Photograph Gallery Stage 49 Hartington to Eaton Dovedale
Photograph Gallery Stage 49 Hartington to Eaton Dovedale, Tuesday 12th July 2011
The Story:
Today was really special. It was a walk of the halves, the first half being absolutely stunning and the second half very good with reasonable tracks and stunning views of the North Midlands.
We started out on a bit of a low having stayed at Hartington Youth Hostel. £28 per person for a double room, no soap, no towels, no toilet, no breakfast and we even had to make our own beds. What has happened to Youth Hostels? Hotels and B&B have provided much better service and value for money on the walk. No more hostels for me.
Back to the walk and it was stunning from the start with a short climb in sublime Peak land to Berresford Dale then Wolfscote Dale which were both excellent preludes to the highlight of the day, exquisite Dove Dale which Strolling Steve and I walked through in thrill and joy. The limestone edges and pinnacles, the crystal clear River Dove and the whole aura of the place took us on our journey through in no time at all. We excelled in the first nine miles of our day, hardly noticing them. We took a break at the car park cafe, enjoyed a cup of tea and planned ahead, sadly the sublime Dales were now behind us.
What followed was better than we imagined as we followed fields, lanes, woods and trails to Marten Hill which provided us with an awesome views of middle England, miles and miles of the country. The weather was beautiful, walking was good, both Strolling Steve and I felt good so we stepped onwards to Rochester, our intended stopover site but as we felt so good we stocked up with fayre for the evening and walked a further two miles to a field in the vicinity of Eaton Dovedale, land of Eddie Bamford, owner of JCB. No sooner had we pitched camp on a beautiful evening when an estate worker drove up in his Golf card and said we couldn’t camp there. With a bit of flannel we persuaded him to allow to camp in a field just below the path. He said “ok, just keep out of sight of the house” which we did and actually we had a better site on a flat field compensating for our inconveniece. As we pitched a second time two JCB security men strolled over the field and with fortune they were good humoured and allowed us to camp. We spent the next hour hopelessly trying to solve the Times crossword before retiring to bed. It was 8.20pm. Ace!
Strolling Steves Daily Statistics:
Scenery: 9/10 – Outstanding. Dovedale crowded but still sublime.
History: 2/10 – The limestone caves surely have a history.
Interest: 9/10 – A great nature walk.
Track: 8/10 – Easy walking and good signposting.
Comment: Fabulous.
The Photographs:
Scenic start to a long day
Morson Wood
Approaching Beresford Dale
Footbridge in Beresford Dale
It was not easy getting out there
Cave near Wolfscote Hill which I had lunch in some years ago
Wolfscote Dale
Rock interests in Wolfscote Dale
Pointing the way ahead
In splendid technicolour
Money tree
No time for fishing for Strolling Steve
Shining Tor
I'm very pleased with this shot
On parade
Milldale Bridge
Cave at Dove Holes
Everywhere was beautiful in Dovedale
Lots of green
Ilam Rock
Rude tree
This Dipper kept us entertained as he constantly dived under the water
Dovedale Castle
Keeping guard
I had a lovely chat with this wonderful bunch of ramblers from the Birmingham area
Stepping stones across the River Dove near Dovedale Castle
Balancing act
Siblings
Cool cows
What's the score? We're winning!
Still a powerful image
In a new county
On track from Coldwall Bridge
The North Midlands come into view at Marten Hill
Haymaking
Crossing fields
Scenic bridleway near Swinscoe
Trees always capture my attention
Near Gold's Wood close to the village of Church Mayfield
Spinning along
Flower in Ellastone
Family cruise
Along the River Dove from Ellastone
Continuing on
A centre of empire
Toward Rocester
Through the crop
The mill built by Richard Arkwright is now JCB Academy
JCB Academy, Rocester
The River Dove near Rocester Bridge
Another trail, we shall follow the Staffordshire Way tomorrow
Walking from Rocester to Eaton Dovedale
This was the best part of the Staffordshire Way
Brilliant sky
Our second pitch was much better than the first, a wonderful spot
Doing the crossword
Goodnight