We met up at the Church gates in Taddington. The village had grown from farming and quarrying for limestone and lead.
On leaving the village we were soon climbing to our first goal - the Trigpoint
The Trigpoint at Sough Top is on private land and so we could only admire it from afar. According to my book the Trigpoint is 439m above sea level.
We then passed Five Wells Farm - which according to the tourism website is "a very special place having panoramic views over Derbyshire". You can also see the quarry but that isn't mentioned on the website. Five Wells is also the name of the chambered tomb topped by a cairn between Taddington and Chelmorton.
The farm also offers drystone walling courses and here is what looks like some work in progress.
Our next destination was Chelmorton which is known internationally for its historic and ancient field system - long thin strips with stone walls which are almost certainly the strips farmed by individual farmers prior to their enclosure in the late 18th and early 19th century.
Chelmorton is also the highest village in Derbyshire. In Saxon times the village was called Chelmerdon. The early settlers here made their home on the banks of the stream which has the delightful (if improbable) name of "Illy Willy Water" which comes from a spring which rises on Chelmorton Low ("lows" around here are what the locals call hills).
The village pub is opposite the church. The Church Inn dates from 1700's and was formerly the Blacksmith's Arms. In 1746 the old smithy was at the rear of the pub. Village legend has it that the blacksmith was also the landlord of the pub and was also its best customer!
Chelmorton has had its share of characters over the years. The most famous is probably Alexander Ollerenshaw who spent 50 years trying to build a Perpetual Motion engine. He was also the landlord-blacksmith at the inn and was born in 1753 - could he be the village legend mentioned above I wonder?
Alick Ownshaw, as he was known in Chelmorton, was convinced that it was his destiny to discover perpetual motion. He was certain he could do this by building a piece of machinery. Once set in motion the machine would keep on moving without any further help. Nobody would ever have to touch it and there would be no source of power.
If anybody expressed any doubts, Alexander would reply, “Yo happen dunna know what Sir Isaac Newton said - Hey sed as th’ perpetual motion o’d be fun out – an’ the discovery o’d be made by a idiot.”
One man who met Alexander wrote: “ ... his whole soul appeared absorbed in the thought, and by day and by night, confident in a final triumph, persistent and unwearied, he pursued his purpose to the last moment of his earthly existence.”
Alexander built his machine in a small private room at the pub. Several times a day he fastened himself in with his invention, seriously neglecting all other work. This went on for years. Everybody knew what he was trying to do for he talked about nothing else, and nothing else interested him at all. The wonderful machine always seemed to need just a few more alterations to make it work. Hardly anybody was allowed to see it.
“Owd Alick” worked on the problem to the end of his days. After he died in 1841 his beloved contraption of cranks, springs, wires, wheels and pivots was broken up. Bits and pieces were given out around Chelmorton as mementos.
We then headed to Churn Hole - which was steep and tricky in places ...
... but we negotiated it safely and headed towards Wye Dale
We lunched opposite Blackwell Cottages ....
... and watched a sheepdog rounding up some puddle ducks ...
... until the puddle ducks decided to gang up on the dog!
Then along Chee Dale. This is on the River Wye about 3 miles south of Buxton. In my book it was described as being "an almost secret valley, a deep dark canyon which is hard to reach. At one point there are a series of stepping stones beneath an overhanging cliff of solid limestone, which become impassable when the river is in flood or after heavy rain.
Footbridges have been washed away in Chee Dale with the sheer force of the river in flood, so be warned! If you do venture into Chee Dale when the sun is shining through the thick green canopy of trees, and ducks are bobbing about in the river or nesting in the thick butterbur, then you will find yourself in paradise."
Today was sunny, so we were "in paradise" ...
... and there was definitely a lot of butterbur - a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and northern Asia also called Bog rhubarb, Devil's hat and Pestilence wort.
Chee Dale is a very popular venue for climbers who try to scale the limestone heights
We didn't realise until we left it that Chee Dale was in fact a Nature Reserve and, as Dave and Stuart were members, we should have sought their permission to enter in. I'm happy to report that they gave their nod of approval retrospectively.
We entered Miller's Dale, where the local landmark is the viaduct, first built by the Midland Railway in 1866.
It was once a major junction on the Midland Railway Line, and Millers Dale was one of the largest stations on the line. The original station, opened in 1863, had three platforms, two on the main line for trains between London and Manchester and a bay for the branch line to Buxton. A further two platforms were added when the second viaduct was opened in 1905. It was one of the few stations in England to have a post office on the platform.
Corn mills once operated in profusion along the banks of the Wye, powered by the water from the river. There has probably been a mill at Millers Dale for over 900 years. Domesday Book indicates that a mill existed in this part of the valley at that time.
Miller’s Dale Meal Mill was used to grind meal for animal fodder, and was owned by the Devonshire estate, ie Chatsworth. It closed in the 1920s and remained derelict until it was demolished some fifty years later, to allow for the sinking of a borehole to supply water to the Chapel-en-le-Frith area. Stone from the original walls was used to house the bore-hole and its machinery. The 150 year old water wheel was restored and placed adjacent to the pumping station.
A shop that Stuart used to frequent. The Corn Mill at the western end of the Miller's Dale, just beyond the viaduct, housed a firm called Craft Supplies until recently when they relocated to Bradwell. They had become known internationally amongst woodturning enthusiasts and provided courses and demonstrations.
We then had a steep walk out of Miller's Dale, across the Monsal Trail to Priestcliffe
On the approach to Priestcliffe we had to cross a field with some young bullocks. We were first across and they had made a beeline for us but I managed to keep them at bay. We watched in mild trepidation from the next field as Steve, Dave, and Andy encountered the same herd ...
... but Steve speaks fluent "cow" and they had no problems
Back to Taddington Church ...
This 14th century church has a 7th century Celtic cross in its churchyard. The two metre high cross shaft is decorated with an unusual chevron-based pattern. It was at one time used to support a sink in the wall of a nearby public house ....
... speaking of which ... the Queen's Arms did an excellent pint of Peak Ale
Thanks Trev. So comprehensive. Great record of a wonderful walk.So good I posted the link on Facebook so our Italian friends can enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHow great are the photos, and obviously their subject - super
ReplyDeleteCheers
Liz