Also delayed a little by the arrival of Abner Joseph who seems to have been 'on the way' for a long time!
Congratulations to Jamie & Andy.... & to Abner, too!
I'm sure that he'll feature in several postscripts in the future, particularly as he gets a little older & joins in the explorations!
Didn't have a lot of time to spare today so this was a bit of a tentative exploration of the 'next' villages down the Churnet Valley from Ipstones & Froghall (See Postscript 3). Loads more industrial relics to come back & trace in more detail but I'd discovered the intriguingly-named Dimmings Dale on the OS map, leading to a place called Old Furnace.... had to be target No.1!
Discovered later that our nearest local brewery is at Alton. I've met 'the man' & he tells me they produce an ale called Dimmingsdale - haven't come across that yet but their beers are very good!
Parked at 'The Ramblers Retreat', an attractive & popular-looking café, about half-way between the villages, & headed for the woods!
Heading into Dimmings Dale (2 words on the OS map, 1 word everywhere else!)
A woodcutter's paradise! Thousands of tons of charcoal were produced here in the 15th & 16th centuries to support lead & iron smelting while many of these tracks linked old mills & still lead to dammed pools & intricate waterways
Sandy path beside one of the pools - easy to see why the area was a major centre for sand & gravel extraction
The sand was straight on to the trains & off to Pilkington's in St. Helens!
So many paths to choose from!
Aimed for Oldfurnace (1 word almost everywhere!) but found no more than a few cottages & old water channels
Needs a bit of research before we come back
Not quite sure why I'm looking so glum.... possibly because the glass is empty?!
'The Admiral Jervis Inn' (CAMRA Pub of the Month in June 2013) is in Oakamoor, not far from the site of the original 'Admiral Jervis' pub which was part of the industrial complex that dominated the village
The first 'Admiral Jervis' closed about 1871
More about the good Admiral next time!
Beer of the Day : 'Black Gold', a dark bitter/mild from Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham
Quite light & very drinkable at 3.8% - enjoyed this!
Took to the disused railway for the second part of today's walk, a continuation of the line used by the Heritage Railway mentioned in previous Postscripts
Entrance to the Oakamoor Tunnel (462 yards long!) can be seen through the trees just to the left of the old crossing-keeper's cottage
Originally Alton railway station; after 105 years, in 1954, it was renamed Alton Towers!
Now holiday cottages (yes, you can book them!), the 3-storey building was once the Earl of Shrewsbury's waiting 'suite'!
And he had a special luggage-lift installed to hoist his baggage directly up to his 'Towers' which overlook the cutting!
Pity his influence didn't stretch to saving either the railway or the pubs beneath his walls!
'The Talbot' had been a pub since 1784 & is a listed building.... but it appears terminally closed to me
Long hot walk back to 'The Ramblers Retreat' without refreshment &, by the time we got there, we reckoned we might just as well return to the pubs of Oakamoor!
Here I am, perched between the River Churnet & the sluice gates of the old canal.... & wasn't there a railway somewhere around here as well?!
The Caldon Canal, which runs below Ipstones & has featured in several Postscripts, ends at Froghall Basin but once continued all the way to Uttoxeter
These are the old sluice gates beside the weir & road-bridge at Oakamoor
'The Cricketers Arms' was built as a canal-worker's house at the same time as the canal was being extended
It was opened all the way to Uttoxeter in 1811
The canal company was bought by North Staffordshire Railways in 1847 & they kept the canal open just long enough to transport their railway construction materials to Oakamoor & promptly built their new railway on the canal-bed!
We'd just walked to Alton along what was once a canal!
Sat in the garden & was intrigued to see the bricked-up outline of what was once a canal bridge!
Very warm so opted for a cider - Somersby, made by Carlsberg
I'd never had one of these before but had seen the adverts
Don't like their lager & I don't think I'll be opting for their cider again!
Song of the Day : 'Walking on Water' - an old Melissa Etheridge track. I remember the song but not the album!
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