Trip 15: August 2024, Lees Meadow Farm, Middleton
We arrived at 12.30 and started to fill up the water. Richard met us and pointed to our pitch and then he said we may be better further up the row. Once the water was filled we headed for the pitch but it was too uneven so we went back to the first pitch and although we had to use the ramps we got level.
Day 2
Heavy rain showers all night and this morning. We stayed around the van and in the afternoon it brightened up so we went for a walk upto Middleton Top and then across fields to Middleton village where there is a pub which we were told to visit. Sue did very well because we had to walk by a herd of young cows and she is very wary of cows but we got past them without any problems.
We were early so we walked around the village, there are a lot of abandoned cars with flat tyres, old Motorhomes etc. opposite that there are some really good old , original, houses.
The Nelson pub was now open and we followed a local inside. I upset an old chap because I did not close the inner door, I apologised and his return was “we don’t want anybody walking in”, from then on we got funny looks from every local that walked in. I asked the barman if they took card payment and he said they are not that far behind other pubs. The pub itself was decorated with lots of quirky ornaments, with a heavy eastern theme. I don’t think we will be back there.
We walked home and for tea we had a curry that Sue prepared before we went out.
Day 3:
We walked to the High Peaks & Tissington trail and followed it down to Cromford. The first interesting stop was the Steeple Grange Light Railway. One of the volunteers told us all about the railway and how it transported stone for the war graves to the canal. He took us on a guided tour even though the railway was not open.
The little engines are mainly battery powered and worked in ship yards, factories and underground. They also have a Ruston and Hornsby loco that was built in Grantham in 1957.
We passed the winding house at Sheep pasture
At Sheep Pasture Top there was view point looking down over Cromford, with an information board that showed the house of Richard Arkwright and the Mill.
We walked down the steep incline to Comford passing the crash pit and on to the canal where the trains were loaded and unloaded.
The original railway buildings have been preserved. The maintenance shed was impressive complete with inspection pit and working forge.
We walked along the canal to the Leawood pump house that pumped water from the river Derwent upto the Cromford canal. The engine is steam powered and in working order.
We crossed over the canal and headed back , we passed a warehouse that was used to load the canal boats and the trains.
We left the canal and joined a steep footpath that took us uphill across fields and through a wood.
We followed the path across the top of the peaks until we went through a small wood where we found a place to haveour lunch.We left the wood and followed a road until we could join another path across the hills and down into Wirksworth.
In Wirksworth we got distracted and ended up in the Feather Star pub. We have been here before and it has a great atmosphere. Today we were honoured when one of the pub dogs joined us and proceeded to eat a dried cows ear under our table. We had been accepted.
The route home started with following a narrow street upto the quarry. It was so steep we had to make a couple of stops to get our breath back. Eventually we reached the footpath that would take us around the quarry and then across some fields back to the campsite. We could hear thunder in the distance and it just started to rain as we arrived back at the motorhome. The heavens opened and we had a shower of hailstones.
The rest of the afternoon was blessed with sunshine to finish off the day. Our walk today was 9.5 miles and we were out for 6 hours.
Day 4:
We walked into Wirksworth. We had a good look around and we found a secret plant nursery.
We had a look around the railway station and Sue bought a book of pub walks in the Peak District.
There were a couple of old buses returning from a tour and they turned into the station yard as we headed up into town. I managed to get a picture of one of the buses.
We then walked to Fanny Shaws park to eat our lunch before walking back home via the millennium garden. On the way home we had to walk through a field with a herd of young cattle. Sue’s worst nightmare but she made it without too much anxiety.
Only 5.5 miles today.
We spent the rest of the day at the campsite relaxing. Our next trip is back to Bilton park between Harrogate and Knaresborough
Iona’s Travels 