Today we headed down to Derbyshire to was a couple of trails on old railway lines. We started off a Parsley Hay cycle centre, this was originally Parsley Hay station on the Cromford and High Peak railway. The bed of the railway is now part of the High Peak Trail. The place was very busy and we set of southward toward a junction wshere the Tissington trail commences. We continued on the narrower High Peak trail, which lead through a cutting full of trees and bushes alive with birds, pretty certain I spotted a whitthroat and a chiff chaff here. The trail continued through a small tunne lunder the A515 main road. We passed through more cuttings and between farm land on a glorous September mornimh, the only downside being us having to move over to let cyclists past.
After a couple of miles we reached a brick factory at Friden Grange and shortly afterward left the trail to walk up a monor road and then cross the A515 again. A short distace from here we past the Newhaven House Hotel, now unused but originally built in about 1800 as a coaching inn which at its heyday had stabling for 100 horses. We now turned up the farm track leading to Stanedge Grange and we crossed the farm yard andwalked through a field where a view opened up of over Hartington and the hills in the distance over Manifold Dale.
After taking a break in a field to eat our lunch, we dropped down through fields to reach the Tissington Trail and headed north. This trail is somewhat wider than the High peak trail, I can only assume it was a double track railway as opposed to a single track we had been on before. Before long we reached Ruby Wood, which was palnted in 1991 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Peak District National Park and contains a good variety of native British trees.
We continued along and soon reach Hartington Signal Box this has been restored and still has the signal levers in situ, it is also a poular stop for cyclists and walkers so unusally on our walks we were able to buy ice creams. This railway line was originally part of the Manchester to London line.After the break we continued walking above farmland I spotted a groug of baby swallows perched o nthe top of a barn door waiting for their parents to return with food for them We also had good views down through Hand Dale, where the road to Hartington runs. We then passed through the deep cutting though limestone, before reaching the junction again and finished the walkback at Parsley Hay.
Now, the prehistoric site of Arbor Low is only a mile away from Parsley Hay, so we jumped in the car and drove around to Upper Oldhams Farm on whose land Arbor Low stands, and after parking took the short walk up through the farm fields to Arbor low.
Arbor Low is a Noelithic Henge and consists of a band enclosing a ditch and then a raised area where 40 or so large limestone blocks are arranged in a circle, although unlike its more famous cousin in Wiltshire none of the blocks are now standing. It is suggested that it was constructed sometime before 2000BC and a barrow was added in the Bronze Age. A short distance away there is also the Barrow of Gib Hill, this was originally contrcted prior to Arbor Low but a second barrow was added in the Bronze age. After visting Gib Hill we returned to the car for the journey home.
Todays walk was around 8 miles in total but was for the most part pretty flat, but enjoyable neverthe less.
