Youlgreave & the lost Pikehall Stoop

High all, this week when we left at 6:30am it was still quite dark and there was a slight drizzle in the air.
We arrived at the first port of call on Crowhill Lane just outside of Bakewell at about 7:15ish and it was still very dull, just perfect (not) for taking photo's.
This Stoop (W4) is opposite a T junction and is unusual that it has a slightly bigger top than the support. Its been broken in the past and repaired.

Head Stoopologist Geoff at stoop W4

Stoop W4

We had Geoff's book of Derbyshire Stoops and so next on the list was W5 at Monyash. We parked up just beside the last remaining Mere at Monyash. There used to be 5 but now only Fere Mere remains.
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Fere Mere with St. Leonard's Church behind.

 There was a nice walk up this green lane to the next stoop W5. I put the co-ordinates into my GPS and it was probably a mile or so before we got close, then it was a case of looking around. It was on the fringe of my indicating circle on my GPS but we eventually found it

It looks like we've got 2 rabbits this week!!

Looks almost like a tree is growing out of W5

Set off back down the track to the car where Rob & Ike tried to hitch a lift on the back of a quad bike owned by a local farmer, we had a good chat about sheep being caught in the snow and how the village got cut off the previous winter.

Oi can i have a lift mate?

 Now this is where the fun started!!
I plotted the co-ordinates from Geoff's book into my GPS and we went looking for stoop W6. First of all the co-ordinates put the stoop on a straight road next to a track to a farm. We looked around and asked the farmer that had came up the track and nothing. The description in the book mentioned a V junction and the next junction was about a mile up the road, i thought has the author got the first 2 numbers on the co-ords the wrong way around. Put them in and it moved the location to a junction. We looked around there for quite a while but still nothing. Someone then compared the map from the book and the co-ordinates and realised that one of them was definitely wrong. We re read the instructions and using the map come to the conclusion that we were in the wrong place altogether. Off we went to the new location and bingo there it was right on another V junction. So an email is on its way to the author with new co-ordinates for stoop W6.

Eventually found stoop W6

As can be seen some time in the past it has been converted into a gate post.

 The stoop W7 should have been easy to locate. The description in the book said it was 2 fields away east from Pikehall Farm on the A5012. Well we walked all around Pikehall, talked to people in the village, went east, west and south and no stoop.
We met a lone walker about a mile from Pikehall Farm who turned out to be an ex neighbour of mine. Small world.
But we still never found stoop W7, even using the co-ordinates from the book.
I think its another email to the author of Geoff's book.

Rob looking for the LOST STOOP OF PIKEHALL.

The students of Stoopology will be out again next week, watch this space.
Cheers.