Monday October 21st
Hartington to Longnor
The promise of a fine autumnal day saw us venturing into the far reaches of the White Peak for this walk. We travelled to Hartington, a picturesque village, complete with a large duck pond and market square. We had a quick coffee at tea rooms in the village centre which doubled as a tiny post office, and boasted an impressive Victorian post box outside.
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| Hartington post box |
It has to be said that the first half of this walk, although interesting in terms of the little hamlets like Brund we went through, was a bit too much of going through stone stiles and gates and across diagonal field paths down to rivers for our liking.
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| Stile with atypical newel post and mud typical of first half of walk |
However, there were some lovely brown sheep to be seen.
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| The near sheep on the left is definitely a yokel. No ear tags and chewing a straw. |
One point of interest was a tumulus with its own tree and contour line- very well placed by the ancients.
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| Tumulus with tree... |
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| ...and ring contour |
We reached Longnor, stopping for tea and chips (David) and agreed that we hoped the second half of the walk would be a bit more exhilarating. We were not disappointed as, straight after Longnor, the route became more open and impressive. It started with a descent to Begger's Bridge.
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| Spell checker and OS Maps prefer "Beggar's" |
As we crossed to Beggar's Bridge we had a view of Parkhouse Hill, which remained on our northern skyline for quite some time.
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| Parkhouse Hill |
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| Very rare Blue-Necked Sheep |
The path up to Pilsbury Castle was exciting, especially when the remains of the Motte came into view.
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| The first view of the Pilsbury Castle Motte |
It is remarkable to think that this fortification has been on this spot since the Norman Conquest.
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| Pilsbury Castle from above |
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| The crag above Pilsbury Castle with Parkhouse Hill in the background |
We just about missed the rain which was shrouding Chrome and Parkhouse hills.
The final stages of the walk back to Hartington were interesting, culminating in a leafy old track which returned us to Hartington and the car.
Overall, an interesting walk in a new area and a great way to spend a day in late October, just before the clocks change and the light becomes less.
A walk of 10.5 miles with 370m ascent.
