Monday 7 October 2013

W/C 28th September 2013 - Hartington Area

Another walk with the Sutton-in-Ashfield Rambling Club took me to Parsley Hay, Hartington, Wolfscote Dale and Newhaven. The hills in this area are not as rugged as further north. The area is a more verdant and less harsh environment though, making this a very beautiful trip.

We began at Sparklow, just off the A515 road south of Buxton. This is on the High Peak Trail, which I covered a few months ago on my own. The sky seemed quite dark and threatening at first. This was the view south west from Sparklow as we got off the coach.

 By the time we had walked south along the trail to Parsley Hay, the cloud had largely evaporated, leaving glorious blue skies and sunshine. This is a view looking west from the Parsley Hay refreshment stop.
 We retraced our steps a short way before setting out west towards Pilsbury. This was the view looking north towards the High Peak Trail as we crossed the Hartington road.
 Climbing to a summit north of Carder Low, the view north towards Crowdicote was very beautiful.
 We passed this rather interesting stone, with Carder Low in the background.
 The cows around here were very territorial!
 Pilsbury is a very small group of small farms and houses.......
 After crossing the River Dove, we climbed steeply up the other side of the valley. The view here is stunning. Pilsbury Castle ruins are just visible to the left.
 At the top of the rise, we saw Sheen Hill to the west.
 We then turned south towards Hartington. Here is another view looking north east, slightly further south along the valley.
 Finally, Hartington came into view, to the south east.
 A rest break here allowed me to explore this small village. Here is the duck pond.
 .......and the church.
 This is another view of the village centre from the south west.
 From Hartington, we climbed steeply, before dropping down to Beresford Dale, on the Dove. Another cow was rigorously guarding her territory at the side of the footpath...
 Beresford Dale was very pretty, if difficult to photograph. The steep sides were topped by cliffs.
 After a sharp turn to the left, we entered a short open stretch before entering the spectacular Wolfscote Dale, just visible in the distance.
 This was fairly open at first, with limestone crags up above us - including a few caves.
 The valley gradually closed in, with strong contrasts between light and shade.
 ..plus a few trees...
 More trees and crags.....
 ... and a pleasant sunny curve in the valley...
 Just south of Coldeaton, we turned north east up a steep, narrow valley towards the Tissington Trail.
 At the top, we could see the trail heading north - a path we were soon to follow.
 The light was fading a little by the time we neared the end of our walk, close to Newhaven.

 The weather had been very warm for the time of year. The scenery was very beautiful. Many thanks again the the Sutton in Ashfield Rambling Club for a superb walk.



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