Today was the time for the first really hilly hike; up-down-up-down-sideways. We did well; no blisters, no injuries, instead a good feeling of accomplishment. We expected brighter weather based on the forecast, but it was windy, cloudy, and a bit chilly at times.
Parts of the path were lonely; not many people, but near the end, there were crowds of walker/runner types competing in a 26 mile timed event, and all passing by us slow folks.
She Said:
Our new Peak
District driver, Darryl, dropped us this morning in Earl Sterndale to begin our
day’s walk. He let us out at The Quiet
Woman Inn, which has been a Public House since 1625.
The legend
is, that a long-suffering man in Earl Sterndale was married to a very nagging wife. When he just couldn’t take it anymore, he cut
off her head. The villagers
rejoiced. The painting on the wall and
the hanging Pub sign both show a headless woman.
The village
Churchyard has an especially sad grave(stone), even for Victorian times: a
couple buried three of their children, aged 7 months, 3 years and 5 years. When they did finally have two sons that
lived to adulthood, both sons were killed in WWl.
Off we
walked through many farm fields – cows in one pasture, manure spread in the
next pasture, and sheep grazing in the third. Quite odiferous, to say the least!
The day had started out sunny, but quickly became overcast, and stayed that way for the rest of the day. Sun would have been nice for pictures, but I actually like walking under cloudy skies – much easier on the eyes and more comfortable temps.
We also had
a stiff breeze.
Pleasant
walking conditions.
As with all
hill and farm field tracks/trails, mud gets pretty deep and sticky, at
times. I stepped into it up to my ankles
at one point, but my excellent new Vasque boots and Darn Tough socks kept my
feet nice and dry – amazing new materials.
We met a
couple coming the other way that warned us of the “squeeze” stile coming up
(aptly named as it was so narrow that we really did have to squeeze through)
and we warned them of the mud coming their way.
We all agreed that it was just the cost of doing this “walking”
business.
All chickens
in the Peak District seem to range free, even on village greens.
We walked
into the small village of Longnor and ate our 1st Lunch on a bench
next to the Market Square. The two
coffee/tea shops were full of hikers and bicyclists. Everyone enjoying this pretty little village
on a Sunday.
The Church
in Longnor, St. Bartholomew’s, told a few interesting stories:
-
A son of Longnor, Vernon Belfield, was executed
by the Germans during WWll – he knew he was on a one-way mission (some kind of “volunteer
for this for the greater good of all”) but went bravely. The Church has his picture in a place of
honor.
-
A tradition (since, they think, Pagan times) is
a ritual called “Dressing the Well”. The
well in the village center is elaborately decorated with paintings and flowers
and offerings, to give and show Thanks for the clean, life-giving water. The Church posted pictures of recent Well
Dressings.
We crossed more
fields and came to my absolute favorite part of any path or trail we walk on –
the narrow, stone-wall bounded or hedge rowed country lane. So quiet and beautiful. Wildflowers growing on the sides of the
lanes, even out of the rocks of the stone walls. No cars.
No people. Birds chirping. Pure heaven.
Then, back
into the fields again. We came upon the
Pilsbury Castle earthworks, high on a hill (where all good defensive Castles
should be). It was a “motte and bailey”
Castle, meaning that it was not made of stone, but earth mounding (mottes) and
wooden towers and ramparts (baileys).
The dates are not definite, but it is thought to have been around about
the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Soon we
started to see runners along the path as a hill marathon trail converged with
our walking trail. The marathon is
called The Leaden Boot Challenge and I have to tell you, these runners/walkers/
climbers were paying their dues. The
Peak District is named that for a reason.
A hill marathon? Can you
imagine? By the time they converged with
us, they had about 5 miles to go and they were showing it.
We were
tired after 8 miles, so they had to be almost dead. Very impressive.
We were happy
to make it back to our little home village (Hartington). Being a Sunday, it was mobbed with day trippers
out admiring the cutesy-ness of the village.
The Tea Room was packed, as were the two pubs. The green was packed with happy people (and
their dogs, of course) sitting around the duck pond. A BMW sports car rally drove through. After the quiet of yesterday, it was a bit of
a shock to see our tiny town so crowded.
We stopped
in the Village Store and picked up some salad fixings and a bottle of (passable)
Chardonnay, headed over to the Cheese Shop for some good, local cheddar, and
beat it up to our B+B room where we ate and drank in the comfort of our cozy
surroundings.
A very good
day.
8.5 miles
46 flights
climbed
Photos:
Earl Sterndale
The path
Longnor
The path
Back Home
No comments:
Post a Comment