Walking the Derbyshire Dales
The next day we decided to complete a circular walk which included Dovedale, a well known pretty valley owned by the National Trust. We hardly saw anyone as we walked across the hills and then down into Alstonefield where we managed to buy a hot pasty to eat by the river. We then walked down Dovedale. Apparently the valley attracts three million visitors a year - there did seem to be a continuos stream of people. At the end there are huge stepping stones - this area seemed quite crowded for a Tuesday so we just carried on walking away from the crowds.
It was a relief to get back to the campsite. That morning we had moved Vinvent from the bottom of the field to the area next to the farmhouse and we needed to move him again into our overnight position - the pent house suite area at the top of the field. Once this had been done we could relax and sit in the sun. At about 5 we got on the bikes and cycled to Ashbourne on the Tissington Trail to pick up supplies from Sainsburys. Whilst we were there we met one of the caravanning couples who had tried to help us at our original campsite. Despite being in their 80s they were also on their bikes!
On Wednesday we decided to use two local national cycle trails to explore. We cycled to Tissington and joined the 547 which took us to Carsington Water and then on to one end of the Tissington trail (route 68) which we then followed to join the trail (54) back to Tissington. It was a great cycle ride despite being quite grey and drizzly. Overall the ride took us 3 1/2 hours so the dogs were pleased to see us when we got back.
We relaxed with a cup,of tea and watched a couple arrive with a huge caravan and after spending half an hour trying to manoever it onto the grassy slope give up and drive away. I am glad we are not the only ones providing entertainment.
The next day we moved to our final campsite - the Carvanning and Camping Club site at Hayfield. This is at the foot of the Dark Peak Area of the National Park so real walking country with lots of sheep! The drive up from the town is fairly narrow and consequently the site does not accept caravans! Thankfully we arrived in one piece and once settled we decided to leave Mitzi asleep and take Luna for a lovely walk in the hills. The views were stunning and we hardly saw anyone else- just lots of lovely cows!
The next day we left Mitzi alone again and had a great walk via Kinder Water to Kinder Falls and Kinder Stout. This is quite a popular walk but we managd to find some quiet paths to enjoy. Luna only chased some grouse once!
We arrived back to find the campsite getting busy for the weeekend. It is definitly the busiest campsite we have been in. As the sun was shining Mike decided to use his new BBQ pizza stone. He had prepared the sourdough base in the morning so we enjoyed a lovly sourdough pizza ( only slightly burnt on the bottom!), and he cooked some sourdough rolls for our final nights lamb burgers from Washbrook Farm.
Saturday lived up to the dreary forecast so we have mainly had a lazy day. We did manage to get a walk in between the rain showers up to Lantern Pike. Mitzi came with us this time. We are now looking at the map to start planning our next trip.