May 2010
Recently I decided to go back to a place I used to cycle to as a lad when I lived in Sheffield.
We would cycle about 4 miles to a place called Ringinglow, hide our bikes by the road in the
heather, and yomp across the moor to a pole we could see sticking up on the horizon about
2 miles away. This was Stanedge Pole which was not far from the sheer rock face of an
escarpment called Stanage Edge.
Driving into the Peak District National Park, the first sign was this millstone...
I continued until I was overlooking the village of Hathersage down in the valley.
Going round a bend in the road called 'Surprise View' gives you your first view of
Hathersage and the Hope Valley beyond.
A little further down the hill was the inn where I had booked a room for two nights
with a view down the valley....
Next morning, Bonnie and me set off from the car park below Stanage Edge. We took the
path up through the woods to the rock face.
Going through the wood we met this lamb with its mum - and she took great exception to
Bonnie, even though she was on a lead and was not bothering her one bit!
Eventually we came to the rock face which is a popular place for would-be mountaineers to
get their first taste of rock climbing.
These young rock climbers were getting a lesson from their instructor
The sky became ominous, with some lightning and distant thunder, when we approached
Robin Hood's Cave!
There are many weird rock formations.
We continued upwards through the woodland.
The sky cleared in time to get this great view of High Neb in the distance, the highest
point on Stanage Edge.
Approaching the top....
.... where there are some great views - like this one over towards Hope Valley.
In the heather on top, another sheep warned Bonnie not to come too near....
....so she just turned her back on them and admired the views while I ate my cheese sandwich!
A mini bus full of climbers/hikers goes along the road down in the valley.
Rock climbing instructor.
We saw quite a few climbers during that day.
The rocks make a good training ground for trainee rock climbers.
When we were lads we used to climb around these rocks all day without ropes and
all the other paraphernalia. But that was before all the Elf 'n Safety Regulations,
I suppose! (and was with the arrogance of youth!)
About half a mile from the rocks is Stanedge Pole which I mentioned earlier.
It can be seen for miles around across the moors.
Judging by the carvings on the rocks around the base of the pole, it has been
there for quite a long time!
We came back down the rocks and this is the path leading back to the car park....
....where we went past a lot of huge rocks that had obviously rolled down the hillside at one time.
Later we went to Higger Tor, a hill where there are a lot of unusual rock formations.
There are some nice views from up there - this one is of the path leading to Toad's Mouth in
the far distance.
This group of youngsters were really enjoying themselves.
Bonnie enjoyed sniffing round the rocks, too!
Later we went through this gate and about half a mile along the path....
....we came across this millstone graveyard!
There is a disused quarry at the top of the hill and these millstones were obviously abandoned
when technology made windmills redundant for grinding corn.
At the end of the day two cyclists make their way home.....
...and we come to the end of a very enjoyable visit to the Peak District.
I hope you enjoyed my photos - thank you for looking!
