Trip 14 ,Sept/Oct , WashBrooke Farm,Fenny Bentley
We arrived after 2 hours, I do hate driving through Derby but we made it without getting stuck in the wrong lane.
Our chosen pitch was ready and although we were at an angle of 2° we left it and did not bother with the ramps.
After lunch we chilled and then at 14.00 we went for a walk, which I planned to be about 2.4 miles but by the time we got home it was about 5.5 miles, and then we missed the famous stepping stones at Dovedale so we have to go back tomorrow to tick that box.
The walk took us through the village of Thorpe and then we followed the road back to Fenny Bentley.
On the way home we stopped at the Old Dog pub for some beer. We had a long chat with the landlord, it is their third year and they are beginning to settle in and create a local hub which is good. The beer was great and we will no doubt call in again tomorrow on the way home from our walk.
Sue is cooking Chicken Kiev and chips with a Chocolate Fondant with ice cream. Spoilt or what?
I managed to break a tooth or lose a filling, not sure which yet.
Day 2:
After a couple of false starts we headed out along the Tissington trail and then headed past the Old Dog pub to the footpath that went to Dovedale.
We then turned right at the next footpath and followed the path down a valley to the river Dove and the famous Stepping Stones.
When we reached the stepping stones it was very busy with a group of school kids eating lunch. We followed the path along the river and met another large group of kids coming down the hill. The path lead us upwards to a place called Lovers Leap, here we sat and had lunch. It was nice and peaceful.
Another school group turned up and we listened to the teacher telling the story of how Lovers Leap got its name, from a lady who leap off the top when she heard her fiancé had been killed fighting the French in the Napoleonic War in the 1800s. She was rescued and eventually was reunited with her fiancé , who had not been killed after all.
We left the group and headed back down to the river then we followed it back to the Stepping Stones.We crossed the river by the Stepping Stones and followed the path towards DoveDale car park.
We crossed back over the river and followed the path we used yesterday up over the hill back towards Fenny Bentley. The second time today Sue has walked through a field with cows in, very impressed with her .
We stopped at the Old Dog for a drink and to recover from the 6 miles we had already walked.
We got back to the campsite at about 3pm and there were another couple of campers setting up. We spent the rest of the day in and around the van, recovering from our walk.
Day 3:
It was raining when we woke up and windy. It continued all day with no let up. Some storm was passing through. We stayed in Iona all day so nothing to report today.
This is basic camping with electric but there is plenty to see whether you walk along the Tissington trail to Ashbourne or to Tissington. Then you can walk to Dovedale and walk along the river and if you feel fit there are some steep paths up various hills. Thorpe Cloud is 942ft and very steep.
Iona’s Travels 