Graton Dale and the village of Elton.

Just 3 of us this week, brother Rob was off looking at reptiles for the day. We parked up beside an old telephone box in the hamlet of Dale End. The first part of the walk we had done before at a different time of the year. The walk up through Gratton Dale was really nice, lots of different birds singing and the sloping sides of the dale were covered with giant daisies. We passed the old lime kiln, they seem to be everywhere in Derbyshire. This is a dry dale but still spectacular.
We reached the top of the Dale and joined the road leading to Elton, this was very straight and could even have been an old roman road. There were great views along this road and we even got a glimpse of Mininglow. We passed some highland cattle with calves and then reached the ridge where there was an information display showing all the visible landmarks. From there it was down into Elton where we had our breakfast outside the Duke of York pub then onto the car.

Route through Gratton Dale

Booting up at Dale End

This is whats left of the old Lime Kiln

The sloping sides of the dale were covered with giant daisies

Ike getting himself a walking stick

Ike and Geoff

A curlew about 1/4 mile away

Ike & Geoff checking the map

Quite a few abandoned buildings

Ike & Geoff with a lovely potential holiday home behind them

Hamish the highland coo

Mother & baby

Panorama of the surrounding hills

This crack needs a bit of attention

The village of Elton

Breakfast at the Duke of York

This unusual pump  on the wall

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This lovely building was behind the pub

All Saints Church

Nice rural scene on the way back to the car

This was just over 4 1/2 miles through some lovely scenery. Lots of birds and animals to see and we saw only one other person in Gratton Dale. A cracking morning.

See you next week

Breedon on the Hill

It was Rob's turn this week and we headed south again to the district of North West Leicestershire to visit Breedon on the Hill.

The Priory church of St, Mary & St. Hardulph

We parked in the tiny hamlet of Wilson and from there we walked along the old railway track to Tong and then onto the top of Breedon Hill. We past a couple of interesting buildings on the way with the railway track tacking us past the Tong and Breedon Railway Station, now converted into a residential dwelling. There were some great views of the church on the hill from Tonge.

Boot time

This is one of Robs short cuts

Geoff  being very careful over this fence.

This is Ike's photo stance

Ive got no idea what these are for.

The old Tonge and Breedon railway station.

Geoff snapping the bridge

A great door decoration in the hamlet of Tonge

The main street in Tonge

The Priory church of St, Mary & St. Hardulph

The Priory church of St, Mary & St. Hardulph

Breedon is notable for its Carboniferous limestone hill that rises 122 metres (400 ft) above sea level in a generally low-lying landscape and affords distant views across several counties. A large portion of the hill has been cut away by an active quarry now operated by Breedon Aggregates.

Looks like a gateway to nowhere

The village lock up { The Round House} in the foreground was built around 1793 where offenders were kept until they could be moved into the town prison. It was last used in 1885

On the track up to the church

The Priory Church of St Mary and St Hardulph was originally a monastery founded in about AD 676 on the site of The Bulwarks, an Iron Age hill fort. It was re-founded as an Augustinian priory early in the 12th century. Before becoming a monastery it was a hermitage.

Geoff sitting quietly in the church yard having his breakfast

Sun Dial on the church wall

The ministers off to work

The Breedon Beacon

Ike checking out the construction of this house wall

The main street in Wilson

This was another cracking little walk of 4 miles in nice warm conditions for this time of the year. None of us had previously had a good look around this area although Geoff had been on the railway track when there was actually track on it.
See you next week