Blogs from Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Our last day. Due to covid we had to be out of the cottage earlier than usual but that was ok. We packed up & headed to the south Peaks for a stoll along Dovedale (last visit when I was a child). This is a lovely, easy stoll along the river - it would usually be easier but the high water levels had flooded some of the path & the stepping stones were completely impassable! We strolled along to Reynard's Cave and I decided to brave the muddy climb up to the cave itself - slightly anticlimactic to be honest! Then we said farewell to the Peak District & headed south stopping near Birmingham to have lunch at the Litchfield Tea Company & pick up some essentials from my dad. Here I discovered Rooibos Earl Grey ... read more

Today we did a longer walk from Ladybower Reservoir over Rowlee Pasture to Alport Castles. The walk started with a climb through the woods, including Lockerbrook Coppice along footpaths and forestry tracks. There was a laid stone track across the bogs of Rowlee Pasture, although a couple of stones had topped ot sunk and requierd jumping over. The rain started at this point obscuring the lovely views along the valley. From Alport Castles the path dropped down into Alport Dale. Crossing the River Ashop we skirted Blackley Hey then returned across the river and climbed over a shoulder passing below Pasture Tor and Bellhag Tor before dropping back down through the forest to Ladybower Reservoir. We head tea & chocolate sitting by the reservoir before heading back to the cottage to dry off yet again.... read more

A rather last minute holiday to get away for a few nights. Our friends kindly agreed to come & cat sit at out house whilst we were away so Monday started with a socially distant run through of Max's routine & other useful things around the house then we went to dop the ferrets off for their own holiday at Three Shires! Having bid farewell to all our furred babies we headed north we skirting the south edge of Sheffield we stopped off at Upper Burbage Bridge for our first walk on the moors. We headed south along Fiddler's Elbow to Higger Tor then on to Burbage Bridge. We got slightly sidetracked scrambling over rocks & took a slightly convoluted route but ended up in the right place. After a short walk along the A6187 we ... read more

We were invited to join the annual May bank holiday weekend trip to Derbyshire. A 20 year family tradition of walking and getting together. The weather remained cool and cloudy for the weekend with only a light rain for our last quick walk on Monday morning. We stayed at a lovely cosy cottage on the main street and did a number of walks with the family. We enjoyed dinner at the The Farmyard Inn and the next evening all squeezed in to the cottage for a takeaway Chinese meal. A great experience.... read more

We started the day in Ashford in the Water to take a tour of the village well dressings...a little bizarre, quite frankly, for a "celebration of water and the life it brings". Well dressings are pictures made with "growing things" like wood, bark, flower petals, berries, leaves, seeds, etc. on a bed of soft clay. The board is then mounted at one of the village springs or wells. This tradition is carried on in various towns and weeks throughout the summer in the Peaks District. 2016 has been designated as the year of the garden in England. The village church had a flower show to coinside with their well dressing tour. Edale YHA - http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/edale?utm_source=google&utm_medium=maps&utm_campaign=google-places ... read more