Peeking about the Peaks!

I suspect that I'm not the first to use such a title, and most likely won't be the last, and yes I do agree that it's cheesy, but hey, it'll have to do for now!

So, indeed I did take a peek around the Peak District National Park last week. The White Peak area, so-called because of it's limestone substrata, is a particularly beautiful place in this ridiculously pretty part of England! Why don't more people know about it? It's gorgeous!!

Well, I am very pleased to say that I now know of it and have seen quite a large portion of it over the last few months. This time I wandered over the area of Monsal Dale, taking a circular route from Ashford-in-the-Water up to Monsal Head and down through the Dale, following the lovely River Wye back to Ashford-in-the-Water again.



As you walk up along the fields that sit above the village, have a look at the drystone walls. There are so many fossils easily visible in the limestone that has been dug locally to provide the stones for the walls. Mostly shells of varying forms, it tells of times when the peaks and dales were actually on the shores of a vast tropical sea! It's really hard to picture white sands, blue seas, palm trees and crystal waters when the wind and rain is coming at you sideways on the Peaks, but if you use a little imagination it is strangely warming!

I hope you do have a look for the fossils in the stones, but please, it is worth saying, don't be tempted to take any of the stones home! These walls are extremely old and should be protected. They've stood for hundreds of years and sheltered so many people, both travellers and farmers, shepherds, shepherdesses, and villagers who used the walls to hide behind while conducting business or, far more excitingly, romantic liaisons and illicit trysts!! Yes, I do have a fairly active imagination, but I really like to think of who else has been along these ancient pathways and who else may have touched the walls and looked for fossils just as I do now!

As it happens, these really are ancient pathways! Walking across the top, you amble past Fin Cop, which is the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort. A little further along is the very exciting Hob's House, a rock formation that was also home to a legendary giant called Hob, who came out at night to thresh the farmers corn. Clearly grateful, the farmers rewarded Hob with bowls of cream! I like that!!

Anyhow, having wandered past the fields on the tops, the path drops away dramatically at Monsal Head into the dale below. It's a very popular view point, and it's easy to see why. The views must look fantastic at any time of year! I really would like to come back in the autumn when all the trees are changing colour and the sun sits lower in the sky. It'll look wonderful.

Just as we arrived at Monsal Head, a light rain started and it seemed an excellent time to nip into the tea rooms at the craft shop. One pot of tea and an extremely tasty homebaked fruit scone later, and we carried on our way down to the bottom of Monsal Dale. The view is pretty much dominated by the old viaduct, but as you go lower down, even that disappears under the volume of foliage and vegetation alongside the river.



The path carries on across a bridge where the view back up to the top is as breathtaking as the view down was!



Passing under the viaduct (now no longer carrying trains, the viaduct is used as part of a footpath now!) we wandered into the meadows that sit prettily beside the River Wye here. Full of wildflowers and butterflies, and surrounded by birdsong, it's also easy to believe that this is a landscape that hasn't changed for centuries (well, apart from the enormous great viaduct of course!!). Turning a corner though you come across a weir, which although concrete in structure, still sits attractively in its setting beneath the trees that line the escarpments of Monsal.



Another place that will look stunning in the autumn... and in winter, and in spring!!

The walk back to Ashford-in-the-Water carries you across the A6 and into a rather different but equally impressive landscape! Entering Great Shacklow Wood is rather like entering a film set for Lord of the Rings!! Also known as Demon Dale, this whole place feels very eerie and it's easy to see why so many legends and myths have been born from these paths. I really wouldn't like to walk through it on a foggy day!!

Further along, as you drop down from the woods and come back to the river, you will see an old derelict mill.



It's actually rather attractive and the detailing around the window frames and roofline is stunning... but the eerie feelings from the woods live on and pervade this place, which was once actually a mill used for crushing bones to make fertiliser!!!

Safely back at Ashford-in-the-Water and free of any demons, it seemed the right thing to do to visit the local shop and sample their wares... a sausage roll and an egg custard tart to be precise. Yum!!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk