Trip 17: October 2024. WashBrooke Farm, Fenny Bentley
We found our pitch but it was quite steep and we broke a ramp trying to get level. The warden allowed us to change our position which is better and we managed to pitch without the broken ramps. We are still -1° out but we can cope with that.
After lunch we went for a walk to the Tissington Trail and headed towards Thorpe. It was here that we found a path that took us under the trail and we followed it through a Spinney until it brought us to a field.
We headed up hill and then down Dale as they say.
We crossed a lane and walked another field before coming to the main road. The Coach & Horse pub was in sight, but before we got there we saw a Little Owl sitting on a window sill of a cottage across the road, we took pictures and carried onto the pub for a beer before continuing on.
The idea was to follow the road upto the Tissington Trail but the footpath beside the road was narrow and over grown in places, plus it was littered with bits of car mirrors. Sue saw a public footpath on the opposite side which appeared to take us back up to the farm and campsite.
The map confirmed the route and we tried to follow it, but there was no indication of others using it. Eventually after several stops for me to recover we reached the farm yard. As we were paying guests we ignored the private signs and crossed through the farm yard to the entrance road which we followed back to the campsite.
5 miles for a pint but the views were worth it.
Tonight we have a cottage pie that Sue made for us.
Day 2:
The day started badly. I went outside to do the normal blue jobs and to my horror I found our boots by the steps. We had forgotten to put them away after yesterday’s walk, so they had been outside all night in the rain. There was no way we could dry them but luckily our next walks are based on the Tissington trail so walking boots are not required.
We walked along the Tissington trail to the site of Tissington station and then into the village.
In the centre of the village is Tissington Hall which is also used for weddings and private events. There are tours of the hall during the summer. The estate has been in the hands of the FitzHerbert family for 500 years. The estate has 10 farms.There are 41 estate owned dwellings plus various buildings that are used as holiday lets including the Fire Brigade Barn and a B&B.
It is amazing, we walked a circular route following a road past lots of small cottages, the Methodist church and down onto the Main Street. We passed Wells, of which there are 7, all named, we saw 6 of them.
Old estate buildings are used as shops, the coach house is a renowned cafe, the blacksmith’s is a ceramic and candle making studio. The joiners workshop is a craft shop. We also went into the church, which just shows how it the history of the FitzHerbert family through the various memorial plaques.
After a very interesting hour we left the village and walked north along the Tissington Trail for about a mile. We turned around and walked the trail to the old station at Thorpe. We left the trail and walked towards the village. There is a pub, The Old Dog, that our son had told us about so we made our way there and called in for a drink before heading back along the trail to the campsite.
Day 3:
Walking to Ashbourne along the Tissington Trail today. Once we got to Ashbourne we walked through the original tunnel which is 350mtrs long and found our way to the church.
Our neighbour told us that some of his ancesters were entombed in St Oswald Church. We found them as the large tombs with effigies of them on the tops. One of the Cokayne was killed at Shrewsbury fighting for Henry lV in 1403.
We left the church and walked into the town heading for the market place where there should have been a market but there was nothing there. We asked a lady and she explained that it had moved but it was not very big. We continued window shopping, Sue wanted to check out the charity shops for old teapots, a future project I think.
Eventually we ran out of shops, but found the small market of only a few stalls. We got some sandwiches from the Coop next door and headed for the park where we found a bench to eat our lunch. After lunch a couple more charity shops and then we headed for the Tissington Trail and our walk home.
The trail is all up hill from Ashbourne although when we walking into Ashbourne it seemed mainly flat.
We arrived at Thorpe station where we were going to head upto The Old Dog pub but we were both feeling the effects of the 9 miles so we continued on to the campsite.
Sue can hardly walk and her toe was bleeding, I had a couple of blisters but a beer in the sun soon cured the pain.
Todays total was 21,200 steps = 9.25 miles
That was probably our last trip this year but we start again in February 2025. Hopefully with new sites and some of our favourites from previous years.
Iona’s Travels 