Mam Tor - 18th Apr ‘23

A lovely sunny day but very windy. And it was a cold wind as well so another coat day.

A fry up was the order of the day again so a later start to the day to accommodate a lot of greasy calories entering my body!

I was heading for Blue John mines just outside Castleton. Have to say Castleton is not a favourite place but I justified the trip as it was a week day in April. The crowds should be all working from home!

I parked up and was on the footpath up to Mam Tor by 11.30. The notices were everywhere and hard to miss. Dogs on leads from 1st March until 31st July - due to those flamin’ nesting birds again. The path up to Mam Tor was relatively busy and every dog I saw was on a lead.

It felt hugely cruel, In fact worthy of a call to the RSPCA! Tilly clearly wasn’t impressed but Ben just got his head down and surged forward. It was a long slog up to the top (although a very good /easy pathway) so, in the end, the dogs were quite handy to take some of the strain of the climb.

There was a wonderful view from the top but very very windy. We took off (leads in place) across the ridge and up to Back Tor. By this time it was even busier and I was feeling so sorry for the dogs. I therefore decided to start heading downwards. As soon as I did the crowds disappeared completely and I felt comfortable to let them off.

I justified my decision on a purely mathematical basis. I worked out the probability of me breaking an ankle as 2 mad collies pulled me down a steep slippery hill was much greater than Tilly finding a bloody bird on a nest. Plus the consequence of getting an injured 16.5 stone, 63 year old man off the side of a steep hill was somewhat larger than a bird flying away from its nest for 30 seconds. A shame my colleagues at The National Trust couldn’t do the maths - maybe Richi is right?!

Once at the bottom of the hill it was back on with the leads as the fields were full of sheep / lambs - fair enough.

We walked to the outskirts of Castleton then struck uphill again, via Oden’s Wheel and then got on the “broken road” to finish the walk.

This took me back to the car. I have to admit, I couldn’t have gone another 300 yards - my feet were buggered. In the end it was 5.5 miles walking completed at a pitiful 1.9 miles / hour! In my defence there was a lot of up and down!

Arrived home to Brunnehilda at 4pm after stopping for a pint at The Anglers Rest (Millers Dale) and enjoying a warm sunny afternoon view of the River Wye.

After an hour or so of “doing nothing” I got to work on fixing the tap leak. As always with my DIY skills, nothing is ever easy. To get to the tap I had to take out a couple of under cupboard shelves. I tried taking off and tightening up the fixings a couple of times- no change so I frustratingly gave up.

Microwave tea, including another helping of Helen’s Goosagne! Treated myself to a £10 iFollow ticket and watched the Cobblers get a very nervy win at Sutton! 

Packed up a lot of stuff in Brunnehilda as I’m looking for a pre 9am get away tomorrow. I watched the ever wonderful Succession in bed and did some more blogging. Bit of a result as well - sharing my big German bed with someone tonight!!

I’m not going to mark Topley Head Farm site as the pros and cons haven’t changed from the 4 times I stayed last year and there are still a lot more pros than cons! Although they have put up their prices up to £20 / night!

So, a nice 4 days. Lots of new walks, some lovely time spent with friends and no rain! Not sure when I’m coming back to Derbyshire. I’m tempted to say I’m going to wait for those bloody birds to have flown their nests but I suspect I will be back way before the end of July! Too much calling me back!

Old Friends and New Walks - 17th Apr ‘23

A short blog today … I think! Its short length doesn’t accurately reflect the quality of the day though. Time spent with good people and beautiful places is always time well spent!

I was meeting Mandy at 11am so no time for a cooked breakfast - just cereal. Frustratingly Tilly is doing that thing she often does when we’re out with Brunnehilda- she’s not eating breakfast and then is starving by the time it’s teatime! I think it’s because she’s so excited about walking but it just might be because she’s a fussy bugger!

Still on my own on site today but can’t help feeling I’m being overlooked?

I met Mandy and Ethel at Middleton Moor. We had a nice gentle hour walk around a disused quarry and back home along the Pennine Bridleway. The dogs pretty much ignored each other so that worked well. Tilly and Ben embarrassed me at the start of the walk though with their usual synchronised pooing but apart from that it was a lovely walk.

Afterwards we had a pint and a light lunch at Mandy’s local - The Boat at Cromford. It was great to catch up for a couple of hours. You can’t help but feel a little more ready for anything life throws at you after an hour or so in Mandy’s company!

I left Cromford at about 2.30 and was back in Brunnehilda for 3. I had to be at Helen and Karl’s at Ashbourne for 6.30 and I wanted to get in another short walk. So, after wasting a hour at Brunnehilda, I headed back towards Ashbourne and made my way to Dovedale.

An absolutely stunningly beautiful place but I have to say, it wasn’t a great visit for a number of reasons. It started off well though - free parking for National Trust members!

I had only allowed myself a couple of hours but I thought I would get in a quick circular walk. Which I would have done but for a number of minor annoyances that added up to a bigger one!

Firstly the place was not very dog friendly. I ignored the seemingly unreasonable reasons to keep dogs on the leads until, towards the end of the walk, I caught Tilly chasing some wee birds up the steep sides of the Dale - d’oh!

The biggest challenge was the stepping stones. Turns out these were the only way to continue the walk as the path crossed from one side to another at this stage. The river was like a torrent and very high. The dogs weren’t keen to go across but they followed me and both managed to fall in. After a lot of scrabbling about they got back on to the stones but it was a little stressful for both them and me. So much so, when on the other side, I missed the main river side path and headed up a steep hill. By the time I got 1/2 way up I realised I wasn’t following the river - don’t ask!! So I came back and walked along the river but conscious all the time that I’d probably got to get back across those bloody stones at some stage!

I found a circular walk on the map that would avoid the stones but I didn’t have enough time to complete it so we just had to make the crossing again. They were much better second time - although Ben did nearly knock me in in his anxiety to get across. 

After all that, we’d only walked a couple of miles in about 1 1/4! Time to head to Helen and Karl’s just outside Ashbourne.

Helen had cooked a smashing lasagne made of goose mince - which of course she’d named Goosagne! It was great to catch up, reminisce and put the world to right. Karl gave me the guided tour of 2 of their 3 stunningly high quality holiday rentals - absolutely gorgeous. I managed to have a quick play with one of his toys too ..

Home to Brunnehilda for 11 and then I stupidly watched a film before blogging in bed - so a late ending to a smashing day.

NB. Another one of me but sorry there are no pictures of Mandy, Helen and Karl. It always feels a bit presumptuous putting pictures of others in the blog!

A Variation on an Old Favourite - 16th Apr ‘23

 It was due to rain all morning - it didn’t. Although grey and quite chilly (definitely still coat weather) all day we only had about an hour of rain first thing.

However, I had planned a lazy morning so the improved weather wasn’t going to rob me of that! It started with a lazy hour in bed including 20 minutes where I allowed the dogs up for a group cuddle. Not good for the clean sheets but good for team morale!

Breakfast was enormous and quite decadent with M&S potato rosti making it into the line up. I used Brunnehilda’s oven for the first time last night and again this morning. Kim and I never used the oven - not sure why? Everything BBQ’d, fried or in the microwave?

After ablutions we left the pitch at about noon. Just as my neighbours were heading back home to Yorkshire. We’re on our own again and I expect we will be until we leave. Good for the dogs though as they have the whole paddock to wander in.

The plan was to do a familiar walk - longer than yesterday but one that we had done before. That’s how it started but after 1.5 hours of walking I convinced myself that my life was getting very “samey” so I needed to force myself out my comfort zone a bit - so I did!

We parked at the top of Tideswell Dale. Walked down the Dale to Cressbrook Dale and walked by the river Wye for some time - a familiar walk that we do every time we are here. The difference being it was so bloody muddy and the river was so high. If any one says we need rain for the flowers / crops this summer or even mentions a hose pipe ban I will bloody kill them! Anglia Water Authority and my mother - you have been warned!!

Benny had a paddle in the Wye. Another year on and still as desperate to swim but still as scared to take the plunge.

I climbed up onto the Monsal Trail to be greeted by lots of Sunday walkers, cyclists and horse riders! The collies were well behaved and we had a couple of compliments- which is always nice. Including from a nice middle aged couple that said they had seen us yesterday on another part of the trail when they were on their bikes and thought how well behaved the dogs were. I thanked them and suggested if we bumped into each other tomorrow and get 3 in a row then it’s clearly not a fluke!

Lots of couples were out walking. Pleased to report no “poorpoormes” this time. Instead I tried to spend most of my time focussing on the good points of solo walking. Plus I’m not really solo walking - the dogs are there to keep me on my toes. The difference in walking with Kim is she would have turned back when faced with ankle deep mud - I didn’t - and she would have kept to the route we knew rather than walk on by and get 5 miles out and realise I wasn’t sure the best way to get back! As always, she was right on all counts!

When we got to the Monsal Head viaduct I would normally climb up the steep steps to the pub. We didn’t! I had been beating myself up for the last 30 mins for living a life with no change. I realised my blog for 3 days last year would end up exactly the same as todays. So, in a flash a decision was made - we would go through the tunnel and find a different route back - a bit like Roald Amundsen seeking the North West passage, I set out with new vigour in my boots.

This ardour was somewhat dampened by the masses of cyclists this side of Monsal Head. It was like the start of the Tour de France - accept mostly young families. So there was lots of opportunities to scowl at people that didn’t say thank you. The dogs were good but it was a nightmare. I needed to get off asap and head up to the village of Little Longstone. I did, but it necessitated walking across a field with 2 of the most enormous bulls I’ve ever seen in my life!

Once at the village we found a lovely footpath / Bridleway that went up to the edge of Longstone Moor. Indeed at one stage I recognised a small section where I had walked last year. There were lots of sheep about so plenty of lead walking. We dropped down to a very busy road which we walked along to get to the village of Wardlow. Cousin Di’s OS App was a godsend - again! What wasn’t a godsend was Tilly’s ridiculous habit of lunging at passing cars as they sped past. I gave her some strongly worded feedback which seemed to worry Benny but have no effect on her what so ever!

Another footpath took us the edge of Cressbrook Dale. The route went straight down (very steeply) and up Tansley Dale - also very steeply. I was starting to puff by now. I was now back on familiar territory except the 4 times I had been before the stream had been dry - it certainly wasn’t today!

When I got to the outskirts of Litton I checked the internet to see if the pub was open - it was. I had a refreshing pint outside next to a middle aged couple with a collie. They did make me think of Kim and our previous life and helped me reflect on my progress over the last 21 months but on this occasion I couldn’t help but focus on the wonderful bits about our relationship that I was still missing from my life. My deep contemplations were rudely interrupted by Tilly (aka Bigby) growling at my neighbours collie - she had just noticed it under the table!

A 30 minute walk down Tideswell Dale to the car. I messed up the App at the end but I reckon it was 8.5 miles at 2.5 miles / hour. Although I had left the car exactly 5 hours previously - all those stops for snacks!

Absolutely knackered so home for a bowl of cereal and football on Sky Go. After an hour or so I dragged myself in to Buxton to get a takeaway from Thai Delight - and it was.

Chatted to Laura and Bobby then blogged  in bed. The dogs haven’t moved for a couple of hours. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing?

Oh, and I’ve still got that bloody leak!

Back to Black(well) - 15th Apr ‘23

The homage to Amy Winehouse’s classic album is a pathetic way of distracting you (and me!) from the boring fact that I’m back at Topley End Farm near Blackwell in the Derbyshire Dales. Four times last year and off again this year … I guess the correct assumption should be made that I quite like it here!

I was due to be here one day earlier but the pooey weather on Friday made me put it back a day. It was easy for me to cancel and spend the day at home yesterday because, as usual, I really wasn’t looking forward to the trip. As always, it’s  fine when I got here it’s just the act of getting here that turns me cold. Partly because it was always so exciting going on a Brunnehilda trip with Kim but also because it’s a bit lonely and stressful doing all the Brunnehilda travel processes in your own!

And it was a mixed journey. A great start to the day as I watched the Twinnies win their football match against Blisworth. 6 goals but only one MacArthur goal on the scoresheet! Lovely to watch them though - everyone played well. At the end of the game I rushed back home, picked up the dogs and headed for Welton Lodge Farm. To speed things up I had got the van ready and taken up the corner stays yesterday. This meant that, even accounting for using the motor mover to get her hitched, I was on the road at 11.20 - less than 30 mins from my arrival on site.

It was a good journey too. Ashbourne was quiet this time so we whistled through in just over 2 hours - arriving on site at 1.30pm. As always the site was quiet - just one other van. I tried in vain to back Brunnehilda onto the pitch. As usual, as I was struggling, I heard Kim in my ear saying “stop piddling about and get the motor mover on - why have a dog and bark yourself?”. So I did!

I got in the zone and rapidly went through the “set up” checklist. All was pretty much done within the hour - including a long chat with my neighbour. A young guy with his wife and 2 toddlers- from Holmfirth in Yorkshire. Nice lad. 

Then it all went wrong. I couldn’t get the water to come through! After 30 mins of checking and messing about I realised the water was running out from the centre (underneath) of the van. I eventually found a valve that had been opened - I shut it. I think John (the guy who serviced it) must have opened it during the service. Ah well, as my old mate Gazzer would say … “every day’s a school day!”

So at just gone 3pm I was making a cup of tea and having a snack. I listened to the Cobblers commentary at Carlisle for an hour or so before getting packed up and out for a late afternoon walk.

I decided to do the short 5 mile walk I did last time. Down the farm track, across the A6, dropping down to Chee Dale and picking up the Monsal Trail.

It wasn’t too busy considering it was a Saturday in the Easter holidays. I was obviously not yet in the holiday mood as I found myself muttering under my breath to all the rude cyclists who failed to thank me for restraining the dogs as they peddled by. This happened so many times I eventually muttered myself into a better mood. Plus, they did start to say thank you later on in the walk. The dogs were very well behaved.

After a couple of miles on the Trail we dropped down to Chee Dale and followed the very full (and muddy slippery path) River Wye. 

Then up the very steep hill and over the fields to Blackwell. Then it was a quick yomp back up to the A6 and Topley Head Farm.

We had a short stop half way up the steep hill - the dogs and I shared some Doritos and a couple of Twirl Bars. Along with caravan water valves, I learnt something else new today - my dogs don’t like sparkling water! They were clearly very thirsty but they completely refused to even try the bowl of fizzy water - who knew that?

The 5 mile walk took just over 2 hours and was a nice painless reintroduction to the Derbyshire Dales.

Fish pie, strawberry trifle and a Coen Brothers film - Blood Simple. A quick chat with Thom and Rach before hitting Brunnehilda’s big German bed and a bit of blogging while watching Match of the Day.

It’s going to rain tomorrow morning and I’ve got a leak from the kitchen tap - I guess that’s what I’ll be doing in the morning while I’m waiting for the rain to stop?!