With a lack of new walks while resting my injured ankle I'm going back to giving details of my early walks in the Peak District. As with other walks completed at that time, these were taken from the book "On Foot in the Peak District" by Charles Hurt, published by David & Charles.
The Manifold Valley
Monday 25th May 1998
Before spending my summer holiday in 1998 in the Peak District I did a walk with my Father during the Spring Bank Holiday. This was described in my diary at the time as being a magnificent walk and having walked in this area several times since then, I can quite agree as this is a lovely valley with some quite beautiful sections. We began in the picturesque village of Butterton where we parked near the church before walking down the hill to the brook that runs through the village and at one point actually along the street. At the ford we turned left along a path that follows the Hoo Brook down the shallow valley as it gradually drops down to the tourist attraction of Wettonmill in the Manifold Valley. Following the valley south we walked along a cycle track (the Manifold Way) and was soon marvelling at the river which had been full of water at Wettonmill, but was now bone dry. The River Manifold disappears underground during dry weather and doesn’t reappear for over ten miles. We continued along the trail which at one time had been the course of the Manifold Valley Light Railway; this short-lived route must have been a wonderful train ride as it travelled along the bottom of the valley. Rounding a corner we saw the star attraction of the Manifold Valley: Thor's Cave.
(picture by Nick J Adams)
This large cave, perched high above the valley, has been a personal demon for many years. A long time ago I visited the Manifold Valley while youth hostelling in the area with a youth group and went up to see Thor’s Cave. While I was up there, some friends and I decided it would be fun to explore a hole in the side of the cave which led out into the wood where we descended steeply back down the hillside. For some reason I chose to slide all the way down the hill on my backside and got myself covered in mud in the process. Ever since, I have had some trepidation with Thor’s Cave, but on this day I managed to exorcise those demons by going up and actually coming back down still standing up! The walk continued on a path opposite Thor’s Cave that climbed steeply out of the valley through a delightful wood up to the village of Grindon and from there we continued across Grindon Moor past the 374m trig point at the top of the moor. The walk ended with a stroll down the hill back into the village of Butterton. This was a great, fun walk that, although short, showed off varying aspects of the Staffordshire Moorlands on the southern edge of the Peak District. After this trip I was eager to return to the Peak District and did so during my July Fortnight holiday. A few years later I attempted to take some friends on this same walk, but they were not as interested in walking as me and chickening out once we got to Wettonmill. I think that walk, more than any other, put me off trying to lead other people on walks because all I got was moaning and complaints the whole time. Hence I now walk alone and rarely with anyone else.
This large cave, perched high above the valley, has been a personal demon for many years. A long time ago I visited the Manifold Valley while youth hostelling in the area with a youth group and went up to see Thor’s Cave. While I was up there, some friends and I decided it would be fun to explore a hole in the side of the cave which led out into the wood where we descended steeply back down the hillside. For some reason I chose to slide all the way down the hill on my backside and got myself covered in mud in the process. Ever since, I have had some trepidation with Thor’s Cave, but on this day I managed to exorcise those demons by going up and actually coming back down still standing up! The walk continued on a path opposite Thor’s Cave that climbed steeply out of the valley through a delightful wood up to the village of Grindon and from there we continued across Grindon Moor past the 374m trig point at the top of the moor. The walk ended with a stroll down the hill back into the village of Butterton. This was a great, fun walk that, although short, showed off varying aspects of the Staffordshire Moorlands on the southern edge of the Peak District. After this trip I was eager to return to the Peak District and did so during my July Fortnight holiday. A few years later I attempted to take some friends on this same walk, but they were not as interested in walking as me and chickening out once we got to Wettonmill. I think that walk, more than any other, put me off trying to lead other people on walks because all I got was moaning and complaints the whole time. Hence I now walk alone and rarely with anyone else.
Golden Hill and the Hamps
Monday 31st August 1998
I returned to the Peak District after my fortnight’s holiday, during another Bank Holiday, once again with my father and this time I also took a friend with us as well. It was a funny little walk as I had deliberately picked an obscure corner of the National Park to walk in to try and get away from the crowds on a Bank Holiday Monday, which did work as we never see anyone else walking in that area. We started from the village of Onecote and climbed over Golden Hill where the ground was, if I recall, quite muddy and up to the top of the 425m hill of the modestly named Elkstone Slope which has a trig point at the top. We returned beside the young River Hamps along farm tracks back to Onecote. This was a curiously unsatisfying walk and I'm not sure why, maybe it was the short distance or the low cloud or maybe the simple fact that it was an unremarkable corner of the Peak District. All we saw were grassy hills and farmland, nothing special, whereas on the walk above we had at least seen Thor's Cave. Maybe I was just being picky when I made those sentiments in my diary ten years ago, but if I had done the walk now I don’t think I would have enjoyed it. At the time I said it was quite enjoyable, it just seemed very quick.
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