With Barbara and Jessie. We parked up by the road from the corner from the big Peak Village Shopping Centre and walked round to the Peacock where we turned south down Woodhouse Lane. We followed this as it swings sharply right but a bit later when it swings left we kept straightish on taking the right of way that leads across the fields to Congreave. The biggest of these fields was home to lots of cows with calves and a very large bull which made me slightly nervous with the dog in tow but they all cheerfully ignored us as we passed. Coming out at Congreave a sign on the gate saying: “DANGER. COWS WITH CALVES. PLEASE BE CAREFUL left is in no doubt how brave we had been. From Congreave we climbed steeply up the road to where a footpath on the right sut a corner over some fields to meet the road leading towards Stanton. We were looking for a path off right climbing along the edge of the woods. After a short walk along the road there was a finger sign but ity wasn’t clear whether it was pointing – a bit oddly – straight along the road itself, or – a bit alarmingly through the gate of the first property on the left with a bit sign advising being wary of the dog. We stuck cautiously to the road and after a bit another finger sign pointed unabiguously up into the woods. Following this led to Lees Road just by Stanton Moor but it had been such thirsty work getting here that we decided we would pop down to the pub in Stanton for a bit of sort liquid refreshment. It’s actually quite a long way down band a very long way back up but the pub – the Flying Childers – is lovely and well worth a rather steep detour.
Back up onto Lees Road one soon comes to a place where a lot of cars are parked and a good path leads off over the moor towards the Nine Ladies, the most famous and most visited of several Peak District Stone Circles. We then had a good old wander round the Moor, taking in the Nine Ladies, the trig point, the Early Grey Tower built to commemorate the 1832 Reform Act. We looked for a path leading down. We looked for a footpath near the tower that would lead down to connect with the path through Stanton Woodhouse Farm- there seems to be one faintly shown on the map – but failed to find one so headed back to the Nine Ladies and on north. Ting got a little confused round here not helped by the fact that I had managed to lose my map by the point and we were now navigating with the help of Barbara’s iphone. But we soon found ourselves on the path leading to Stanton Woodhouse. The path is at first a bit overgrown but soon turns into a beautiful broad grassy track leading up past the farm. This is a rather grand affair, once apparently a shooting Lodge belonging to the Duke of Rutland. A scary looking dog barked at us as we passed but seemed safely confined and failed to tear us limb from limb. The rst of the walk is down the access track to the farm which is a properly tarred road and soon we were back in Rowsley ready for a quick drink which the highly salubrious Devonshire Arms in Beeley soon supplied us. I’d been on walks onto Stanton Moor before but from Winster and Birchover to the south. But from Rowsley too it makes a lovely walk.
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