Peak Pilgrimage - An Easter Stroll

Day Two - 26th March 2016
Hartington to Bakewell - 14.5 miles
Weather: Drizzle, rain, windy, then a downpour

An excellent breakfast and we were sorry to leave this most splendid of youth hostels. The trail passes the front door of Hartington Youth Hostel so we had no problems getting started and we were on our way by 8:30. We followed a green lane with a fine drizzle falling and we were heading for The Tissington Trail and before long there it was below us and the first thing we found was the beautifully preserved Hartington Signal Box by the site of Hartington Station. The box still has its signalling equipment and you can peer in through the windows. We followed the trail for 4 miles to Hurdlow via Parsley Hay. We walked through cuttings which protected us from the wind and rain and along high embankments with soggy views over the countryside. There were not many cyclists around but we did see an recumbent cyclist which was a strange sight. We passed old railway workers' huts and saw one which has been adopted by a cycling club to provide shelter from the elements. We hoped for tea at Parsley Hay but, alas, it was too early for refreshments.

At Hurdlow, we left the trail and struck out for Monyash. We had to cross the fast and furious A515 at The Bull i'th' Thorn public house where the campers and caravanners were not enjoying the Easter weather which was becoming wetter and windier. We scurried across the busy highway and soon left the cars behind. Donkeys huddled out of the weather against the stone wall of the field at the Donkey Sanctuary as we trudged down a farm track. Ahead, we could see an old barn which was used as the changing room for the local pot holing club. Soon we were in the village of Monyash and the church of St Leornard which was built in 1100. This is a fine old church where we found the ladies arranging the Easter flowers as we stamped our book and applied our sticker. The rain was falling steadily so we retreated to a cafe in the old smithy. Here we gently steamed by the hot stove as we drank mugs of hot, strong tea and ate toasted hot cross buns to gird ourselves for the next stage of the day

Suitably warmed and refreshed we ventured out into the rain and wind. Lathkill Dale begins just outside the village and introduces itself with a grassy sward which soon turns into a slippery, rocky limestone path. The limestone cliffs tower on each side and it is a wonderful, atmospheric place with evidence of quarrying and lead mining. It is a dry dale to begin when suddenly a river bubbles out of the limestone and accompanies us for the rest of the 4 mile length of the dale. A small herd of cows waded through the river to find the best grass and ignored our passing. We searched for a cave to eat our lunch but the only available spot was taken by a family looking smug as we trudged past. We stopped by a broken down wall and found 4 likely looking rocks to perch on as we munched assorted pies, rolls, chocolate and cake.

Now the character of the dale began to change. The river flowed by crystal clear with fresh, green vegetation. The limestone crags receded and wooded banks appeared. Every branch, tree trunk and rock had a vivid green and yellow mantle of moss and lichens made more vivid by the bare, grey trees and ground, Soon we entered Palmerton Woods and noticed a sign informing us that we would have to pay a penny to pass through during Easter Week but nobody appeared to take our cash.

Now there were more signs of the industrial past of this dale. We saw the remains of dams, leets, aquaducts,ruined buildings and abandoned quarry and mine entrances burrowing into the hillside. Nature now has the upperhand and is softening the harsh, brutal marks of the industrial revolution.

We left the dale and climbed the steep lane to Over Haddon and our next church - St Annes. This was our youngest church and it was built in 1880. We walked through the village past the Lathkill Hotel and we descended through fields down to the bright lights of Bakewell. In busy Bakewell we had two churches to find. We first found the Methodist church where the stamp and stickers proved hard to locate. As time was marching on, we decided to search out a cafe for Bakewell Pudding and tea. The first cafe was full but undaunted we retreated to the back entrance and found tables outside under an awning. This proved fortuitous as the steady rain we had experienced all day turned into a down pour. We enjoyed hot, strong tea with tarts and puddings in muddy, isolated splendour as overhead the rain beat down on the awning and gushed down the drain pipes.

Refreshed we walked up a steep lane to All Saints church but found it was closed. We walked back to the town centre and took refuge in a bus shelter as the rain continued to lash down. Our cheery taxi driver, Bryn, was called and he picked us up in his minibus to drive us to our accommodation at the youth hostel in Eyam. Bryn chatted all the way and didn't mind our soggy, muddy boots and waterproofs.