ROBIN HOOD TO WELLINGTON AND CHATSWORTH

Another last minute choice for us today, basically a route we have done before, but in reverse and chosen because it is at 'my end' of the Peak District as I have to meet a train at a certain time this afternoon.

So we meet up in the almost deserted car park next to the Robin Hood pub at the intersection of the A619 & B6050. The car park is free to use for members of the NT or RSPB, so we are spared the fee.

Before we gear up we do our bit for recycling: swapping clothes that are outgrown, no longer suit, or no longer fit. Between ourselves and our daughters we manage a few good wardrobes changes through the year.

With Mollie eager to go we go through the gate to the pub and cross their car park and onto the main road, heading towards Baslow. A short distance past the farm we clamber over the stile in the wall and into the large moorland field which is, in places, boggy underfoot.

This has an easy gradient, and a large but mostly obscured enclosure (possibly bronze age though I have been unable to obtain details), along with a few spindly birch trees. There are also ponies and horses grazing but they are not interested in us.

We cross through into the next field area and start the very slow descent across rocky ground and through trees beneath Gardom's Edge. As we approach the main Sheffield road (A621) we meet our first walker out for the day.

It's a narrow stile onto the road, but once across we go through onto a wide track that cuts down to Bar Brook and crosses the small bridge beneath the much larger bridge leading to the picturesque house high on the opposite bank.


We wind our way up the steps (pausing to admire the house's lovely gardens even though we only have a glimpse) and into the woods at Jack Flat. We keep on walking upwards, the path is fairly clear most of the time and there is a drystone wall on our left to guide us. 

We are soon looking for a path to take us up to the ridge where Wellington's Monument stands but none of the tracks look particularly inspiring. Finally we find a steep (very) path uphill and go for it. With the help of a few trees we hoist ourselves up and emerge a little further along than we had intended, but within sight of an enticing bench for lunch.

Once settled we start off with a nip from the secret flask (strawberry vodka) we have a coffee (spiced vanilla latte) followed by sandwiches/salad then our buns (custard danish) and mince pies washed down with more coffee. We are certainly building ourselves up for the festive season.

Suitably replete - and feeling more in need of a post-lunch nap than a walk - we set off again before the chilly breeze makes us even colder. It is all downhill now on the wide, rutted track and we eventually make it back to Baslow village. 

Here we wind through the streets until we come out at the main road (and the conveniently placed conveniences) where we once again take the back lane over the river then right past the cottages (Were these used in the film version of Pride and Prejudice, PC wonders?) and into Chatsworth Park.

We turn left and follow the fence line for a short distance until we turn uphill to cross the entry road, which is lined with coaches waiting for the numerous day-trippers in the house itself, and continue to the stile in the fence line and past a huge flock of disinterested sheep.

The grassy track is wide and easy to follow and soon we are at the extremely high steps-in-the-wall stile which takes us onto a broad wooded path. We are making good time now as the path runs parallel to the road, an eventually we veer left to go down a muddy path to the sturdy bridge over Heathy Lea Brook.

Once over the bridge we negotiate the very steep steps up to the road, pleased that we weren't doing these downhill as they are muddy and slippery. At the busy road we cross over then it is only a short walk back to the cars in the car park.

Surprisingly we have made far better time than we anticipated and are able to pause for a chat before it is time to set off again. Our next walk will be our last before Christmas intervenes so we have fingers crossed for good weather.

RETURN TO THE FLEET - BACK ON BIRCHEN EDGE

We really haven't been doing terribly well lately. Yet another gap has occurred in our walking due to unforeseen circumstances, so we've missed another week. But sheer determination has us out today, despite being under the influence of a streaming cold. And we are lucky. The weather is relatively mild, and we are able to ignore the wind and the sogginess from previous rain.

We're a little late meeting up; road works on the A57 (for PC) and a slow photocopier for me (long story) sets us back a bit, but it doesn't really matter as we don't have a long walk planned. There aren't many vehicles in the car park next to the Robin Hood pub (just off the A619) but there is a new Pay and Display machine. They seem to be creeping in everywhere.

A brief catch up then we're pulling on the layers, even the woolly hats make their first appearance in a while. Mollie is put on the lead and we make our way down to the road for the short walk up to the footpath.

We know it isn't long since we were last here so it is all very familiar, but that doesn't stop Mollie bounding off when we let her have a run in the woods once we are through the gate and on the path. Mollie loves stones and rocks, picking them up and tossing them to us to throw for her. They aren't good for her teeth, and we won't play, but that doesn't curb her enthusiasm.

We don't let her run too far before we put her back on the lead again, and we're climbing up through the rocks onto Birchen Edge. As soon as we're up the views open up around us and we're really glad of the clear skies, although the wind is a bit strong.

It's a steady amble along the edge, although one worrying aspect is the large number of cow pats! My aversion to cows is well known, and I am not particularly keen on meeting the depositors of these overlarge dollops of manure. They are not made by diminutive beasts.

We head towards the monumental rocks - the three ships - (see our walk Outlaws and Heroes dated 2.3.12) to celebrate the success of Nelson's fleet at Trafalgar. There are a couple of groups of climbers working on the edge so we amble up to the ships for a closer look before continuing on our way, happy that we have had no sightings of cows.

It isn't long before we reach the trig point and decide that we need to descend if we want to eat our lunch out of the wind. We drop down and scout around, eventually settling on a rock sheltered by a few spindly trees.

As Mollie tucks into biscuits we have the last of PC's Cointreau followed by a nip of my Ramblers. I'll have to make some more before winter sets in, there isn't much left. Then it's coffee and sandwiches before the buns come out.

These are new to us; chocolate tarts with fresh cream and orange curls. At first sight they seem to be quite light but when it comes to eating them they turn out to be seriously calorific! Shortcrust pastry cases, a thin layer of thick chocolate custard covered with moist chocolate brownie topped with fresh cream and orange chocolate curls. (PC should have taken a photo, but she was half way down hers before she thought of it!) They are seriously good, but would have been filling had they been half the size. PC is undaunted and eats all of hers, but I end up sharing that last of mine with Mollie, who doesn't complain.

Feeling very over-stuffed we decide that we had better get going. We make our way back to the path and walk beneath the ridge, watching some of the climbers as they work their way up the rocks. The narrow path broadens out and soon we are heading back towards the road, the car park and our cars.

It hasn't been a very long walk, nor an eventful one (thanks to the lack of cows) but it has been good to get out. It has been chilly and breezy, but that has helped to keep the head cold at bay. Fingers crossed we'll be able to get into some kind of walking routine again.

OUTLAWS AND HEROES - Robin Hood to Nelson

Wow! This is unbelievable. Another fine day on the horizon, and our walking day too. Are we lucky or are we lucky? (Perhaps it's time we starting buying lottery tickets!) Yes, the sun is already shining even though it's only just past 9.30 am and it feels like SPRING, even though it isn't, officially, for a while yet.

We pull up in the car park at the side of the Robin Hood pub, the well known hostelry on the Chesterfield side of Baslow nestling beneath Birchen Edge. There's plenty of room for our cars even though there are already four mini-buses here and some other vehicles too. On sunny weekends this car park is usually full to overflowing with a scrubby field across the road being pressed into use for the excess, but no such problems mid-week.

Today's walk is going to be much shorter than usual - family commitments demand attention - but we're still looking forward to it, and so is Mollie. She's quickly settled down to the idea of these outings and seems delighted to be with us (the dog biscuits in my pocket have nothing whatsoever to do with her enthusiasm).

No need for waterproofs today but somehow the rucksacks don't seem to be a lot lighter as we leave the car park and walk the few yards up the road to the beginning of the path to Birchen Edge. As we walk up the slight slope PC has a moment of consternation - is that a stile at the top? She had an injection in her hip yesterday and has been told to 'take it easy'. Somehow a stile doesn't quite fall into that category, but she needn't have worried. It's a gate (phew) and we're straight through it and onto the broad path.

It's light woodland here and, for now at least, sheepless so Mollie is allowed off the lead to chase sticks and stones - one of her favourite hobbies.

Meanwhile we walk along catching up on what has been a hectic week on the domestic front. Oh, is it good to talk.

There's a path up to the right, climbing steeply up onto the Edge, but we decide to keep to the 'low road' where the going is easy. We'll be able to go up to the Edge later on and with less effort. Even from the lower path, though, we have fantastic views down towards Baslow and of the surrounding moors.

The rocks of Birchen Edge rise steeply on our right and there's already a group of hard - hatted climbers making their way up.

Seems too much like hard work to us, but to each his own.

After a while the woods (if the sparse clusters of birch trees can really claim to be serious woodland) thin out even more and the moor unfolds before us. It isn't late and we aren't planning to walk too far but it seems the spot to fetch out the flask so we make our way across the tussocky bleached grass to find an appropriately sized rock to sit on. Out comes the coffee (no Ramblers today, the short walk doesn't warrant it) and we sit in the sunshine enjoying our drinks, watching the horses in a field up ahead and enjoying the peace. There isn't another soul about. Probably just as well really, we wouldn't want them listening in on our conversation.

It's a very mellow feeling, and one that we'd love to prolong, but we decide we'd better move on so we retrace our steps to the path and begin to look for a spot where we can go up onto the Edge. There isn't a clear path but we're pretty good at finding our way and eventually we spy a possible route up. It's one of those paths that you can't see from a distance but when you're on it you can follow it fairly easily, and it takes us up onto the Edge with relative ease. Then we turn and look back. The view from here is stunning. So much reward for so little effort.

Then I notice cows grazing down below. Effectively they are on the same part of the moor as us, there are no field boundaries or walls, and they have left 'evidence' all along the Edge, which means they are no strangers to the view from here, but I am really really glad that today they are a long way off.

Firstly we amble along the path running NE but it doesn't really go anywhere, or rather it doesn't go anywhere we want to go, so we turn about and set off towards the trig point (310m) on the Edge. Just before we get to it, though, we find the perfect spot to sit down for lunch. A slight landslip near the edge of the ridge has left a bench shaped depression on the ground. It's as though it was made for us and it would seem ungrateful if we ignored it.

So we eat our sandwiches and drink our coffee (Mollie has her water and biscuits, naturally, although she does seem hopeful that she'll get something better) whilst enjoying the sun-enhanced view. Then it's bun time. PCs turn today, and because we're having to forgo the Ramblers she's brought chocolate cheesecakes as a special (super-high calorie) treat. And a treat they are, even though we only have one spoon between us and I have had to fashion another 'spoon' from some plastic packaging with my trusty boys-own knife. Ray Mears would be proud.

We check the time and know we can't linger too long, so up we get and continue along the path, past the trig point and towards the huge mounds of rock ahead. They are very impressive when approached from this direction and we can almost see why they were chosen to be the 'Three Ships'.

On the right, on the edge of the Ridge is Nelson's Monument, a tall obelisk with a sphere on the top commemorating Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The three ships are named after three of those in Nelson's fleet at Trafalgar:

Victory,

Defiance and Royal Soverin (yes, that's the spelling). The Victory and Royal Soverin were 100 gun ships whilst the Defiance carried 74 guns. At the base of the Defiance is another carving in the rock, much eroded, with the initials ?EC? and the date 1766. We can only speculate what this relates to the date of birth of the carver or of someone on one of the ships, or some other significant moment in time for someone completely unrelated to the Battle of Trafalgar with the carved date predating any notion to erect a monument to Nelson.

We leave the ships, the monument and the climbers (who seem to be using the monument as a focus) and continue on our way, conscious that we have to make it back to the car park early. This section of the walk is level (apart from the rocks in the path) and easy whilst still maintaining the wonderful views.

The path does become quite narrow in places (we have to step aside to let someone pass in the opposite direction) and since we've found it easier to let Mollie run loose instead of tripping us up she rewards us by rolling in some cow poo! Ungrateful dog - glad she's going home in the car with PC and not me!

Eventually the path curves around and we make a quick descent down the steep path we'd ignored on our way out. Then we're back on the 'low road' again and only have a short stretch back to the car park.

To say it has only been a short walk it has been an excellent one. The weather has been great and the views spectacular for minimal effort. It's no wonder this is such a magnet for the weekend walkers or less adventurous, but mid-week it's a pretty good choice as the crowds are out of the way.

Fingers crossed that the Spring weather continues for next week.