Plenty of wells & an interesting climb to one of 'The Seven Wonders of the Peak' but Les was foiled again in her on-going quest to secure a Paramo jacket. Made it a cheap day out!
Started off with a drive out to Dore which, on the outskirts of Sheffield, sounds a long way away but is only just beyond the great eastern 'Edges' of Stanage, Burbage & Froggatt
Part of Derbyshire until 1934, the village school nails its colours firmly to the mast as a suburb of Sheffield!
This old water trough was in use until the 1950s & is situated on Watering Trough Green, one of 6 ancient 'greens' in Dore
Surprised to learn that former England football & cricket captains have homes here: Bryan Robson & Michael Vaughan!
Emlyn Hughes also lived in the village.... a prosperous & fashionable spot!
Its MP?...... Nick Clegg!
A short drive back to Hathersage & Les' hopes were high - a lady in one of Bakewell's walking shops felt sure they would have the jacket here
No jacket.... but lots of penguins - we couldn't find out why!
Had fun with this, trying to identify different food adverts of the last 50 years or so
Still lots to do so whizzed off up the Hope Valley, pausing just long enough for a quick beer in the lovely sunny garden of 'The Travellers Rest'!
Proved to be a good decision as the pub at the curiously-named village of Peak Forest wasn't open!
Beer of the Day : an old favourite, Thwaites' 'Wainwright'.... though, I have to say, I've had better pints
The well-dressing was tucked away in Old Dam, the hamlet from which the village grew & the point at which our trek into the hills began
Just below my feet is a gash in the limestone 110' long, 20' wide & 245' deep which opens into a huge cavern - Eldon Hole
I was happy standing on the outside!
In 1636 Thomas Hobbes declared it to be one of 'The Seven Wonders of the Peak'.... though I think he stood on the outside as well!
More on these 'Seven Wonders' & Thomas Hobbes later
Safely on top of Eldon Hill
Steeped in folklore & legend, just as the similarly-named Eildon Hills near Melrose (see LeJog Day 68)
Elves lived here, of course, while Bronze Age Man used the hill as a burial ground....
....but its quarry is infamous as the Peak District's best-known eyesore! That's on the far side of the hill & not on today's agenda but quarrying ended in 1999 & you know what I'm like for industrial archaeology! I'll be back!
And there's another wonder! Mam Tor!
Charles Cotton, fisherman friend of 'compleat angler' Izaak Walton, got in on the act with the first Tourist Guide to the Peak District (1681) in which he listed his 'Seven Wonders' & Daniel Defoe (where didn't he get to?) was a bit of a latecomer, turning up here about 40 years later
But Mam Tor, 'the shivering mountain', is on all their lists!
Another ancient burial ground &, though it's been cheerfully moving, crumbling & slipping throughout its history ('shivering'), it is said that its shadow has never changed! Now that is a wonder!
OK! Song of the Day : 'Seven Wonders' by Fleetwood Mac!
Unusual sight on our descent back to Old Dam - man, woman & youth operating an ancient baler, one of those that churns out small rectangular bales, then collecting & stacking them by hand
Learned later in one of our locals, 'The Old Red Lion', that those huge rolls of dustbin-bagged hay that dot the fields are useless for smallholders - unmanageable & nowhere to store them
Today's final port of call
I'd failed to manage a beer here when I walked the Tissington Trail in pouring rain a couple of years ago - it was shut!
'The Duke of York' at Pomeroy
A 15th century farmhouse that became an alehouse in the early 1600s
It's believed that Dick Turpin once stayed here, probably on one of his day trips from Essex!
Sat in the garden in lovely sunshine.... the only customers!
Fine end to what had turned out to be quite a busy day
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