Again, the forecast was telling me we were due for a very wet morning but a dryer afternoon. Any excuse for a lazy morning. When you’re at home there are so many things to do. Unlike when I’ve got a spare morning in Brunnehilda - the only thing to do is to do nothing.
I did look back at a blog from a trip to Worcestershire with Kim and Brunnehilda 3 years ago. I waxed lyrically about the 5 things to do to survive a rainy day (it’s August 19th 2020 if interested!). The first of the 5 was “don’t get up early”. In homage to this I didn’t get out of Brunnehilda’s big German bed until gone 11! I have to say though, lying in bed for most of the morning with the rain pouring down outside is not as much fun on your own as it is with a mate.
Breakfast and a Tudor binge meant I wasn’t leaving the site until gone 1pm. It took me ages to select a route but went for one that had some familiarity but with a new Dale to walk up and a new bit of moor to walk on top of!
I headed out to Calver - a 12 mile, 35 minute journey through the drizzle! The route I found started from the village but there was no where close to park. I ended up parking in a play area car park and had to walk down another footpath to join the route.
At this stage the weather was grey, foggy and drizzly! As day 1, a lot of the footpaths were turned into streams. It was hard to not get wet feet as I trudged up Coombs Dale - a pretty little wooded dale with a very modest stream that was now turned into something much more impressive. I met a couple of dog walkers, joggers and cyclists.
It was about 2 miles to the top of the Dale to get to Black Harry Gate. Here I struck off southwards to climb up onto Longstone Moor. I did go wrong for about 10 mins. Thank goodness for my App or I would have been completely lost! The weather was improving by this time so we got some nice views as we got on the top of the Moor.
Then I was on familiar territory from last year - Longstone Edge, the southern edge of Longstone Moor. I had done this part of the walk before in the heat / sunshine. It was very different today - cold, no people and very few sheep! The weather was still trying to improve though so there were some great views.
I walked over the Moor stopping for a snack / drink break with only a mile to go. At this stage I was joined by about half a dozen motor x bikers. There are a lot of dirt tracks and bridleways up on the moor and they were enjoying using them. I wanted to be disgusted by the noise and imposition but they all seemed very friendly so we exchanged nods and got on our own separate ways.
I also met a couple of other interesting locals - I remembered these highland cattle from my last visit to Longstone Edge.
The final mile was a gradual descent on a Bridleway taking me off the Moor and back to the village of Calver.
Then it was a final footpath through a wood at the top of the village to the car. As the previous 2 days, the walk was about 6 miles. The variation made it the best walk of the week and for about 20 minutes I even saw some sun!
By the time I got back to the car it was getting dark - about 5pm. I went home via Buxton to get some cash (to pay for the site), dog food and petrol.
Helen’s “takeaway” Game Pie for tea and then large quantities of Cadburys chocolate to celebrate the last evening of the trip. More Tudors (to be honest I think I’m Tudored out now!?!) and blogging in bed. The clocks go back tonight so I get an extra hour in bed which makes an early pack up and drive home that bit easier!
It’s been a strange week. The weather and the conditions haven’t been great - although I didn’t actually get wet! The 3 walks were all different but all great in their own way.
It was good to spend some time with The Davis’ but it was a shame to miss Mandy this time - her positive attitude to life is very infectious and she’s such fun company.
I was definitely on a bit of a downer on the first evening and the first full day. The times I mostly miss Kim are fairly selfish. Not that I give myself a hard time for that - we all do things our way and I can’t do anything about it! By selfish I mean that I obviously get sad thinking the good family times that Kim is missing out on. I don’t miss her as much when I’m busy and feeling positive but when I’m feeling under the weather (physically and/or mentally) the feeling of loss is still very strong and I miss her hugely. Being in Brunnehilda seems to amplify things as well.
Well, wouldn’t you know - Woke up this morning (29th) to a beautiful glorious sunny morning. Goodbye Derbyshire .. see you soon!
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