Longstone Edge and Longstone Moor - 23rd July ‘22

A better day today. No sun but little or no rain on the radar. This morning had the repeat episode of Tilly jumping on the bed - it’s clearly a habit now! Tea and toast and heading out soon after 10am.

Drove to Tideswell to get a sandwich and some cash (to pay the farmer on site). As usual, Tideswell was knee deep in lycra and expensive bikes. I think it’s the little coffee shop / cafe that attracts them. Like flies around poo. Talking of flies and poo, I came across these gorgeous ladies on my walk today …

I spent 20 minutes this morning deciding on my walk today. In the spirit of pushing myself, I wanted a new walk rather than playing it safe on one I knew. I didn’t fancy going up to the High Peaks - partly because it’s a longer drive but mainly because I thought it might be busy with all the good folks of Sheffield and Manchester coming out for the day! I decided I’d go for a walk above the Dales rather than yesterdays walk “in” the Dales. I chose Longstone Moor - just the other side of Monsal Head by Great Longstone - surprisingly enough!!? Here is the route.

I found a parking place very easily - it really wasn’t busy. In deed, during my 3 1/4 hour walk I only saw 2 cyclists and 5 hikers. A couple and a chap were quite young. I talked for sometime to an old guy who was lost trying to “bag” a peak he hadn’t done yet. He assumed, because of the dogs, I was local. Unfortunately after 5 mins chat, he cracked on as lost as he was when we first met! I met the 5th lady at the end of the walk. She looked lost so I greeted her with a hearty hello. The poor woman went from puzzlement to complete and utter fear. The dogs and I must be a scary sight at the end of a 3 hour yomp!?

It was a nice walk. Not much up and down as we stayed quite high up from start to finish. The only problem was the sheep. The middle 2 miles were  very sheep heavy which necessitated lots of lead work. Especially frustrating as Tilly has just decided (after 10 years!!) to want to go up and talk to sheep. As you will appreciate, the sheep aren’t to keen to talk to a sheep dog!!

So, for those that are interested:

Parked at the side of the road and walked along the Longstone Edge for over a mile. There were a lot of hang gliders out enjoying the fabulous views - as was I. 

I gotta say I would have got lost 3 or 4 times on this route but for my wonderful new OS App. Although my mobile battery was on <10% by the time I got back to the car!

After the Edge, I followed a farm track for a long time. Going by loads of old mine works. 

Then onto the open spaces of Longstone Moor. Passed a large lake (partially dried up) left over from more mining activity.

Went over a really wild bit of the moor before swinging round by a high spot cairn (1300 feet).

The walk finished through an old wooded area called Black Plantation.

Back at the car after about 3 1/2 hours (3 1/4 hours walking) and 6.2 miles. No sun but about 30 mins of drizzle. I couldn’t be bothered to get my coat out the back pack so I got slightly damp!

During the walk I shared an egg and bacon sandwich, a bar of Cadburys Fruit and Nut and Cheesy Chicken Sticks with the dogs. To be fair we shared the sandwich, I had most of the chocolate and they had all of the cheesy chicken sticks!! They found plenty of puddles from yesterdays rain to keep themselves hydrated!

Good news - after 4 visits, the dogs have finally got the hang of Derbyshire Dales stiles!

15 minute drive home to Brunnehilda. More Waltons, more Cadburys and more Report Writing. Got myself scrubbed up and out the door at 5 to meet Mandy at Cromford at 5.30pm. We took the dogs for a quick 30 mins walk upto Middleton Top. More gorgeous views.

Then a smashing evening at Mandy’s local - The Boat. Nice to meet up with a few of the locals - as I did yesterday evening with Karl at Roston. A couple of drinks and a nice steak hitting the road at about 9.15. Home by 9.45. Always great to see / catch up with Mandy.

The usual Brunnehilda end to the day: The Waltons, tea, Cadburys and blog! Hey, the life of the rich and famous eh?

It’s been a short one and one I wasn’t looking forward to it but 2 nice walks and 2 smashing evenings spent with lovely people has put a smile on my face! Back home tomorrow. 

A Dull, Dreich Derbyshire Dales Day - 22nd July ‘22

I woke up to the familiar sound of rain on Brunnehilda’s roof. We’ve had a very dry month culminating in a heat wave but, as if the clouds were waiting for her to be unleashed, Brunnehilda leaving her berth was enough to send in the rough weather. 

I honestly can’t ever remember being too hot in Brunnehilda but by jingo she’s got wet over the years! To be fair, rain always sounds much worse when you are sitting in a tin can. It sounded like it was pouring but in fact it was no more than heavy drizzle. What ever it was, it didn’t give me much motivation to jump out of bed and fling open the doors and windows. So I slept in. Indeed I slept in for so long Tilly joined me on the bed!

It was past 10.30 before I was up and breakfasted on tea and toast. The weather app suggested the rain would go down from 98 to 70% during the early afternoon so I needed to kill a couple of hours. Luckily I’d brought along some report writing work - so that’s what I did.

I headed out at 12pm. I needed to be back by 3 at the latest so I planned a 2 hour walk. It was a part new and part old walk. Even with my super dooper new App I didn’t totally trust myself to not get lost in the rain.

The walk lasted 2 hours. Starting in the drizzle but finishing in the dry. Route shown below.

I walked down to the A6, along the top of Wye Dale, through Blackwell and then dropped down Chee Tor to the River Wye. The grassy slope was incredibly slippy. In fact without my walking stick I would have spent more time on my bum than my feet. 

Walked by the Wye then up the steps to get on The Monsal Trail. Walked through a couple of tunnels and over 3 bridges before arriving in familiar territory where Chee Dale meets Wye Dale.

I then climbed up the Dale side via The Pennine Bridleway (over 200 feet) to get back to the A6 and the entrance to the farm. The 4.5 miles had taken me 2 hours.

The good news about the weather was that there were very few people about. I met a couple of blokes walking on their own, an oldish couple on bikes and a youngish couple on bikes. The oldish couple generated my normal negative feelings of jealousy and wishing illness and pestilence on at least one of them - nice eh? Had a chat with a jolly chap walking on his own (early 50s?). He too generated negative thoughts - I really didn’t want to end up like him. Although he seemed happy enough, as I’m sure I did to him, I really don’t want to end up as that bloke who walks on his own!

The dogs were reasonably behaved and my ankle / foot held up well. So all in all, a good couple of hours.

The Waltons and pop chips with marmite humus for lunch. Really enjoyed it until I read I had just consumed 2 days recommended salt allowance in 10 minutes!!

I gave myself a good scrub down and headed out to Helen and Karl’s at Ashbourne for a cuppa. Had a lovely 90 mins in their garden catching up. Helen was going out on her horse for a ride so Karl twisted my arm (he didn’t have to twist it too far!) to join him down the local village pub. Had a really nice time in the pub garden, sheltering from the rain under a gazebo and chatting with John, Kate and Cocky. John and Kate were a super nice couple and Cocky was the local character - very funny and entertaining.

Headed home to Topley Bank Farm at about 8.30. Beans on toast, more Waltons and more report writing before climbing into Brunnehilda’s big Teutonic bed. Given the worst than average weather it ended up a better than average day. Mainly thanks to a bracing walk and the company of good people!

Another Month, Another Derbyshire Trip - 21st July ‘22

I think the title of this blog, Travels with Brunnehilda, is a tad misleading. Given the 4 trips so far in 2022 have all been to Derbyshire, I should be renaming it Derbyshire Travels with Brunnehilda!

This one is a shorter one though and the weather looks rather dodgy! Which is quite disappointing and ironic after a week of 30/40 degree heat and sunshine. Has to be said though, Brunnehilda has never been known for her ability to follow the sun.

I wasn’t very excited about this one. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s hard for me to get enthused before a Brunnehilda trip. That said, once I’m there, I always enjoy it. The thought of spending quality time with Kim and having her all to myself was always something to look forward too. The prospect of spending a wet weekend with a couple of smelly collies doesn’t create the same exciting anticipation. 

I was working all morning so I didn’t get to Welton Lodge Farm until 2.30. My record of getting hitched up and on the road quickly was maintained - driving out the gate shortly after 3. It was a good journey too, arriving at Topley Head Farm soon after 5pm. And that included missing my turning off the A50 - Goodness knows how I did that!! Kim would rightly accused me the of not concentrating and she would have been 100% correct!

I’m ashamed of my rig! The Volvo is filthy and Brunnehilda is a dirty girl too. Maybe a job for the Twinnies now they are on their summer holidays?

A couple of motor homes are here already. Had a chat with them both. Both are 60 plus couples - my favourite type of people - not! I don’t know what they must think of this odd bloke travelling on his own with a couple of scratty dogs? Sorry, that should read “scratty old bloke travelling with a couple of odd dogs”. My dogs are not scratty.

It wasn’t  actually raining but grey, overcast and a little cool. Had myself a Pot Noodle and a cup of tea before heading out for a short (60 minute) dog walk.

I walked down to the A6 lay-by and then dropped down the dale, over the Monsal Trail and along the River Wye for a bit. I retraced my footprints, stopping half way up the hill to call Thom for a chat in Donegal. With the exception of one wee mallard duck I didn’t see a soul on the walk. 

Back to Brunnehilda for some report writing (work), a microwave ricey meal thing and an episode of The Waltons. I’ve soon dropped back into the Brunnehilda grove!

I’m conscious I could have just copied and pasted my trip from last time into the blog and save myself some agro! Note made to self to ensure my next Brunnehilda adventure is somewhere other than Derbyshire! 

Burbage Moor and a dose of the “Poorpoormes” - 12th June ‘22

Health Warning: This is a much longer blog than normal. The main reason being 3 nights in, I’m now fed up of watching The Waltons so I had more time to kill - sorry! And we’ll start by jumping straight into the deep end!

I don’t really know what grief is? I don’t recognise the word grief as it sounds a lot more painful than I’m personally going / been through. However, I have become convinced that coping with loss is a challenge and is different for everyone. 

I felt I’ve been making progress with missing Kim and our old life. Indeed I have, I am conscious of a lot of things that I can do and think now that I couldn’t have done and thought before. However, like so many journeys, the many forward steps are punctuated by the occasional step backwards. For a lot of today I felt I was taking one of those backward steps. But the fantastic thing about a journey like this is as quickly as you go backwards, you start going forward again.

Bacon bagels and tea suggested this would be a day much like the other 3. The weather was the first difference - it’s decidedly colder. Still a bit sunny, dry, windy but at least 5 degrees cooler. The wind was shaking the van and reminded me of the many (and I mean many) gales Brunnehilda had lent herself into during her relatively short life!

The walk today was suggested by Mandy. The northern (Dark?) Peaks are more moor than dales and therefore they offer plenty of opportunities for unrestricted fun for 2 daft collies. I picked a walk from my new OS App and put Burbage Bridge in the Volvo Sat Nav. First mistake - when you’ve picked a walk on the App, always download it. I didn’t have the benefit of this advice when I headed out and therefore hadn’t heeded it!

Second mistake, the sat Nav took me to North Burbage Bridge not Burbage Bridge. Not a fact I was aware of when I arrived at the car park and found that there was absolutely zero internet coverage. Forget 4G not even a G!

Now I know my way around maps so, rather arrogantly I didn’t think this would be a problem to a man of my substantial experience and intellect. Well it was. Mainly because I was trying to make sense of all the topography around Burbage Bridge not North Burbage Bridge where I actually was. To be fair to me at this time I didn’t even know there was a North Burbage Bridge! There should have been footpaths to the north but there seemed to be nothing. Every path and every person was heading south. So that’s what we did.

The 2 Direwolfs had been in the car for 40 minutes during which time Tilly had worked herself up into her usual pre-walk frenzy. They both went flying off the lead vaulting the rocks and running manically through the rather congested start of the footpath. At this stage they both thought it would be a good time to poo in front of the crowds. Within 5 mins they’d both cleared themselves out twice! Talk about poo bags, I really needed a bloody bin bag!

Thankfully as soon as I got a couple of hundred yards down the path, the crowds had gone, the dogs had calmed down, their bowls had emptied and I had 4G! Result. With the stress abated I took time to look around - absolutely beautiful. Rugged and immense but so beautiful.

After studying the map I realised I was just 1 mile or so higher up than the official start place. However, good news I was actually on the walk just 1 mile short of the starting place - Burbage Bridge. I realised the car was at North Burbage Bridge! Bugger who would have thought there were 2. Calling my destination South Burbage Bridge might have helped but hey, I was on my way.

(I promise I won’t write Burbage Bridge again!)

It turned out I was at Burbage Rocks on the Sheffield Country Walk. It was a gorgeous walk down to the other place I’m not going to mention and then a steep climb up a rocky path onto the top of Burbage Rocks before turning right and heading across Burbage Moor. 

Before the right turn we walked along the ridge. I didn’t realise it was a sheer drop until I saw a couple of rock climbers clearly at the top of their climb. I tried to keep the dogs well away from the edge but the more I shouted at them and pointed to my right, the more they went left. Never mind that might prove useful if ever the danger was on my right!!?

The moor was just magnificent. So rugged, so desolate, so empty and so beautiful. I finally picked up a very wide trail called the Houndkirk Road. There were a few more folks here. A lot of serious walkers and cyclists - and no where near as friendly as the ones encountered over the last couple of days. Don’t know why - maybe it was me?

The path up by Lady Cannings Plantation was starting to get a little bit samey and my left foot / heel was starting to hurt. So, to my shame I aborted the original 10 mile walk and found a shortcut back to the car trimming off a good 4 miles!

I headed back across Burbage Moor to a place called Ox Stones - the dogs and I had drinks and a snack here. It was also here that Tilly blotted her copy book.

Firstly there was the birds! Dogs were asked to be on leads because of nesting birds but the majority weren’t so I had mine off. This was all good until half way round when Tilly suddenly realised she was surrounded by lots of birds - she started barking at them and getting on her hind legs and looking skyward. Not a good look. So I had been shouting at her quite a bit during this part of the walk. Then, at Ox Stones, the copy book was blotted even more. The problem, as always, stemmed from food - I was giving Tilly some nibbles when a nice spaniel innocently wandered by. Tilly went mad. Luckily I had her on the lead so could keep her away. The woman with the dog looked absolutely petrified. Not surprisingly really when you think there was a vicious snarling dog being held back by an old boy with a grey beard drinking a can of cider - in the middle of nowhere! Poor woman!

I now know who Tilly reminds me of when she’s in one of these moods … Begbie in Trainspotting!  

Incidentally, Trainspotting is Gogs (my mother in laws) favourite film! Most mother in laws would have The Sound of Music as their number 1 but Gog has Trainspotting, the most violent, drug crazed British film ever. True!

I quickly got on my way. Finding a path (not marked on the map) that took me straight across the moor back to the car park.

I was left feeling a little bit embarrassed about Tilly but very cross with myself for not sticking to the walk I had planned!

I got into a bit of a spiral and then everything I looked at pushed me further down. A bit like seeing food adverts when you’re starving hungry. In the car park - a couple holding hands and then a couple kissing at a kissing gate. On the road out, a whole gaggle of middle aged married couples out for a walk and then, as I was driving through Haversage, another middle aged couple with their dog sitting outside a cafe enjoying a coffee. All individually perfectly inconsequential but together they just seemed to push me down further.

Thankfully I recognise when I’m in a “poorpoorme” spiral so I pointed the Volvo homebound and headed back to Brunnehilda as quickly as possible. And to cap it all, she’d been joined by another 3 guests in my “private” field!

A cup of tea and an hour or so watching the cricket and eating Cadburys chocolate wasn’t really improving my mood!

So I decided on a 3 point improvement action plan. I feel a list coming on:

Food to fill my Belly:

I had had very little to eat since my breakfast bacon bagels and it was now 6.30. Kim always said my mood was correlated to my hunger so dinner became a priority. I went to the Horse  and Jockey at Tideswell. Nachos and chips were far from a gastronomic masterpiece but they hit the spot. I also had a giggle while in the pub. Half a dozen local youths came into the pub and sat next to me. They were very loud but all had very broad Derbyshire accents. I got to say I couldn’t understand a word they said apart from “fcuk” and “fcuking” which were used unsparingly throughout. I think they were talking about an upcoming holiday in Spain but they could have been discussing a Mary Berry Victoria Sponge recipe for all I knew?!

Another Walk to Clear My Head:

And my God it was gorgeous. I parked up at Miller’s Dale, climbed up onto The Monsal Trail, went over the bridge and then down to The Wye and then back along the north bank of the river to the car. It lasted about an hour and I didn’t see another soul and it was perfect. Benny loved his evening paddle as well.

Spoke to the Kids:

I got hold of Bobby and Thom when I was sitting by the river bank. I got hold of Laura later. We didn’t  really talk about anything it was just enough to see them / speak with them.

I got back to Brunnehilda at about 9.15 and had a nice long chat with a guy in the first motorhome. Chatted about absolutely nothing but it was nice.

With all the above I physical felt the “poorpoormes” falling off me and was back on that forward path I mentioned at the start. More tea and Cadburys Chocolate cemented the deal!!

An Interesting (well to me anyway!) postscript to the day, was provided by Benny. He spends so much time in the river building up his courage to swim but he just can’t do it. No matter how much he tries there is something holding him back. And the great shame is, if only he took the plunge he would be able to swim (as all dogs can) and it would literally change his life! But he just can’t! It reminded me of Carol Dwecks mindsets - I know this blog’s readership are an educated lot so I probably don’t need to explain , but I will ….

Benny has a Fixed Mindset. As much as he wants to swim he has a totally fixed believe that he can’t do it. If only he could switch to a Growth Mindset and take the plunge, knowing that most things are possible and we can all change, learn and grow.

Given the day I’d had, it was a meaningful lesson for me as well. I did mention Carol Dweck to Benny but I really don’t think he got it - I’m going to have to chuck him in the deep end!

Driving back to Brunnehilda , Spotify randomly played one of the most beautiful and saddest tunes ever written - Ashokan Farewell. It made me smile!

Home tomorrow - I’ll be back Derbyshire, I’ll be back!