It has been quite a while since the last entry because apart from an uninteresting stroll around Hollingworth Lake we haven't been walking.
So we decided it was time get our boots on again and picked an easy 4 mile walk doing the Roystone Grange trail. This is situated south of Buxton and we drove down now familar roads passing several turn offs we had taken in the past.
We set off from Minninglow carkpark and joined the high peak trail which it this point runs along the disused bed of an old railway. The first part took us along the top of a stone embankment and we soon reached a disused quarry where the old railway sleepers and rails could be seen, then along another stone embankment from where we could see cows with small calves in the field below. We then left the trail and walked up a track towards Minninglow Hill, which from the distance looks like it its wearing a crown, with bushes around the top and a stand of tall birch trees in the middle. We could see it as we were driving towards the area and it was nice to see it close up. There is a neolithic burial ground on the top of the hill but unfortunately access is denied to the site.
We then descended a field to cross underneath the old railway trail and continued down to reach Roystone Grange. A grange is the name gived to an outlying farm belonging to an abbey and Roystone belonged to the Cistercian Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire, quite some distance away. Apparently this site has been in continuous use since Roman times and there is plenty of evidence of this but we didnt see any. Having walked through the yard of the grange we followed a track back upto a minor road and from there returned to the carpark.
The walk was very easy going past quite a lot of heritage but it is not easy to see any of it, very poor for birds too, not much seen and recognised apart from a lot of swallows.
We had only walked for a couple of hours so my walking partner suggested we do another short walk.
We had walked part of Lathkill Dale on one of our earliest walks and I quite wanted to walk the lower part of the dale but as the walk was only 3 miles it was a long way to go just for that, so it was a perfect second walk.
We drove to the village of Youlgrave or Youlgreave, the village has a youth hostel in what was the old Co-op building and apparently the mens dormitory is in a room still labelled ladies underwear!
We parked near the impressive church and followed a narrow road down to the river Bradford quite a small river to be honest and it soon joined the River Lathkill. We walk alongside the river past a farm, we saw some quite unusual sheep here, dark brown with white socks and strangely a white tail, we found out the are Balwen, a welsh mountain breed. Once past the farm we reach the hamlet of Alport, where a road bridge crossed the river, which runs prettily down past nice gardens, Having crossed the road we continued walking a little way from the river towards Conksbury bridge, nothing of note along here apart from an area of meadow set aside as a conservation area, I could have lingered here looking for birds but didn't.
We reached Conksbury bridge where the river is very slow moving and lingering at the bridge I was delighted to see a little diving bird which I thought was a Little Grebe, consulting my book proved this to be the case, I was very pleased, as I haven't definitely seen one before. Quite a lot of ducks too, one of which I wasn't certain about, I will have to trawl the books to see if I can spot it,
Having crossed the bridge we now walked along the river, at this point a series of weirs turn the river into a number of shallow lakes with lots of ducks and water so clear that with a bit of patience you can see trout below the surface I was very pleased to see a Dipper here, its a lovely little bird, dark with a white bib and quite a comical way of flying, also saw an unidentied Rail type bird in the reeds and again i will try and idenitfy later.
This is a wonderful couple of hundred yards of river and I could quite happily spend a couple of hours here. The only drawback is that it is quite popular and so very noisy at times.
Time was drawing on and so we resumed our walk which again moved above the river and after a short while reached Lathkill lodge and a stone clapper bridge which crossed the river, only it didn't! Despite a broad river a hundred yards or so down stream, the bed was dry! I have heard of some rivers in Derbyshire which flow underground in summer, maybe the Lathkill is one such river.
Having crossed the "river" we now had to ascend through woods along a steep hairpin path, the only strenuous walking we did all day, and having reached the top of the wood we walked thorugh a field to reach another grange, Meadow Place Grange which used to belong to the Augustinian Abbey of Leicester. The grange is neatly set out around a central courtyard. We now walked out of the grange climbing through fields until we crossed the road leading to Conksbury bridge, we soon reached a farm track which led to a road which took us back into Youlgreave, where we enjoyed a much needed mug of coffee before returning to the car.
This second walk was much more interesting than the first, with more varied scenery, not to mention the Little Grebe and Dippers.
The two together were quite tiring we were out walking for about six hours all told, although we did linger a lot one the second walk.
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