Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses

After a quiet night in Ironbridge, this morning we drove to the National Trust carpark at Kinver Edge.

We parked up and after coffee set out on the hike. This 3.5 mile circular walk goes out through woodland before climbing up and following the ridge back to the carpark.

Halfway along the outbound leg we came to Nanny’s Rock. This unrestored rock house which had five rooms complete with doors and windows was carved into the soft sandstone rock.

The ridge climbs slowly and at the top there is a 3000 year old hill fort. There is nothing to be seen of the fort but the far reaching views are worth the climb!

We returned to Kiki for lunch and then went to see the restored rock houses. There are about 6 houses in total that have been sympathetically restored to how they would have been in the late 19th century. Two have been furnished as 1920’s homes and were surprisingly cosy - one even had a wood fire burning in its range cooker! The rock houses were occupied until 1963 when the last person moved out. The local council had decided that they were uninhabitable due to the lack of running water and sewerage.

We walked back to Kiki and hit the road to the southwest where we’re visiting our family again before our next mini tour - stay tuned!

Our overnight stops 

Shrewsbury & Ironbridge

We had a good sleep last night after our hearty meal and woke up to a lovely sunny morning.

Today we’re heading to Shrewsbury which is another border town that is virtually encircled by the river Severn. We found a parking spot by the river and had coffee before following the towpath towards the town. This town isn’t as pretty as Chester but we did manage to find a number of old buildings in between the newer ones.

We wandered around and eventually came to St Chad’s church. Here in the graveyard is a simple stone marking the grave of Ebenezer Scrooge - it is in fact a movie prop which was left behind from the filming of A Christmas Carol!

The church itself is quite unique in that it is of circular construction. The interior, with its large round balcony is rather like a theatre.

Leaving the church we walked down to the river through Quarry Park. We followed the river as it circled around the town back to Kiki.

After lunch we drove on to Ironbridge where we are parked by the Bedlam Kilns. We wandered into the village and took some pictures of the bridge.  This cast iron bridge, completed in 1779 was the world’s first cast iron bridge.

Returning to Kiki we had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Chester

We were intending to cycle into Chester today but as it was cold and drizzly we decided to take the bus instead.

We disembarked and walked into the centre, stopping to take some photos of the Eastgate clock. Next up we found Costa for coffee before heading to the cathedral. 

We spent quite a while in this huge building admiring the architecture - I particularly liked the Victorian heaters which looked like a piece of sculpture! We got chatting to one of the volunteers who showed us the ecclesiastical court which is the oldest in GB. He also told us about Thomas Brassey, a local civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials. By the time of his death, Brassey had built one in every twenty miles of railway track in the world. There is a chapel which has a large mosaic in memory of Thomas Brassey.

The sun had come out so we decided to walk the 2 mile circuit around the city walls. The walls are reputed to be the oldest, longest and most complete in Britain. We stopped, overlooking the racecourse, for our picnic lunch before completing the circumnavigation.

Wandering into the city centre, we walked along the unique arcaded shops - called rows - admiring the old buildings.

Having exhausted the city we found the canal which we followed most of the way back to Kiki. 

This evening we had a meal in the pub whose car park we’ve been staying in. Returning to Kiki we’re shattered (we walked 8 miles today!) so had an early night.

Tameside Heritage and the Anderton Boat Lift

Today, we’re moving on from the farm where we’ve been staying for the last four nights. We emptied and filled our tanks before hitting the road.

Our first stop today is the Portland Basin Museum which features exhibits showing Tameside heritage. There is a recreation of a 1920’s street which is complete with the sights and sounds (including a flushing outdoor privy) of the era.

This free museum was very impressive and we spent an hour or so wandering around.

We popped into a Lidl we spotted nearby before heading on to our next destination which was the Anderton Boat Lift. 

We had lunch before going into the small visitor centre where the construction and use of the lift was described.

Built in 1875 the lift hauls canal boats vertically up and down the 50ft height difference between the River Weaver Navigation to the Trent and Mersey Canal. The lift consists of two large tanks which are raised and lowered by huge hydraulic rams. The tanks are large enough to carry two 75ft narrow boats side by side. We were lucky enough to see the lift in action whilst one of the volunteers explained the process.

Next we drove to a pub on the outskirts of Chester where we’re staying in their car park for a couple of nights so that we can visit the city. We tucked Kiki into a corner and went for a walk around the area. We found the canal which leads into the city that we plan to cycle along tomorrow.

Returning to Kiki we had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Another (less rainy) Day in Manchester

We’re off to Manchester again today so that we can visit the places which were closed on Monday. We walked to the station and took the train to Piccadilly. We then took the tram to the stop closest to the Science Museum. The guy who sold us the tickets told us that travel within the centre was included - we wish we’d known that on Monday when it was precipitating down!

The Science museum was odd - it didn’t seem to have a coherent theme. There were unrelated objects dotted around the first display area making it difficult to understand what they were trying to do.

The most interesting thing was the “Manchester Baby” which was the first electronic stored-program computer. The Baby was not intended to be a practical computing engine, but was instead designed as a testbed for the Williams tube, the first truly random-access memory. 

This was the first working machine to contain all the elements essential to a modern electronic digital computer.

As soon as the Baby had demonstrated the feasibility of its design, a project was initiated at the university to develop it into a full scale operational machine, the Manchester Mark 1.

The second room in the museum (there were only two open) was devoted to the Textile Industry and contained examples of the machines which were used. Unfortunately, having been to a working mill yesterday, these static displays were rather tame.

After the museum we found Costa and had coffee before wandering back towards the city centre following a canal. We visited the “Hidden Gem” church which was closed yesterday before grabbing a McFlurry for lunch.

Finally we visited the art gallery where Emma spent a happy hour or so soaking up the culture.

We took the train back to Kiki where we had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Quarry Bank Mill

We slept really well last night after our epic 10 mile walk around Manchester yesterday and woke to light rain accompanied by the passing traffic. After breakfast we readied Kiki for the road and set out on the short drive to Quarry Bank Mill.

This restored cotton mill, built in 1784, is run by the National Trust and is one of the best preserved textile mills of the industrial revolution.

Our tour started in the mill. The first room described the history of cotton weaving, starting with the spinning wheel and manual loom and progressing to machines capable of spinning 10 or more bobbins and a more sophisticated manual loom with a flying shuttle.

In the next room we move into the start of the industrial revolution with dozens of mechanical looms which are powered from overhead shafts. These are all working machines and we were given a demonstration. When the mill was working, one weaver was in charge of four machines - quite a skilled job!

Down a floor we come to a set of machines which are used to “comb” the raw cotton into long fluffy sausages which are then fed onto a huge machine which spins the cotton onto hundreds of bobbins at the same time. We were given a demo of each of these machines in turn - really impressive.

In the basement is the powerhouse, here there is a huge 25ft diameter waterwheel which is driven by the river Bollin. The overhead shafts throughout the mill were originally driven by this wheel.

In dry summers, when there was insufficient water to drive the wheel, a steam engine was used as supplementary power. The steam engine never replaced the water wheel because water power is free!

After lunch we had a tour of the apprentice house. Here up to 90 children, some as young as 8, lived whilst they worked in the mill for their 10 year indenturement. Although the children worked 12hrs a day for 6 days a week, they were well fed and looked after. They were given a basic education and healthcare. Working in the mill was apparently better than the alternative, which for these orphans and poor kids would have been the workhouses in the cities.

We had a look around the mill owners house which was massively different to the primitive conditions in the apprentice house.

Finally we walked through the formal gardens alongside the river up to the cottages of the workers village. These were built by the mill owner and rented to his adult workers.

We really enjoyed our trip back in time today. Returning to Kiki we headed back to our base on the farm in Hyde.

After our evening meal we settled down for the night.

A Rainy Day in Manchester

We had a good sleep last night despite the close proximity of the busy A57 dual carriageway and being under the Manchester airport flight path!

After breakfast we walked to Hattersley station and took the train into Manchester Piccadilly.

Emma’s “free tour” started well with a visit to the Portico library. This private library which contains over 25,000 old books was built in 1802 in the Greek Revival style.

The circular dome ceiling was most impressive

Next stop was Costa for coffee before heading to the canal basin to check out some old stuff. Unfortunately the light rain had by now turned heavy which meant we got rather moist. We were surprised to see so many canals in, around and even under the city centre.

Lunchtime saw us in Hard Rock

Suitability fortified and pleased that the rain had stopped we wandered around the city visiting the cathedral, Alan Turnin’s statue and the Shambles.

Rather tired after walking over 10 miles we took the train back to Kiki where we rested our weary feet before hitting the hay.

Derwent Dam and Snake Pass

We woke this morning to mist and rain - the Tors we climbed yesterday are invisible! After breakfast drove the short distance to a parking area on the northern arm of Ladybower reservoir.

After coffee, the rain has stopped so we put on our walking boots and headed to Derwent Dam which is at the head of Ladybower reservoir. This dam, which was completed in 1916, was made famous by the “Dambusters” because it was used as a practice area for the WWII attacks on the Rhine dams.

We walked up to the dam and then climbed up the side to the Derwent reservoir. We followed a path alongside the reservoir for a while and took some atmospheric photos of the dam.

Returning to Kiki we had lunch before settling out to drive over Snake Pass and down to the eastern side of Manchester. Here we are staying for a few days on a farm whilst we visit the city.

We went for a walk to find the railway station before having our evening meal and settling down for the night.

Mam Tor, Great Ridge and Castleton

We had a toasty night with our little electric heater keeping us warm. After long hot showers and Emma able to properly dry her hair we emptied and filled our tanks before hitting the road.

Our destination today is Castleton where we parked for free just outside of the town on Old Mam Tor road. After coffee we saddled up for a 7 mile hike. 

Our route followed the road for a while as it climbed up the valley below Mam Tor. The road itself is disused and it’s easy to see why - massive areas have fallen away over the years due to landslides. In places the tarmac ends like some Spanish roads!

The climb up to the top of Mam Tor (at 517m) was incredibly busy - there were literally hundreds of people climbing up and down the path! The top was crowded so we carried on along the Great Ridge towards Back Tor. Here it was slightly less busy but there were still a lot of people out walking.

We stopped for lunch behind a low wall because the wind blowing up and over the ridge was a bit chilly.

Looking back towards Mam Tor

After lunch we climbed Loose Hill before turning and working our way through the fields down to Castleton. We wandered through the town which seemed to have dozens of shops selling “jewellery” made from the local Blue John stone before heading back to Kiki.

We had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Stanage Edge and Hathersage

Our parking place on the moor was quite exposed and the night was cold, wet and windy - Kiki was rocking about until the wind dropped at midnight. Seasoned professionals that we are, we snuggled down under our thick duvet and had a surprisingly good sleep. A 7am this morning it was a little nippy as we had breakfast but the sun soon came out to give a beautiful clear morning.

We drove about 2 miles further onto the moor to the parking area below Stanage Edge. This would have been a great place to park last night if it wasn’t for the no overnight parking signs…. spoilsports! We donned our boots and layered up before settling out on our hike.

A steep climb up from the parking area brought us to the top of Stanage Edge. This impressive gritstone escarpment rises over 100m above the valley and is popular with climbers and paragliders. Today there were a few climbers taking shortcuts to the top.

We walked a mile or so along the edge admiring the views before descending to the head of the valley. Circumnavigating the valley we climbed up and over into the next before heading down into Hathersage.

By this time we were thirsty so we popped into a cafe over an outdoors shop. We had a pint of squash each and shared a large bowl of chips before setting out on the return leg.

The climb up out of Hathersage was long and tough but we finally made it back to Kiki.

We drove about 7 miles to the Three Merry Lads pub which is on the extreme western edge of Sheffield. For the princely sun of £19 we get to stay in their carpark with electricity hook up (toasty warm tonight and a long hot shower in the morning) and as much water as we need!

We’re quite tired after our 7.5 mile hike today so we had our evening meal and settled down for the night.

Magpie Mine and a Plague Village.

We had a very quiet night parked by the side of the road next to the start of the Monsal Trail. After breakfast we drove the short distance to the Magpie Mine. This former lead mine began in 1869 and continued to work well into the 1950’s making it the last one working in Derbyshire.

There are several generations on mine workings here, starting with the Cornish Engine House which was used to pump water out of the mine. Later additions included a steam engine powered winding house and more recently a diesel powered winch from a trawler. This was used to haul ore and men up and down the 700ft mine shaft. The trawler winch is housed in a corrugated iron shed which has the dubious honour of being one of only three such buildings to have Scheduled Monument status!

We wandered around and took some pictures before heading back to Kiki for coffee. A few miles further on we parked in a lay-by just outside of Eyam (rhymes with steam).

We wandered around the village and found the “plague houses”. In 1665 a tailor caught bubonic plague from flees in a box of material he ordered from London. The villagers isolated themselves from other villages to prevent the disease spreading. Over the next few months some 260 villagers died.

Heading uphill out of the town for about a mile we came to Mompessons Well. Here during the plague, people from the surrounding villages left food for the residents of Eyam who would leave money to pay for the goods in the water so as to clean it.

We took the ancient pack horse route back to the village and then branched off again to see the Riley Graves which is where a whole family who died of the plague were buried.

We returned to Kiki and drove through the village to a free car park we spotted on our walk. Here we had lunch before heading north to Grindleford where we parked in another lay-by so that we could walk along the scenic Padley Gorge. 

We followed the river downstream through oak forest for a mile or so before crossing a bridge and heading back up the other side.

Back in Kiki we drove a few miles up onto the moor where we found a large off-road area to park for the night. We had our meal and settled down for the evening.

Cycling the Monsal Trail

We had a peaceful night in the carpark and woke to a little sunshine. It’s only a short drive today to the start of the Monsal Trail just outside Bakewell. Once we found the correct road - the satnav took us around the cattle market - we parked up and I unloaded the bikes whilst Emma made a packed lunch.

We set off on the trail which is an 8.5 mile route from Bakewell to Cheedale. This traffic-free cycle route follows the former Midlands railway which connected Manchester to London. Opened in 1863 the railway was heavily used for over 100 years. In 1968, after several years of decline, the railway eventually closed. Much of the route was opened for walkers in 1981, but the five tunnels along the route remained closed and had to be bypassed on footpaths. By 2011 work on the tunnels, which includes lighting throughout was complete and the entire route was then opened to the public.

We were under the impression that the trail was level but on the outbound leg we always seemed to be pushing uphill. We later discovered that it climbs around 50m - coming back was a lot easier and quicker!

We really enjoyed the ride - the tunnels which are over 400m long were quite an experience - particularly because they are curved meaning it’s quite dark in the middle! The views down into Monsal vale were impressive too because the railway clung onto the sides of the hills.

After a couple of hours (we don’t ride very fast!) we came to the far end and turned round. We stopped for lunch at the former Millers Dale station which at one time has six platforms. It only took us about an hour to get back to Kiki - this is when we realised that there was quite an incline along the route.

After loading the bikes back onto Kiki and having a coffee (we missed out earlier) we walked into Bakewell. We wandered around the town looking at the quaint old shops before heading back to Kiki for our evening meal. As it got dark we battened down the hatches and settled in for the night.

Rowtor Rocks and Stanton Moor

After a lovely quiet (if slightly tilted - the field is sloping) night we woke to an overcast morning. Rain is forecast for later but hopefully we can get our walk in before it arrives.

After breakfast I wandered down to the farm to put our £6 into the honesty box whilst Emma finished tidying. We emptied and filled our tanks before leaving. It’s only a short drive today to a small carpark on the outskirts of the tiny village of Birchover.

Emma make up a packed lunch, we strapped on our walking boots and set out on a 5 mile hike around the area.

First stop was Rowtor Rocks which lie just to the west of Birchover. The local parson carved the rocks into caves, alcoves, tunnels and steps over 300 years ago. He also a carved an armchair, rock basins and a square font.

 

Continuing our walk, we circumnavigated Eagle Tor before following footpaths through fields of inquisitive sheep. As we approached Stanton Moor we stopped for lunch with a super view across the Derwent valley towards Darley Dale.

Suitability fortified we climbed up onto the moor passing several standing stones as we went.

 

The Earl Grey Tower was tall and imposing and would have provided a superb view if they hadn’t bricked up the doorway!

A little further on we came to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. This early Bronze Age stone circle was traditionally believed to depict nine ladies turned to stone as a penalty for dancing on a Sunday. It had just started to rain so we didn’t hang around too long!

We stopped briefly at the 335m high trig point at the top of the moor before descending to the edge where we came to Cork Stone.

Iron hoops were set in this stone in Victorian times to enable people to climb to rock.

Reaching the road, we walked back to Kiki where after our evening meal we settled down for the night.

Cromford Canal and Matlock Bath

After another quiet night in the pub carpark, this morning we drove a few miles to Lidl where we victualled for the week. Fully replenished we hit the road north towards Matlock.

The village of Cromford lies a mile to the south of Matlock, here you can park all day for less than £5 and it is within walking distance of Matlock Bath. We parked in the carpark at Cromford Wharf and after coffee set out for a stroll along the canal.

 

This canal was built at the end of the 18th Century to link Cromford with the rest of the middle-England canal network on the outskirts of Derby.

After about a mile we came to High Peak Junction where the High Peak railway meets the Cromford canal. Built between 1825 and 1830 this was one of the worlds first long distance railways. The route climbs over 1000ft, by means of a series of inclines where engine houses powering a continuous steel cable loop would haul the train uphill. After crossing High Peak, the railway descends via another series of inclines to Buxton.

Continuing along the canal we crossed a viaduct over the river Derwent and shortly afterwards came to the magnificent Leawood Pump house. This beam engine powered pump was used to lift water from the river to fill the canal. Retracing our footsteps we returned to Kiki for lunch.

Suitability fortified we set out again, this time we went in the opposite direction towards Matlock Bath. We wandered along the Main Street past chip shops, cafe’s and amusement arcades wondering why this place is so popular. As the shops petered out we crossed the river and picked up the Lovers Walk that runs along the other side of the river. This was a pleasant walk that was slightly spoiled by the noisy road running through Matlock Bath on other side. Crossing back over the river we returned to Kiki.

A short drive up into the hills above Matlock and we arrived in paradise - a camping field in the middle of nowhere! We emptied our spare toilet cassette (which we swapped over last night) and filled our fresh water tank before pitching up at the top of the field with a magnificent view across the valley.

As the sun went down we sat outside with a hot beverage. We had our evening meal before settling down for the night.