Tideswell to Monsal Head Again - 11th June ‘22

Another day another bacon bagel breakfast. There is quite a wind up on the hill this morning but the sun is out - again!

Ok, so I had 4 days of walking planned. 3 new walks and 1 enjoyable re-run from my last visit in May.

I thoroughly enjoyed last months walk from Tideswell to Monsal Head that it seemed an obvious thing to retrace my steps - albeit clockwise this time instead of anti clockwise last month. Here’s the map.

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again - walking the same route a different way round, really does make a difference!

In short I parked at a lay-by by the Tideswell Dale car park (saving myself £4!). This was the route:

Up Tideswell Dale, road to Litten, down Tansley Dale, down Cressbrook Dale, along the road by the river, up Monsal Dale to Monsal Head. Then home via the Monsal Trail, across the river to Cressbrook Mill, through Cramsdale Wood by the river up Millers Dale then finally back up Tideswell Dale.

Gee, that nearly took me as long to write it as walk it! Not true, the walk was about 8.5 miles and took me 4.5 hours - from 10.45 to 3.15.  

I came across this outside the pub at Litten - I was very tempted to do it but imagined the headlines in the papers. Kurt Zouma’s cat would look decidedly well treated compared to 2 collies locked in a stock!

It’s probably more interesting if I focus on different stuff about the walk rather than just repeat myself from a month ago.

Busyness:

It was slightly busier - especially the Cressbrook Dale part. At one stage a group of about 30 people appeared on the horizon! Although Monsal Head was less busy - no Morris Dancers this time. 

Weather / Conditions:

The weather was very similar- part sunny, windy in places but completely dry. However, the recent rains meant that certain areas where muddier than last time. Nothing drastic though and certainly not as difficult underfoot as Chee Dale on Thursday.

Dogs:

Generally, a real improvement. Following on from the walk with Mandy yesterday, I followed a simple routine whenever I met anyone coming towards me (most dogs were off the lead) I would get Tilly to sit by my side and Benny would lie down ahead of us. I kept them like that until they had passed and then told them they could go. They did and 9 times out of 10 it looked (deceivingly) quite impressive soliciting at least 3 comments about how well behaved they were! If only they knew the truth about Benny!

However, Tilly was a little sh*t at Monsal Head. She growled at every dog that got within 2 metres of her. A bit like an obnoxious yob in a pub going up to everyone that went near them saying “what you looking at”. Horrible creature.

Water:

Benny had a great time in the water (River Wye) as did I. I had a lovely paddle towards the end of the walk. It was bloody freezing but wonderfully refreshing! Excuse the picture of my feet!!!

Chatting:

I always get some inspiration from a day out with Mandy. This time it was to chat more to folks when out and about. So I did. The highlights being a long chat with a rock climber about his bouldering mat, helping 2 middle aged ladies find the path to Cressbrook Dale (I felt like a local), chatting to an old guy about the relative benefits of iPhones over SLR cameras, taking the Mickey out of a couple of old guys struggling up a hill on their bikes and numerous discussions with folks about dysfunctional dogs! I also had a lovely chat with an American lady and her 2 young children. They were collecting wild flowers and had found 28 different types and were trying to make it up to 30. I saw her later with her rather “pee’d off” looking husband. She told me she was upto 31. I said it must be time to go home now. Her husband rolled his eyes and said “now that’s a good idea!”

So lots of stuff going on - surprised I had time for a selfie with Tilly - but I did!

Home to Brunnehilda and crashed out with a Belgium beer and a huge slab of chocolate while taking in the lovely views. I went into crank up the sound on the speaker and Ben helped himself to the entire slab of Cadburys! It could be a pooey night tonight! We are still on our own so I took the chance to really crank up the sound. Not sure the sheep and cows appreciated London Skinhead Crew, Sandstorm and Cold Blooded Killer at full volume though?!

Off to Buxton for dinner. Less stressed about eating on my own this time although sadly 2 x 70 year old couples got a lot of filthy looks from me - none of which they saw. I picked wrong - I thought you can’t go wrong with a Thai. Turns out you can - it was decidedly average. The Red Beef Curry had as much bite as a Daily Mail political editorial and as much taste as a Covid sufferer!

Home for a Waltons episode, chocolate (for me not Benny this time) and blogging.

Another grand day out.