May 23, Day 3 in the Peak District

He Said:

Our walk today was from Youlgreave to Monyash and mostly followed river valleys and dales of the River Bradford and the River Lathkill. The weather started off a bit cool and breezy, but gradually got warmer and sunnier as the day went on; a great day for walking and photos.

Youlgreave is a small village with a name that sounds more like a warning, but it was quiet and friendly like most places we visit. We poked around the main village church with its historical information, finding it occupied by women cleaning and doing maintenance. We tried not to get in their way as we explored it. Then out into the sunshine to find our way to the start of the walk.

She Said:

Warm, sunny, blue skies, and shade and breeze when we needed it – a perfect day for walking in the Peak District.

We started at The Bulls Head Hotel in Youlgreave.

(A note: Here and there, throughout the countryside and on village garden walls, faces of The Green Man, the pagan God of the forest and woods and all growing things.)

Before we headed out to the path, we stopped in All Saint’s Church, built 1130 – 1150:

· Circular Norman pillars and rounded arches

· Some changes, but as the Church stands now, dates from the 15th century

· 12th century Font – its quirk is a stoup or side basin, used for Holy Oil

· 12th century carved figure set into the wall – a Pilgrim with a walking stick and a purse tied around his waist

· Relief commemorating Roger Rooe (1613) and his wife – shown sitting across a table from each other with their 8 children in a line below them

· Another Relief, showing Robert Gilbert (1400) of Youlgreave and his wife with their 17 (!) children

· Thomas Cokayne (1488) has only a small (4’) effigy tomb, even though he was grown man and head of his own household. This was because he died before his father, so tradition held that he couldn’t have a full-sized effigy tomb.

· The oldest memorial monument in the Church is the effigy of Sir John Rossington (early 14th century). A little odd – he is lying cross-legged and is holding a heart in his hands.

(Another note: R and our driver, Darryl, discussed the fact that a few dozen people are killed every year in England by cows. Darryl says that they are usually walking their dogs through fields with new cow Moms and baby calves. The cows see the dogs as wolves – predators – and attack the dogs. The walkers try to protect their dogs and get trampled to death by the cows. Interesting.)

Many of the gates are now secured by gate weights – large rocks or cement cylinders that use their weight to keep the gates closed and the livestock in their proper fields.

We walked along with a group of happy, wheelchair kids whose minders were gently pushing them along a level portion of the path.

At a bridge, we saw a Coot family – parents and their 5 red-headed chicks.

We passed a perfect posh country home – stables, horses and Porsches.

We ate 1st Lunch on a stone bridge on the grounds of the Haddon Estate. We had what we think was a Bakewell Tart for our packed lunch dessert – buttery beyond belief shortbread base, a thick layer of caramel, topped by a 3/8” glaze of chocolate. Stupor-inducing.

We passed a swan sitting on her nest of giant sticks, incubating, and her husband swimming and eating nearby (typical).

Pheasants calling in a field. Ducks in the stream.

We were now certainly in Lathkill Dale, known for its waterfowl Reserve.

Along the stream were the ruins of the Mandale Lead Mine Engine House. Since the best lead was below water, the miners (or, rather, the mine owners) built a series of sloughs and leats (large, deep trenches) and aqueducts to move the water out of the limestone so they could more easily extract the lead.

We watched 2 Dippers by a wooden bridge hunt for bugs for their chicks. A couple at our B+B had walked the Lathkill Dale yesterday and told us to be on the lookout for the Dippers. Apparently, it’s a big deal to see Dippers. They were pretty interesting and industrious.

Yet another mine-related ruin – the Bateman’s House, built right next to a lead mine shaft, which, oddly enough, is actually accessible by climbing down an 18 step ladder. So (because really, when would we ever get to climb down into a lead mine shaft again) R and I did it. At the bottom of the ladder at the entrance to the shaft, there was a hand crank that lit a (dim) bulb that illuminated the shaft as it descended deep into the earth. Very deep and very creepy. Mining must have been a hell of a job to do. Still, it was cool to go down into an actual lead mine shaft as a tourist!

We did hit a couple of rough miles where the path was deeply rutted and uneven with large rocks and. at places, boulders. Tough on the feet and ankles and slow going. The valley was quite narrow through this portion. But then, we popped out into a soft, green field with big, beautiful countryside views.

We walked into Monyash, our pick-up spot for the day. We had 30 minutes to kill before our driver arrived, so we checked out the village church – St. Leonard’s:

· 13th century bell tower

· A Roll of Honor of village men who died in the Great War – 4 Millingtons, 2 Crutchlows, 4 Hawleys, 4 Featherbys – you get the picture. Families were decimated. Monyash only has a population of a few hundred; many similar villages never recovered.

· A Lady Chapel was built in 1348. Lady Chapels were necessary as women were not allowed to worship with the men.

· Beautiful, intricate, well-preserved floor tiles, probably from Victorian times

· Needlepoint kneeling pads – telling tales of village life

Back in our town of Hartington, we stopped at The Village Store, picked up olives, cheese, crackers, tomatoes, wine and beer. We are now enjoying a leisurely Happy Hour/early supper in our room. The birds are chirping and a gentle breeze is blowing in our window.

A very nice day.

Miles – 6.8 (perfect)

Photos:

In Youlgreave