Hartington, Warslow, Upper Elkstone, Onecote, Grindon,

Good Friday, good weather, GREAT walk! And with the prospect of the whole weekend settled, I decided to walk Friday AND Sunday (so there will be another set of pictures along soon, unless you email me and say you don't want them.
With a lovely, blue sky to start the day, I decided to walk from Warslow. I know this area is very up & down, and has superb long distance views from the moors. It's a very 'border' area, as there's a mix of rough grazing, and moorland. There are some pretty villages too, as you'll see. I also got a glimpse of the Easter bunny.

First stop though, was to take a picture of the lovely church in Hartington. I passed through on my way to Warslow and noticed the sun was in JUST the right position for the picture. Here's what I got;

There was also a nice daff' lined walk that took my eye as well.

Then it was on to Warslow to park up and start the walk. Sadly, today I'd see one of my favourite 'watering holes', the Cavalier inn at Grindon, closed and for sale. A sad sight indeed, however, it was softened by the fact that the Greyhound in Warslow is being re-furbished, and will open again soon. This excellent set of village troughs are opposite the pub.

Wild flower-wise, things are really beginning to get going now. I saw a LOT of different species, but I'm not really up on the names, so forgive me if I'm wrong on any. These are one of my favourites, the Primula, or Primrose.

Plenty of Celandine too, this was just a lonely one, but very photogenic, I thought.

This is the chapel at Upper Elkstone, a very small hamlet about three Kilometres west of Warslow.
Churchyards are always 'nice' this time of year. I mean, I KNOW they are full of gravestones etc, but it's what you make of it really! I love these places in the sunshine, with a smattering of daff's. Looks like a LOT of people have died here, as the graveyard is PACKED. I wonder if they bus them in from surrounding villages?

Here he is then, caught on camera - the Easter bunny.
(This one is black, which leads me to think he's an escapee from some child's hutch)

A wall full of feeders.

This was like McDonalds to the birds. Plenty came to partake as I stood there. If you look carefully, you can see a little tit on that pump.

As I said, big, rolling views, this one from just beyond Elkstone.

Sad to see a lot of dilapidated barns too, in this part of the world. I HAD heard there was a programme to re-instate them and fix them up. I really hope they do, as they are such a lovely feature of the countryside, like the walls.

Of course, there was the usual 'crop' of my favourite - LAMB! These will be ready for the BBQ come July.

It was soon lunch time, and time for a swift pint. This is the Jervis arms pub, in Onecote.
They had a beer festival in full swing, and it looked like they were VERY busy in the evenings. They had BBQ's, outside bar, LOTS of seating, music, lights, etc etc. I wish I lived nearer! It was a delight to sit in the warm sunshine in the garden, with the sound of the stream babbling nearby.

What can I say - just LOVELY!

A little robin posed just long enough for me to capture him.

Sun, shorts, tee shirt, views = heaven!

This farmer had taken the time to line his drive with daff's.

I was actually in Staffordshire, and they are notorious for not looking after the footpath network as well as they should. Apart from many broken stiles etc, there were little 'gems' like this almost invisible stile - under a tree!

Here's the ubiquitous tree - can't resist them, sorry!

Caps off, lower heads - the poor Cavalier, closed!

The pretty church at Grindon.

After leaving Grindon, there are fine views all around, not least to the Manifold valley. This huge limestone buttress hides Thor's cave on the other side of it.

The undulating hills of the Manifold valley.
I love to walk here, and it's probably one of my favourite places in the peak district.

For the older ones among you;
"Once upon a time there was, a little white bull......"
Somehow I don't think THIS one will be going to the bullfight!

Last, but not least, another well-kept garden in a chocolate-box cottage in Warslow.
Then it was back to the car (sigh) and home from the walk.
Oh well, at least it's a holiday, and I've Sunday to look forward to.

(see next entry)

Barber Booth, Jacob's Ladder, Edale cross, Oaken Clough, Kinder reservoir, Kinder's southern edge, Edale, Pyrenean shape-up.

With France coming up - we decided to try a 'challenging' walk. So, I wrote one from Barber Booth, up Jacobs ladder, then along Oaken clough - losing ALL the height we just gained - and drop to the Kinder reservoir. Then, after a lunch in the warm sun, listening to the water lapping on the shore, it was another climb up to Kinder's Southern edge via the steep William clough. Once on top, I had something extra to carry - a BIG smile! It was TERRIFIC. The wind was strong, lovely and cool, but just what we needed to keep the temperature down as we laboured. The views, although a little 'blue', were stupendous. The camera has a job to capture just what we saw, I HAVE seen the odd photo that gets close, and I took one which I hope did, you be the judge. Anyway, around the edge we went, until we reached the waterfall of Kinder Downfall. I thought it might be bolder than it was, but today - it was small, almost a dribble. I've seen it in spate, and it's a sight to behold. Sometimes, when the wind is in the right direction, it blows back on itself, and looks like it will never empty. Anyway, it was still a lovely place to sit and look awhile. After this, we pressed on - along the WRONG path! My fault entirely, and I noticed after about 1/4 of a mile. Thing is, I've made this very same mistake before. You are drawn to walk around the edge, when what I SHOULD have done was head into the centre of the high moor. To cut a long story short, we decided to do a bit of bog trotting. This can be fun, very tiring, but fun. We had a lot of laughs, and eventually found out path again. You can see by the pics, Kinder is a very barren and featureless place. I have no problems up there, but you can see how people get lost! The fact is, you are never more that about 3 miles from a road, so long as you walk in a straight line! Easy, you may think, but Kinder has some magnetic rock in places, which makes the compass read wrong on occasions. This phenomenon has also been blamed for some of the many air crashes on this moor in wartime. After we found the top of Crowden clough, we set of down. It's not so much a walk here, as a scramble and small climb! No WONDER there is no marked footpath here, it's just not safe really. Again, we take this sort of thing in our stride, but when it comes towards the end of a walk, you really must take care. Tired legs can let you down, some people have been known to fall into streams, that sort of thing ;-)
The day ended with stunning evening light, and a nice, low, warm sun. What better than a pint in the Nags Head, Edale, to round off a perfect day.
Cheers!

After a slightly grey start, this is what greeted me on my way to Barber Booth car park.
This is Winnats pass, with a lovely blue sky.

And here is your April fool - wearing SHORTS!
(They mocked, but I had the last laugh on a very warm day, the right decision).

Our destination awaits, irresistible!

The wide path up to Jacobs ladder, as you can imagine from this picture, a very popular path.

The path gets steep, but lots of people come to climb it.

This is Edale cross, a famous saxon landmark.

This is Oaken clough. The big hill centre left is Mount Famine. I haven't done that one, but it's on the short list.

This little packhorse bridge could easily be missed, but what a gem!
I always want to know what people do for a living to be able to afford to live in places like this.

This is Booth sheepwash. The Peak district has many of these, one other notable one is at Ashford in the Water.
I have a picture of the explanatory plaque, if anyone wants it, ask me and I'll email it to you.

This was the view up to Kinder from the lunch stop.
Not bad, eh? Kinder downfall is in that central nick.

My attempt at the blue view we got.

Kinder res', from near to Kinder downfall.

In the troughs and grykes of Kinder high moor.
Would YOU be able to find your way through this little lot?

Even when you climb out of the troughs, there's not much to see for navigational purposes.

Our goal, and the way down to the pub :-)
Ha - looks EASY, doesn't it?

....come and have a go if you think your hard enough.......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Looking back after the hard bit - all steady downhill from here on.

Lots of pretty little waterfalls on the way down, the water is cool, but VERY brackish and unpleasant to drink.
Still a lifesaver though, if you were desperate.

Almost back at start level now, and Kinder smiles at us in the evening light

After this, it was a short 1/2 hour to the car, then five minutes to the pub.
Watch out, Mount Famine, your card's marked!

Wollaton Hall, Nottingham. The best pound I've ever spent.

No Derbyshire for me this week, I went to a wedding and stayed overnight in Nottingham (well, on the outskirts), so decided to go to Wollaton park. I was born, and brought up, in Strelley. The area was given its name after Robert de Strelley was given the lands as reward for his support of the king in the crusades. There has been a lot of building in the area (where hasn't there?), and the hotel I stayed in, the Nottingham Belfry, was on farmland I used to pick potatoes from to earn a bit of cash in the school holidays, and at weekend.
What with the loss of an hour, and a late night to boot, I didn't want to travel far. The hall and grounds are only a ten minute drive, so off I went.

So here it is! The baronial pile of the Willoughby family. This huge statement of wealth was built on the backs of coal miners. Willoughby almost bankrupted himself during its construction. There is a window for EVERY day of the year - yes, 365 of them. The grounds and gardens are superb to look at, and have just undergone a massive overhaul by Nottingham council. As you can see, there is still a bit to do, and some scaffolding still remains. Unfortunately, the hall was closed to visitors on the day I went. This was offset by the steam museum being open, and all the exhibits in steam. The cost to go in? JUST A POUND! There was also a 'wartime radio' event on, with lots of Bakelite radios, cats whiskers, Morse keys etc on show. A grand re-opening is planned for Easter.

By the looks of it, they better get their skates on though!

A short walk across the grounds brought me to this - a showman's engine in the usual stunning condition, lovingly polished, cleaned and oiled, and proudly shown off.


A fire like your Mam (or Gran?) used to have - ROARING up the chimney, and something nice cooking in the oven.

If you're over 40, you'll probably shout; "oh WE had one of those!" to at least one of these radios.
I can see my sisters Dansette, and my own old Philips.

The rest of the collection.

This is the famous 'cats whisker' radio set. I could hear a station on the headphones too! My Dad always had these. I wasn't really interested, but my brother was, and went as far as getting his A radio amateur ('ham') license (G0FOG for the hams among you).

An amazing and extensive collection of old tractor seats, lovingly painted. They remind me of the artefacts you see on narrow boats, don't you think?

Inside the steam museum - the BEST pound I've ever spent!
The sound of the different engines, the chuffs and puffs, the labour and the ticking, was really music to my ears.
This was my attempt to capture it.

There was also an old fashioned (what else?) blacksmith. He was making a huge spit roast for the fireplace in the newly refurbished hall. The skill and accuracy he displayed while he worked was mesmerising. I stood there for many a while watching. He showed me some of his fine handiwork in an album. A very clever man, with a really artistic angle to his work. Some of the stuff he has made looked as though it would be impossible to fashion from metal, it was so intricate.

After the museum, it was down the grounds to the lake. Wollaton has a lovely lake, and a lot of earnest duck-feeding was going on. They were full up though, and if you look, you can see whole slices of bread untouched in the water.

Looking back to the hall from the far end of the lake (zoomed shot).
You can see the famous camellia house on the right (pictures lower down)

A lovely patch of reeds, I was stunned by the way they caught the sun when I looked back at them (next picture).

This picture isn't bad, but it can't do justice to how they looked in real life.

Walking up the gardens to the camellia house. The gardens are being extensively re-planted and drawn up to plans from when the garden was first designed. It should be really good in Summer. I plan to go back and take a look.

I remember walking around the camellia house with my Mum, many years ago. 

For now, the doors are locked, but this is the view along it.

Looking to the camellia house from the lawns at the rear of the hall.

The rear of the hall, also shrouded in readiness for the grand re-opening.

A little bit of digital wizardry, and the fence around the hall disappears!
Looking back to the hall before I went off to visit Nottingham.