David and Jacinta's Walks- 2025

Hathersage Moor and Stanage Edge With a dry, clear day forecast, we set off on a walk from Hathersage. The first section is unremarkable, along riverside paths to Leadmill Bridge. Then, following the river and later the pastures by the river, the footpath eventually enters  Coppice Wood. After a short section in woodland, the route goes uphill towards a railway bridge and then past the 15th century Padley Chapel. The next section through the wooded Padley Gorge beside Burbage Brook remains muddy and strewn with oak and beech leaves, but not as confusing as before. Negotiating the major footpath from the gorge, led us on to the Toad's Mouth and then to the Iron Age Fort of Carl Wark, where we stopped for lunch, out of the wind. We were graced with a rainbow as we ate. Rainbow over Higger Tor from our lunch spot  It was very blowy on the way up to Higger Tor, our next objective and along the edge to Burbage Bridge. The final section of the walk took us up to Stanage Edge where t...

 Grindleford to Higger Tor After a delayed start, courtesy of Royal Mail, we arrived at Grindleford Station cafe about 1pm. It seemed to be doing a roaring trade in large bacon butties. The first notable feature of the walk was Padley Chapel, the scene of Protestant skulduggery in the Reformation. The walk beyond the chapel goes into Bolehill Wood, at times a somewhat confusing place, but still dramatic in its own right. Evidence of quarrying in the past was much in evidence, largely to provide the stone for the construction of the dams in the Upper Derwent valley. We had lunch at the beautiful but imposing quarry of Lawrencefield, where Ben and David climbed many moons ago. Hard Rock at Lawrencefield All around are abandoned millstones- always a poignant sight. Industrial waste- abandoned millstones On to the Surprise View vantage point and the open moorland, which was welcome after the woods, passing the Mother Cap formation on Owler Tor. Mother Cap on Owler Tor We went up Higger...