It was a scorching hot April Saturday and the Peak District was clearly very busy. I was not surprised to find the car park at Miller’s Dale full up and having to wait about for someone to leave before I could park. I followed the Monsal Trail west for a short while to a viaduct. Here a path on the right leads down into Cheedale. It was very busy down here but beautiful. There were red campion everywhere. The path has the odd steepening where you have to scramble easily up and down -in this direction mostly down – limestone steps. They are very polished and would be treacherous in wet conditions . And of course there are the famous stepping stones as the river passes under spectacular limestone crags. There were queues here today.
After a couple of miles the path goes under a viaduct and then soon after another one. Here the Pennine Bridleway crosses the Dale and tried right and followed it up a big hill which seemed very big in the intense heat to Mosley Farm which is currently a building site The Bridleway takes a long circuitous way round to Wormhill but for pedestrians there is a shortcut along a track leading to Hassop Farm. I walked through the village where there is an elaborate memorial to the distinguished engineer James Brindley born in this parish then turned back onto the Pennine Bridgeway which took me down to the north edge of Monk’s Dale. The ground here is rough and they’re is nothing like the crowds of Chee Dale. In the mile and half walk down the Dale I met one group of three people and that was all. Eventually I reached a footbridge off to the right which I crossed and climbed up to the road just above the now much emptier car park. .
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