chatsworth and Matlock. I have many happy memories that are burned in my mind in these scenic spots and new entries are being added all the time.

[caption id="attachment_1851" align="alignnone" width="600"] Sir Richard Arkwright's Mill number 1 built in 1771[/caption]

Although not officially in the National Park the area around Matlock, Matlock Bath and Cromford are places I have spent the most time. There is plenty to do and see around there. Cycling the High Peak Trail, ride the cable car to the Heights of Abraham, do a spot of climbing at Black Rocks or take in the historic Cromford Mill.

[caption id="attachment_1854" align="alignnone" width="600"] Cromford Mill Buildings from Mill Lane[/caption]

Cromford Mill which was built by the Legendary Sir Richard Arkwright was the starting point for today's walk. He built the first mill way back in 1771 and he became the Farther of the industrial Revolution. From the Mill Car Park (Proceeds go to the Arkwright Society) we then headed up to the cross roads in Cromford itself, We crossed the road and walked up past the Greyhound Hotel which was built by Richard Arkwright in 1778. After passing the Inn you then walk past the Workers Cottages which are also sites of historic interest. We joined the footpath which runs at the back of the house and continued to climb out of the valley.



We climbed up hill towards Black Rocks, joined the High Peak Trail and then followed it until we came to the bottom of the Middleton Incline. The Middleton Incline is a 1 in 8 slope where the trucks with their loads were pulled up to Middleton Top. They were taken on this voyage while being dragged upwards by a beam engine built by the Butterley Company in 1829. I once hid a Geocache up here but sadly it is long gone :-).

[caption id="attachment_1856" align="alignnone" width="600"] Middleton Top[/caption]

We continued along the High Peak Trail after a brief stop to check if the cafe was open at Middleton Top, sadly it wasn't so we had to make do without caffeine :-)

[caption id="attachment_1857" align="alignnone" width="600"] Middleton Top[/caption]

I haven't been along the High Peak Trail for a few years and if I'm completely honest I'd forgotten about Hopton Tunnel. It's only a very short tunnel but still impressive and it reminded me of being in the very similar ones on the Monsal Trail.

[caption id="attachment_1858" align="alignnone" width="600"] High Peak Trail - Hopton Tunnel[/caption]

After passing through Hopton Tunnel we made our way along towards Harboro Rocks, another spot I visited over a decade ago in search of a Geocache. It wasn't long before we were leaving the High Peak Trail and heading northward on the Limestone Way to Grangemill.



We walked over the fields while getting a great view down into the valley at Via Gellia, I'd not seen it from this angle before as last time I was here I was in low cloud. We descended down to Grangemill, crossed the road and then climbed back up a steep path towards the road that leads to Ible. Ible is a sleepy little farm hamlet, it's a lovely peaceful area and I can imagine not a lot of traffic comes through here. Great looking stone farm buildings, cattle being drive down the road and it looked to me like it could have been straight out of BBC Radio 4's The Archers :-)



After you pass through Ible the Limestone Way goes back across fields again as it works its way across to Bonsal. I think I lost count of the amount of gates we went through, its small field after small field across the moor here.

We eventually turned off the Limestone Way and headed along the path which takes you through the old Bonsall Mines. It's a fascinating spot with some great history. Hundreds of little sunken holes that look like bomb blast pits. They are however old disused Lead mine shafts dating back around 150-200 years. The site itself is called Fool's Venture and you can find a great run down of what is at the site by looking at this PDF from the Peak District Mines Historical Society Newsletter. To find out more about Mines in the Peak visit http://www.pdmhs.com



After the mine field we descended down towards Slaley, once again we found another idyllic High Peak village. It is a small group of houses perched on the hillside with great views across the valley. There looked to be some fantastic houses here, they would require a lottery win I think to be able to afford one.


We eventually arrived down in Bonsall, turned right down towards the Via Gellia Road and came out at the old Mill building. A short wander down the road and we then crossed over the river near Slinter Cottage, it is owned by the Arkwright Society and you can find out more details there website at http://www.arkwrightsociety.org.uk/content/slinter-cottage-details.

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After a nice wander through the woods following Bonsall Brook we arrived back in Cromford. We passed the Mill Pond, rounded the corner, crossed near the Greyhound Inn and then crossed the A6 to walk back to the car near Arkwright Mill / Cromford Canal.

A great little afternoon wander that takes in some great historical parts of this corner of the Peak District. I have since been back and paid a visit to Cromford Mill so keep and eye out for my blog post from there. Thanks for stooping by :-)

Peak District - Lathkill & Bradford Dale

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.

[caption align="alignnone" width="600"]

Conksbury Bridge (Dave Dunford) / CC BY-SA 2.0

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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."

[caption id="attachment_1790" align="alignnone" width="600"] Bradford Dale - Swimming Area[/caption]

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.

[caption id="attachment_1789" align="alignnone" width="600"] Bradford Dale - Swimming Area[/caption]

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.

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