Country Walks in the Peak District
The sun was shining as we headed out for our first day exploring the stunning countryside that the Peak District has to offer. We stopped off in the village of Ilam where we parked our minibus and began our walk.
After a mile or so, we arrived at Dovedale famously known for the river Dove and its impressive limestone ravines, but the most iconic part has to be the picturesque stepping stones which we enjoyed crossing.
We carried up along the river, passing lots of great wildlife and woodland as we explored the river pathway past points of interest such as Lover's Leap: where it is said to be named after an accident that happened here nearly 300 years ago during the Napoleonic Wars. After marvelling at events of that fable, we moved towards the Twelve Apostolates, followed by Reynard’s Cave before stopping for a photo opportunity at Ilam Rock. Our journey took us through steep climbs, valley's, farmland and eventually, to the highest point where we felt as if we could see the whole of the Peak District. We loved making our way down back to the bottom of the valley which took a lot of hard work, time and determination. After approximately 6 hours of walking and over 18,000 steps that equalled to just under 10 miles. What a great way to work up an appetite!
The National Tramway Museum is a museum located at Crich is a must! It contains over 60 trams built between 1873 and 1982 and is set within a recreated period village containing a working pub, cafe, old-style sweet shop and tram depots. After entering, we were taken aback by the feel of the whole place - it was as if we had stepped into England as it may have looked 70 or so years prior. We had a private guided tour after boarding the tram for an exciting and enjoyable ride. We loved seeing all the little extra features, such as: a match lighter below the window, a coin tester to test that coins were not fakes, seats that swap round when the tram needs to change direction and sand underneath to help with breaking. The indoor exhibition was just as impressive! It felt as if we had a personal journey through the history of trams, taking in horse, steam and electric trams.
How lucky were we having our own games room on sight. Most evenings, we would have a friendly tournament.
Another super day was spent at the Heights of Abraham, a famous tourist attraction in Matlock Bath. It consists of a hilltop park on top of Masson Hill, accessed from the village by either a cable car or a steep zig-zag path. We began our tour by hopping onto the cable cars that were opened in 1984 and modernised in 2004 which provided easier access to the top. We travelled across the picturesque Derwent Valley in style and enjoyed the views of the lush, rolling hills.
The journey took us over 554ft upwards to the summit, 100ft above sea level. Once at the top, we were in awe of the views! We began with an overland tour where we listened to a 235-year story of the Heights that tells many unexpected tales of heritage and history. The estate first opened in 1787 and has been welcoming visitors ever since. Next, we looked around the exhibition where we explored the stones that were mined here and the typical clothing that were worn at that period by the wealthy Victorians and the not so wealthy miners and their families.
It was time to explore two underground caves. The Masson Cavern took around 35 minutes and involved quite a few upward steps which we tackled safely with ease. Our second tour of the Rutland Cavern took us a little less time at around 20 minutes and involved considerably less steps which was a nice relief! We learned that the caverns were formed over 350 million years ago, and each hold their own fascinating story.
It was another beautiful day as we headed out to Cromford Canal. Our walk down the canal proved to be a picturesque and relaxing place to go for a countryside walk but it wasn't always this quiet - Cromford Canal was once a buzzing hub of Derbyshire’s industry. Our walk continued towards Lee Bridge. passing The Leawood Pumping Station - now a grade 2 listed building, built in 1849 to supply water to the Cromford Canal. We continued our circular walk which led us back to the start after a 4-mile walk.
Off we went to the market town of Bakewell famous for the delicious Bakewell pudding. We loved looking in the shops for a bargain and a souvenir to take back home with us. Obviously we had to the infamous pudding and a homemade sausage roll for lunch alongside our other picnic bits. Everyone managed to come across some bargains and we also found another Victorian sweet shop where everyone enjoyed sampling their favourite sweet treats. We were all shopped out after popping into nearly every charity shop, record shop and everything in-between.
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