Aleck Low

Even the sun, blue skies and the golden leaves of the trees failed to improve my mood as I set off southwards on the Tissington Trail. The trail has been created on the route of a disused railway line, hence the 'station' car parks. It is quite popular, and it wasn't long before I met a few cyclists and walkers. The surrounding landscape seemed rather flat. Over to the west I could see the higher moors around Buxton and Goyt. The first Ethel of the day was Aleck Low, and I had to complete a 20 minutes (each way) out-and-back from the Tissington Trail, to tick it off.  It involved some field hopping to get near the trig. The trig is on private land, but it is possible to get reasonably close from a nearby footpath to the south.  Over in the nearby woods is a Bronze Age round barrow. It is 17 metres long, 14.5 meters wide and 1 metre in depth. When the barrow was excavated in 1843 a crouched skeleton was found. There were also three flint implements, some hazelnuts, charcoal and a piece of smoothed sandstone. Two other burials were also found in the mound with fragments of a food vessel and a few dog's teeth. It seems that these folk were pretty well prepared for the afterlife. I made my back to the Tissington Trail and continued my journey southwards.

Wolfscote Dale

I'd almost got over my 5p car parking loss by the time I had to leave the Tissington Trail. I'd dabbed away the tears and wiped my nose and felt that I was almost back to normality. From the embankment on the trail, I could see my footpath heading off through a field.  I could also see about 30 cows mooching about near the field's entry stile. As I started considering my options, my phone rang, and I spent 5 minutes dealing with that. By the time I looked up again, all the cows had wandered off, away from the stile. What a result! I was so happy, I wasn't even bothered about having to wade through the extensive area of ankle-high, mud and cow dung near the stile. The route followed a stone wall that gradually descended into a valley. The sides of the valley got steeper and steeper until parts of it turned into crags. I find these deep dales the most impressive part of the White Peak. 

The valley ended at a T junction of valleys at Coldeaton Bridge. A wonderful view opened up with the sun shining down the valley on to an idyllic River Dove. Unfortunately, my attention was drawn to a sheep that had lost the use of its back legs. It used its front legs to drag itself away from me. I walked away from it, so as not to disturb it. I'd seen a similar problem twice before, when out walking, with one of the occasions involving a lamb. From research, there are a number of potential causes, one being the release of a toxin by ticks.

The experience had left me in a rather sombre mood, and I probably did not fully appreciate the beauty of Wolfscote Dale. The trail ran alongside the river on a well made  path. It was popular with walkers too. At several points impressive limestone crags could be seen clinging to the sides of the valley. I came to another T junction of valleys. The one to my right was Biggin Dale. It looked impressive on the OS map, and I made a note to investigate it on a future date. My path continued along Wolfscote Dale. Further along, one side of the valley became a giant slope of limestone scree. 

Wolfscote Hill

The path had been gradually ascending since Coldeaton Bridge and eventually I came to the end of Wolfscote Dale. My next Ethel, Wolfscote Hill, was tucked behind some trees, uphill to my right. I headed off on a path in that direction. According to my OS map, Wolfscote Hill's summit was on a section of Open Access land. I was therefore disappointed to find that the edge of the Access Land was double barbed, and a couple of notices said that permissive access had now been removed. The notice referenced website, www.naturalengland.org.uk . This links to a government website that, amongst other things, documents land access in England. Natural England's CRoW & Coastal Access Maps - Search is a useful link for finding Natural England's access areas with a displayed map. Put Wolfscote Hill into its search engine and the displayed map does indeed show that it is not now Access Land (CRoW). The online OS maps have not been updated to reflect this. Reading commentary on walking forums it appears that the PDNPA, ROW officer and the Local Access Forum are aware of the issue and efforts are being made to persuade the tenant farmer to reverse the decision. Judging by the double barb and the signs, I wouldn't hold out much hope of that. The land is actually owned by the National Trust, but it appears that the tenant farmer is preventing the access. It seems a case of the tail wagging the dog to me. Anyway, it was off limits today. I walked as far as the farm at the end of the road. That would have to suffice as my  Wolfscote Hill Ethel for today. I'll return and climb to the trig, if access is restored.

Back To Hartington

I retraced my steps along the road. The day had turned a little greyer now. The Wolfscote Hill access saga had taken the shine off it too. In one of the fields, I spotted one of those round reservoirs, so favoured in the White Peak.  This is the only one I'd ever seen with water in it. The road turned into a pleasant farm lane that offered good views of the north side of Wolfscote Hill. 

Near Heathcote I ate my lunch sat on a seat dedicated to Eric Page (20/4/36-11/3/2013). There was an enclosure behind the seat that had a few large stones, laid flat in a rough circle. A plaque on the access gate had a dedication to Eric. I've Googled, but I can't find anything more about this mysterious site. My route took me through the small, pretty village of Heathcote and then out of the other side across some fields. My final challenge for the day was presented as a small field full of cows and a single ram, that I needed to negotiate to get back to the car park. The ram came up to the other side of the stile and I thought I might be in for some trouble, but he scuttled away as I climbed across. I did some scuttling across the field too and was crossing the stile at the other side, before the cows had time to notice me.

I saw some people viewing the instructions on the car parking payment machine. I thought about walking across and telling them how it had robbed me of 5p, but I was in the middle of putting my trainers on. I'd enjoyed the walk. My financial loss, the poorly sheep and the Wolfscote Hill access had failed to put a significant dampener on things.