It was convenient to join a group who were walking from Peak Forest to Castleton. Surprisingly the first part of the route wasn’t familiar even the approach into the village. A wet picnic is never much fun so the covered seating area by the information centre proved ideal for the lunch stop. The other group weren’t especially chatty. After walking through a particular field one of us asked, ‘ Did you study that manure ? ‘ There was no doubt from the lengthy pause, plus look of incomprehension, what the eventual reply would be. The climb up through Cave Dale is always good and we enjoyed the walk despite persistent rain.
It’s only a short distance from the Cat and Fiddle but driving through the valley towards Wildboarclough is to enter a world little changed by time. It’s known as the valley of the wild stream. We’d not seen the plaque on the bridge before commemorating rebuilding after a severe flood in 1989 . There was time to go into the nearby sandstone church and to look at the building that was once the largest post office in England. Our destination was the Three Shires Head which was neither wild nor wet on this occasion. As we sat in sunshine overlooking the pools by the bridge an Australian couple asked for their photo to be taken. As we admired the scene together one of them made the comment that it was all free, making us think how easy it is to take this for granted.
Helen Royle – 872507