| Watch the Birdies!! |
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Date : 5th April 2010
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Leader : Gillian Whittaker |
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Report by : Robert Eccles |
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Photos © : Robert Eccles |
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| Lathkill Dale's waters | |
It could have been the drizzly weather or maybe the thought of travelling to Derbyshire on a
Bank Holiday that put people off but only four Hyndburn Ramblers left Accrington for Gillian's
walk in the White Peak. Derbyshire (even the White Peak) isn't as far as folk think and 90 minutes later we were setting out west from the car park at the top of Youlgreave. The weather was still a little overcast but it was essentially dry. Soon we were on the Limestone Way and heading towards Cales Dale, the first of our "Derbyshire Dales".
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left:
On the Limestone Way |
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right: Looking up Cales Dale |
The descent into Cales Dale was quite severe - we dropped 40 metres in 100 metres - a journey made
more difficult by the slippy limestone. Eventually we all made it to the bottom in one piece to discover the distinct lack of a stream. Turning north towards Lathkill Dale all was explained when it emerged from underground. It looks like streams in this area can be as tricky as they are in the Yorkshire variety of Dales.
The junction of Cales and Lathkill Dales proved an excellent lunch spot. The weather had brightened considerably and there were various changes of apparel.
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left:
The clear waters |
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right: Limestone outcrop |
The next part of the walk was east along the length of Lathkill Dale. It is a beautiful limestone valley with steep sides and a crystal clear stream running through it. Much of the bird life is so used to people they just ignore you and continue doing their birdy things. Through the valley we saw:
- yellow wagtails nesting in a bank by a waterfall
- coots running through woods for some reason - maybe just because they are coots
- one coot - more sensibly - sat on a nest
- assorted moorhens just ambling or paddling about
- tufted ducks diving - with the clear water you could see them dabbling on the stream bed
- a very butch swan (that bird was big!)
- and finally, one random, totally out of place, pheasant.
Further down the Dale there is evidence of past industry. Bateman's House was built over a shaft used for draining the lead mines and you can climb down to the shaft where there is a hand-powered generator to illuminate it (hint: wait until some kids go down and let them do all the generator work). Just a little further is the remains of Mandale Mine with the "bob wall" of the engine house and signs of the aqueduct that drove a massive water wheel.
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The track through Lathkill Dale |
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right: Bateman's House |
Finally the valley opens out into the more tradition U shape of a "Dale". It may have been the light but the river (as it had become) was a delightful aquamarine. The Dale ends at Alport and from there we turned west along the river Bradford.
This wasn't as spectacular as Lathkill Dale but did have some treats for us. In particular there were two limestone crags. The first had a tree growing out of it and various flowers clinging to its vertical face.
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left:
Inclusions... |
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right: ...and overhangs |
The second, besides providing a convenient, if a little drippy, alcove for a coffee stop, had marble inclusions where the limestone had been baked at some point in its history.
Soon after coffee we started to climb back up to Youlgreave and the cars but looking round there was much, much more we could have explored. For today though further exploration was restricted to beer.
Overall: just over 7 miles in limestone country, fantastic but different "Dales" scenery. Not much climbing but some steep descents (the drop down into Cales Dale needs care).
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| Weirs on the River Lathkill | |
