Postscripts from The Peak District (25) - Deep Hayes Country Park, Leek Canal, Ladderedge Country Park, Longsdon, Hazlehurst & Denford

Catch-Up 8 - Friday 26th July!

Out on my own today & set out to explore the Leek branch of the Caldon Canal which once linked the town to the Potteries & gave its industries access to the Trent & Mersey &, thus, European & World Markets

Had wanted to park in Ladderedge Country Park where Leek Canal Basin used to be (it's under an industrial estate & a supermarket now) but I was in the van & there's a height restriction on parking!

Ended up at Deep Hayes (Postscript 5) where I knew the van would be fine.... & that meant I'd be finishing very close to the fine 'Hollybush Inn' at Denford! (also Postscript 5!)

Fine place to live! Overlooking the Churnet Valley, garden sloping to (almost!) your very own waterway & a couple of speed boats moored for your personal use!

Caldon Canal at Deep Hayes - between Cheddleton & Longsdon

 

Those are the outskirts of Leek at the top of the hill

In the foreground is what I take to be an old holding-area for boats wishing to pass through the single-carriageway Leek Tunnel!

And here is the southern portal of Leek Tunnel

 

Completed in 1798, it was never actually closed to navigation, it just fell into disuse & became impassable!

 

Re-opened in April 1985

Holding & winding area from above the tunnel

 Followed the canal as far as I could, almost to a dead end but not quite, there's a feeder canal which runs through Ladderedge Country Park from Rudyard Reservoir, or Lake as you will soon see it poetically called!

 

Crossed the main road & found a second, tiny car-park with no height restriction.... could have been useful!

 

Frightening maze of footpaths to explore, unsurprisingly they all leave the car-park in the same direction!

Knew where I was going - uphill & through the woods to Longsdon!

 

The 'Wheel Inn' on the main road at Longsdon was opened c.1850 as the 'Waterworks Inn' - hardly surprising with all the canal, reservoir, feeder & river activities!

A pint of 'Take Courage' Best Bitter here - good!

Was aiming for this odd 3-pronged stone monument on the hill in front of Stonelowe Hall

It appears on OS maps but I can find no reference to it anywhere

Hoping for some kind of plaque.... but there were only sheep!

 

 

Finally reached 'the point' of this whole walk!

 

Hazlehurst Junction!

 

This is where the Leek branch takes off from the Caldon Canal

 

 

 

How old is this sign?

The canal beyond Froghall, through Oakamoor to Uttoxeter, was filled-in at the end of the 1840s!

(Postscript 15)

 

Hazlehurst Junction - fascinating spot!

Perversely, the Leek branch shoots off to the right here even though Leek is situated to the left of the valley & the canal... but that gave the canal-builders an opportunity to construct an aqueduct a little further along to get their Leek-bound vessels going, geographically, in the right direction!

 

And here is that aqueduct, built in 1841 - very impressive it is, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the aqueduct from its upper level!

 

 

Self-indulgent?

Actually, no! It enabled the main Caldon branch to continue through to its end with only a couple more locks while retaining the height of the Leek branch meant that tunnel only had to be 130 yards long - clever stuff!

And so... 'The Hollybush Inn' at Denford: had this really been the whole point all along?!

Postscripts from The Peak District (24) - Stoney Middleton, High Rake & Darlton Quarries

Catch-Up 7 - Wednesday 24th July!

School holidays, so that's why Kirstie is walking with us.... though we're still on the well-dressing trail, albeit after dipping into a little industrial archaeology!

The population of Stoney Middleton was decimated by the Black Death but, as near-neighbours to Eyam, were chief providers of food for that infamous plague village

Only a couple of miles from Baslow & Chatsworth so we popped in at the farm shop again to stock up with 'interesting' burgers!

Had been happily heading up Coombs Dale until we decided to head off past an old lead mine for the recently-re-opened High Rake Quarry

 

 

 

 

 

Coombs Dale, above Stoney Middleton, but at a slightly precipitous angle - Sore Knees!

 

 

 

Now that's better! Bit more sideways level (less painful!) but still more climbing to the top!

 

 

Wow!

There was once a lead mine here..... there have been countless battles to stop the quarrying on Longstone Edge but it appears that work has restarted

 

Apparently it's all about fluorspar - handy in the production of aluminium

What amazes me is that the quarries here were started by hand & probably before the world had heard of fluorspar!

 

Little Longstone & Monsal Head, where we were walking only a few days ago

Les was impressed how it all seems to come together!

 

 

On the way back down to Stoney Middleton & this is the disused Darlton Quarry, used for the extraction of limestone & the production of lime

Just like the Churnet Valley!

 

And this is what's left!

Wonder what the Churnet Valley would look like if you took away the trees

Miniature version of the Grand Canyon?

A tale as old as the hills... one wonders what caused her demise just a couple of years later!


















These cottages look old enough to have been around in Hannah Baddaley's time
Wonder if she landed on the Indian restaurant's roof?

Repaired to 'The Moon Inn' in Stoney Middleton before embarking on our tour of the village well-dressings


There's an old murder tale associated with this establishment.... but I'll save that for my next visit!


The cross, curiously, was erected to mark the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846







Main village well-dressing outside St Martin's church

Couldn't find an angle to photograph the unusual octagonal church building because of a huge marquee & various circles of chairs in the grounds - something else for next time!

Apparently, the original was built by Joan Eyre in thanksgiving for the safe return of her husband from the Battle of Agincourt








Stoney Middleton has its own Roman Bath &, as a spa, was preferred by some to Buxton


The spring gives rise to this stream, waterfall & pool - our favourite dressing here!















And, last of all, we spent an age looking at this wonderful collection of dressings dating back over 75 years!



 

Postscripts from The Peak District (23) - Tatton Park

Catch-Up 6 - Thursday 18th July!

OK... so even I might admit that including Tatton Park in the Peak District may be stretching things but it is within an hour's drive & I did say that I'd be 'adopting' bits that appealed to me!

Met Lee here who'd driven down from Lancaster with friends - Tatton is just about half-way

Had an excellent day wandering around the Park in sweltering heat while it geared itself up for a weekend pop concert. As a result of both of these most of the deer had taken themselves off to the trees....

 

 

 

Never been here before & didn't know quite what to expect though the trustworthy 'Country Walking' has published several walks around the Park

 

 

 

Put off a bit at the beginning by the constant drone of 'planes taking off from Manchester Airport, within a short while I was totally oblivious...

 

Copy of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens

 

 

Did I care that it was only a copy? Not sure that I'd get to Athens this afternoon!

Melchett Mere - walked all the way round this today... & a bit more!

Given all the human activity in the Park it took us quite a while to glimpse our first group of deer.... then they were all over the place!

 

 

 

Same deer but sneaked up on them from a different direction!

Out by Tatton Old Hall when we bumped into this group of fallow deer

Bunch of poseurs really!

 

Could have spent a lot more time here & no doubt we'll be returning.... but it really was time for lunch!

 

Knutsford, itself, looks to be a fascinating place... somewhere else I've never been before. We need to come back & take a little time to wander through the town

 

 

Ended up eating at 'The Angel', another establishment with a unique history

 

 

Good meal - cider fine (too hot for ale!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of weeks later & Les was back here for a Flower Show

I've not yet returned but quite fancy a winter sortie with those deer!

Postscripts from The Peak District (22) - Hassop, Monsal Head, Little Longstone, Great Longstone & Pilsley

Catch-Up 5 - Tuesday 16th July!

Out walking the well-dressings again but built around a cunning 'circular' which took us along the Monsal Trail & through Headstone Tunnel, the only one of the re-opened tunnels we hadn't walked before

Parked at Hassop Station, now a Visitor Centre & a popular place for bike hire for those wishing to travel a little more speedily along the route of the old railway!

Very close to Chatsworth so popped into its Farm Shop at Pilsley on the way home to buy half a pig for the freezer - the freezer was very grateful!

How could you ever tire of this view?  Monsal Dale from Monsal Head & the infamous railway which drew vitriol from John Ruskin! I like it, anyway!
(Postscript 9)

And here we were, back at the 'Stables Bar' again!

Enjoyed a fine pint of Wincle's 'Undertaker'.... again!

 

Remember this picture of Les - keep it in mind for later in the day!

Who needs another photo of the 'Monsal Head Hotel'?

Don't Care! The bar & the view are amongst my very favourites anywhere!

 

Lots of convenient pubs on today's very warm walk... though we only managed to stop at three!

 

 

Little Longstone Congregational Chapel

 

 

Their Flower Festival coincided with the well-dressings

 

 

I've seen much better photos of the Chapel than this - must come back & try a little harder!

 

 

 

100th Anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show featured in quite a few well-dressings but I, certainly, was not aware of the Peak District connection

 

 

The 'Superintendent' of that first show held in the Hospital Gardens (hence this dressing) was Derbyshire-born Samuel Thomas Wright who began his career as an apprentice gardener in Ashbourne before moving to Brailsford - both of them places where we looked at houses!

 

Walked across the fields to Great Longstone where we heard the sad story behind this dressing

 

Christine, having run the village shop for many years, had died in a road accident (the notorious local 13 bends) just a couple of weeks earlier

 

We passed it on our way out of the village & the sign was still in the window, 'Closed until further notice'

This impressive Jubilee Mosaic in Great Longstone was designed & created by local school-children with the help of artist, Jane Littlefield

Told you to remember that earlier pub stop!

Too many beers or too many hills?

Perhaps it was just the warm weather!

 

 

Actually, Les is in good company.... I understand Roy Hattersley lives here: in the village, that is, & I seem to remember him liking a pint!

 

 

The pub is named after St. Crispin, patron saint of shoemakers &, as a walker, that's always useful to know!

On our way home now, though still quite early in the afternoon

This is Pilsley Village Green, overlooked by a Primary School: a couple of young girls came out & invited us to their afternoon musical concert: unfortunately, I had an appointment with a pig & a barmaid.... though Les wouldn't let me tell them that!

 

Another Everest well-dressing, & we'd seen several of these, but in these lovely surroundings this was one of the best

 

 

A typical 'estate' village, inhabited mostly by estate-workers.... but looking far-too-expensive to live in!

 

 

We went off in search of our pig! An estate pig!

 

 

 

 

Just how many 'Devonshire Arms' are there on the Duke of Devonshire's Chatsworth Estate? Well, I know of 3 within 2 miles of each other & that's only ones that I've walked to & had a beer at!

I felt a degree of sympathy for the Dof E teenagers sheltering in the shade across the road when one of them declared, "The Devonshire Arms! Weren't we here an hour ago?

 

 

Postscripts from The Peak District (21) - Dronfield Woodhouse, Unstone, Cutthorpe, Millthorpe & Belper

Catch-Up 4 - Monday 15th July!

Bit of an exploring kind of day, really, using well-dressings to guide us!

Drove to the eastern edge of the 'Peak District', probably into bits I seem to have adopted, revisiting some places we'd been through when house-hunting

Just 2 miles outside the National Park & commuter-territory for both Chesterfield & Sheffield

 

 

Interesting Football Fact!

Dronfield football ground is currently home to Sheffield F.C. - the oldest football club in the world!

 

 

Unstone is a small village about a mile from Dronfield, sitting on the same River Drone - sensibly, their well-dressings coincide

Moved on to Cutthorpe, another small Derbyshire village but with 3 pubs... hmm, challenging Ipstones!

 

Stopped here at 'The Three Merry Lads' & it was a cider in the garden after all the hot walking so far!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opposite the pub is this interesting village facility - it's packed with books, most of which were in pretty good condition!

Excellent idea for an old phone box!

Favourite well-dressing from Cutthorpe - brilliantly intricate!

 

Lovely cricket ground just up the lane from 'The Merry Lads' with footpaths heading off in all directions, including down to Linacre Reservoir which I'd already pencilled-in for a little exploration - next time!

Millthorpe : smallest of all the places we visited today but how about this for a well-dressing!

 

 

 

Finished up in Belper, biggest place we visited today & we had seriously considered one or two locations around here

 

 

Most of their well-dressings were collected in the River Gardens, beside the Derwent & adjacent to Strutts Mill which is part of the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too many people

Glad we opted for Ipstones!