We didn't start off too well. M25 was standing still as usual, but with Sat Nav we were routed a different way and managed to avoid traffic jams for the rest of the way. It might have taken a bit longer (mostly because I didn't have a proper address to put into the Sat Nav) but we got there in the end. And then we had to shop. This time we decided not to do all the shopping before we left, but to get it as we needed it. We've always ended up buying far too much and eating at the pub more than we plan to..
We decided to start the holiday with a walk on the Sunday. We went to a new area where we haven't walked before and walked up Monksdale accross to Chedale and back along the river. Monkdale was like walking through Mirkwood, dark, dank and slippy with big, rounded rocks and roots. It was like taken straight out of Lord of the Rings. Took us ages just walk a couple of short miles up the valley and when we eventually got out we had to find a nice warm spot in the sun to have lunch. Us and the cows in a field..
We then headed over the ridge, through a village with a statue of a famous person (can't remember who or what he was famous for, but I think it was something to do with building), through a farm that had pigs (judging by the smell and hence my speed) to the valley on the other side, Chedale. The view from the top was amazing. You could see the disused railway line that went along the valley and the river at the bottom. The sun was out, the bees were buzzing and we had a nice little rest at the top just before heading into the valley for a river walk.
It wasn't easy trying to stick to the footpath that went along the river rather than the disused railway line. Whoever it is that marks the routes obviously thinks it's much better to use the railway track, so the conveniently forgot to mark the route at the bottom. We eventually got it right, and it was well worth it, for most of the way. We saw a water vole running on the other side of the river, and I'm sure I saw a ferret/mink like animal just down the river and also on the other side. I would never have seen any of those before I had my eyes done. I'm so pleased I opted to get them fixed :)
There was, however, an area along the valley that the boys nicknamed "The Devils Poo Bowl". It was just mud everywhere. Nowhere you went could you get away from it, and it was deep in places. I landed up going at the back, and a good thing that was too. It meant that when I got my foot caught and fell flat on my tummy no one was there to witness it. The 7-year old got his boot stuck in the mud and had to have help retrieving it, and the 11-year old fared the same fate but managed to get himself un-stuck. The rest of the walk was spent trying to see trout in the river and throwing sticks in and racing them down the river.
On the Monday we went to the northern parts of Derbyshire, to Ladybower Reservoir, and cycled around Ladybower, Derwent and Howden Reservoir. We got going late, so we only went up after lunch, but we stopped for rests and snacks along the way. The dams are really quite magnificent, they look ancient and medieval like, but I'll bet they're not very old at all. Early
2oth centry according to Wikipedia.
At the very top, where we cross one of the rivers that run into the reservoirs, we stopped for a dambuilding break. This is also a favoured activity when on holiday. Find a river and build a dam, or if it's full of stuff, clear it up so the water runs freely, and in some cases, both. This is about the only time the 7-year old was this close to water and didn't fall in or step in and get soaked. Maybe he realised it would be a long ride to the car in wet shoes and clothes :)
The ride back to the car whizzed by, everyone going much better on smooth, tarmac'ed roads, even with a couple of long hills. In the evening we had our first braain, and for dessert we had bbq'ed banana's, which was really nice.
Next day was a day for walking again, but it was overcast and everyone was a bit tired from the bikeride, except S who just has endless amount of energy. We walked up Bunster Hill and down Dovedale to the steppingstones by Thorpe Cloud. Once there we had lunch and then boys went to play in a stream that runs into the River Dove. Suddenly we heard this almighty racked and looking up to see what was happening, the 7-year old was waiste deep in the river shouting at top volume to make sure everyone heard him, and wading his way towards us. I think it'll still be many years before we can go to the stepping stones without him getting absolutely soaked..
It had cleared up and it wasn't very cold, so we started encouraging the 11-year old to get in and get wet. We dared him to cross the river at a small rapid which is a favoured place for crossing if the queue at the stepping stones is too long. He eventually got a foot wrong and got wet feet, his balancing and carefulness is just too good these days ;) Afterwards we dressed the 7-year old in S's jumper, it being the only dry piece of clothing left and walked back to the carpark where we got home made ice-creams and sat on a piece of grass enjoying it. Amazingly good ice-creams. I had mint and chocolate and it's the best one I've had since the ice-cream place in Village Walk in Johannesburg, St Marcus I think it was called.
After our walk S went out for an hours bikeride to Milldale and back, before he took the boys to the pool for a swim, and I went shopping. Not very exciting, but needed to be done. In the evening we went to the pub for a meal and I had the most delicious chicken pancake.
The next day the boys didn't want to do anything. We were planning to do a long bikeride, but the weather didn't look great so we decided to wait and see if it would improve. Having decided to have a quiet day, S went out for a longer bikeride on his own, and when he came back we all went to the pool for a swim. S' parents came over for a braai in the afternoon and in the evening we went back to Dovedale to see if we could spot any bats. We didn't see many this time, but I guess it's a bit of hit and miss when you see bats.
On the Thursday it was raining, so we decided it wasn't a good day for a long bikeride and went up to Castleton to one of the caves, Treak Cliff Cavern, supposedly the only place in the world where you can get the Blue John mineral, or so the guides say. Inside the cavern there were amazing stalagtights and stalagmites which were up to 111000years old. One of the oldest stalagmights was in a group of 7 and was called Happy. Touching happy was meant to bring good luck, and if that was the case I shudder to think what the next couple of days would have been like had we not all touched Happy...
After the visit to the cave we went into Hathersage (or have-a-sausage as we call it to remember it), where they have a couple of really good outdoor shops. S was looking for some new t-shirts and I wanted t-shirts and hiking trousers. We both found what we wanted in one of the shops and after having done the boring shopping stuff we decided we needed a treat. The sun was back out so we headed up to the reservoirs again, since we were almost there already, and drove as far up as you could. Our plan was to walk back to the river we stopped at during the bikeride for some dambuilding, but it was really windy and when we got there we decided to rather go up the first stream we got to and see if we found a good place for dambuilding.
As we followed the stream up, the first place we stopped was in a copse of fir trees. It was nice, but the midgets were many and fierce, and they all went for me and the boys, or at least that's what it felt like. Before long the 7-year old had fallen over and was wet up to his bum too, so we decided to walk further up the stream and see where it brought us. We could also hear birds of prey being really noisy and I, for one, wanted to get out of the woods and see what kind of birs it was.
It was a Buzzard, whith two chicks, or whatever you call young Buzzards. The mom seemed to be teaching them to fly as the kept mainly to the top of the ridge and came out over the valley a bit now and then. Amazing sight and really beatiful birds. We walked up the stream until we met a dead and very smelly sheep then headed back down to the car. When we got to the car the 7-year old had to undress and wear S' jumper again. We have now learned to bring an extra change of clothes for him.
It was only when we got back to the cabin we realised we'd left the 7-year olds wellies behind when he got changed. It was an hours drive there so there was no way were were going to hace time to go up and get them, S' parents were coming over for a pub meal, so we decided to go into Ashbourne to buy a new pair the next morning, seeing as the next day was the last day possible for a bikeride so were were going to go out and didn't want to get going late.
We had a really nice meal down the pub and when it was time to pay, S realised he didn't have his card. It must have been left behind at the outdoor shop, being the only place he'd used it, and since we were going to Spain one week later, he couldn't wait for the bank to send him a new one.
We called the shop and their voicemail told us they opened at 9.30am, so the next morning S set off at 7.30am, went up to the reservoirs and picked up the wellies and then went to Hathersage and picked up his card before heading back down. When he got back, we were all ready to go, and so off we went for our long bikeride.
We parked in Thorpe and biked to Illam and from there over the hill to Waterhouses. On our way over the hill the heavens opened and we took refuge in a barn that was open. I think it was used to store wheat of some sort, but it was a great place for getting out of the rain and cold wind. It didn't take long for the sun to come out and we set off again, a bit slower going this time. When we got to Waterhouses we went up the Manifold Valley, which is a great cycle and walk path up the valley. No cars, just other cyclists and a few walkers. Halfway up the valley we stopped for lunch, and after that the 7-year old seemed to run out of steam and energy.
The rest of the way up the valley S would cycle next to the 7-year old and push him along so he didn't have to do anything. We were a bit worried he wouldn't be able to keep going, in which case S would have to go back for the car whilst I waited with the boys. Our only goal at the time was to get to the tea shop at the end of the valley for some cake and tea or milkshake for the boys. That seemed to do the trick. After the cake stop the 7-year old was full of energy again and the rest of the ride he was zooming along like he'd never done anything else.
From the Manifold Valley we went accross to the Wolfscote caves, had another stop there where the boys went to explore the caves and S and myself climbed out on a tree that was practically lying accross the river. Was slightly worried I'd fall in the river. Not because it was shallow, but because I just didn't want to cycle another 15 miles in wet clothes.. The Wolfscote caves are famous with S, he almost got stuck in them when he was 11 years old, and this time the 11-year old tried the same trick, but instead of getting stuck, he got through and out this little cave (or hole) on the other side. Can't believe he managed to get through and not get a panick attack, it was a really tight squeeze.
We then headed up the hill and in the search of the Tissington trail. We'd only just got up the hill when we realised our map was missing. S headed down to where we left our stuff when we explored the caves, but it was gone. Someone had nicked it either whilst we we exploring the caves or after we left. Luckily we just had to find the Tissington trail and it would take us back to Thorp. On our way to the train the 7-year old tried to avoid some stining nettles and ended up going over the handle bars of his bike. A really classic crash, with a soft landing on grass. I just saw it as I came round a bend and it was a 10 out of 10 crash!
As we drew close to the trail it started to rain again, so we stopped under some trees to get our waterproof jackets on and when it seemed to get lighter we headed off again. Luckily the trail was just up the road. Unluckily I'd left my backpack back under the trees, so S biked back to get it, and whilst he was gone the heavens decided to really open up. The boys and myself managed to find shelter under som trees, but S was very wet when he got back.
Going down the Tissington trail we went along quite quickly. At one point we were going 30km per hour. As we got closer to Thorpe the 7-year old decided he was going to practice cycling with one hand only. It went how exactly how you'd expect, he had a big crash. And this time there wasn't any soft grass in the middle. It was a scary thing to watch, but the war wounds were superficial, luckily. We got back to the car, with all of us fading a bit at the end.
Saturday we went home and again spent hours in the car, this time trying to avoid the traffic jams on the M25.
1 comments:
Wow what a great experience you had mentioned, i remembering my those vacation days spent there in europe around 2008 mid.
with my family we took various precious enjoying moments
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