Walking with Wall (August 2013)

At 8.30 a.m. on Saturday 10^th August, 12 people from St. John’s climbed aboard a coach bound for the small market town of Ashbourne with the Liverpool Road Methodist Church Rambling Club.

Ashbourne is situated in the middle of England, in the county of Derbyshire, at the southerly end of the Pennine Chain - the mountainous backbone of England.

After stopping for a break en route we arrived at the car park, by the Leisure Centre in Ashbourne, at about 11.30 a.m.

Having disembarked from the coach, the 18 “walkers” followed David Wall to the Tissington Trail whilst the rest of the party walked into Asbourne to enjoy their day out there.

The Tissington Trail runs for 13 miles from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay, where High Peak Junction joins it.  The High Peak and Tissington Trails were formerly the Cromford and High Peak and the Ashbourne to Buxton railway lines.  The Buxton to Ashbourne railway line opened in 1899 and closed in 1967.  Once the track was removed, the route was transformed into a recreational trail and opened to the public in 1971.  You can walk, cycle or ride a horse on the trails all year round.

Following David, we walked out of Ashbourne along the Tissington Trail but, shortly after passing through the tunnel, we left the trail and veered off across fields of cows or sheep towards the Peak District National Park. 

It was a really lovely walk and for once conditions were ideal.  It was not too hot, not too cold and not even wet!  

We sat down, for our picnic lunch, on a ridge. 

David told us that this was the border of, and looking out over, The National Park.

After lunch we walked on to, and through, the pretty village of Thorpe, which had been mentioned in the Domesday Book with records from January to December 1086!

A little later we heard the sound of gunfire and wondered what we had let ourselves in for.  However, being an intrepid band, we continued to follow our leader.  

We spotted a red flag in the distance but marched on towards it!  It turned out that we were passing right behind a shooting range but, fortunately the targets were well off in the opposite direction!

Eventually we curved back onto the Tissington Trail for an easy walk back to the Ashbourne Leisure Centre.  The trail was very pleasant to walk along – tree lined, well surfaced and virtually flat.  However, the main hazard for walkers on the trail was the cyclist of which there were many!  

We rejoined the coach by 5.00 p.m. (15 minutes later than we had hoped to be).

We all had a lovely day and our thanks go to David Wall for choosing and leading the walk and the Liverpool Road Methodist Church Rambling Club for, as ever, being such excellent hosts.

Walking along the Monsal Trail – 1st September 2012

At 8.30 a.m. on Saturday 1^st September, a group of St. John’s parishioners turned up at Liverpool Road Methodist Church to board a coach, bound for Bakewell, with the church’s walking group.  Some of those on board were to be taken directly to Bakewell and the rest of us were to be dropped off on the A6 a few miles outside Bakewell to be led on a walk along the Monsall trail into Bakewell by David Wall.

We had woken to threatening skies so had turned up with fleeces and waterproofs but in the event it was an excellent day for walking and we ended up carrying quite a lot of clothes by the time we got to Bakewell!

Following the rain that we have been having the beginning of the walk was extremely muddy and slippery which slowed the group down a little.  

However the river and waterfall were beautiful and before long we reached the Monsal Dale viaduct.  

This was very dramatic from below.  [Built in 1863 on the Derby to Manchester section of the Midland Railway.  The viaduct is 300 feet long and has five 50 foot span arches.]

We then climbed to the top of the viaduct (not quite the flat walk that had been advertised!) and on to the Monsal Trail.   

We had our packed lunches on the viaduct, surrounded by glorious views and watching the many walkers and cyclists that were enjoying the trail (which is along the disused railway line).

After lunch we set off along the trail and soon reached the Headstone Tunnel.  

[The cutting was made in 1860 when the Midland Railway was under construction.  Blasted with gunpowder and drilled and dug by hand, the 490 metres Headstone Tunnel is the longest on the Monsal trail (and the only one we walked through).  Following work by the Peak District National Park Authority – using £2.25 million funding from the Department of Transport – the tunnels were repaired, resurfaced and lit so that they now form an extension to the previously existing Monsal Trail. The tunnels were re-opened for use in May 2011.]  

As we walked through the tunnel (and along other parts of the trail) it was not hard to imagine a ghost steam train coming down the “tracks”.  The cutting was also a paradise for those interested in geology.

Our next stop was the Hassop Station Café for a welcome drink and toilet stop.  

Again, in that peaceful setting, it was hard to believe that 100 years ago we would have been sitting next to a noisy railway track!

In due course we arrived at Bakewell station about an hour before the coach was due to depart at 4.00 p.m. 

This gave some of us an opportunity to sample the local produce and purchase a Bakewell Tart for tea!

The Liverpool Road Methodists were extremely welcoming and have kindly invited us to join their final walk of the season to Ambleside.

I'm sure we would all like to thank Eric and Malcolm for inviting us and, of course David Wall for leading a really lovely and relaxing walk. 

St. John's day trip to Yorkshire, summer 2011 (Part 3)

Our final destination was Skipton.

Over two and a half hours in Skipton sounded as if it might be a rather a long time but it wasn’t – there was so much to see and do!

There were many streets, alleyways, nooks and crannies to explore.

You could walk along the canal …

..... or through the woods.

There was the Town Hall and Museum to visit – this local hippo was a bit of a surprise!

You could go to the castle ....

..... or visit Holy Trinity Church with its lovely gardens.

However, the most popular pastimes were shopping – either in the shops or the market.







The most popular shop of all was J. Stanforth, The Celebrated Pork Pie Establishment!

Mmmmmmm!

Finally there were the pubs, cafés and Tea Shops for that, ever available, Yorkshire Tea and anything else that anyone fancied!

It had been an excellent, but tiring, day. Fortunately, in Skipton the weather was dry and the benches were plentiful.






At 4.30 p.m. it was time to board the coach for home! Everyone was tired but happy, and many a ZZZZ was pushed up en route!

Thank you very much Clive for organising such an interesting day!

St. John's day trip to Yorkshire, summer 2011 (Part 2)

We assembled on the Haworth platform at exactly 12.36 and didn't have to wait long before our train arrived from Oxenhope.

The train buffs amongst us could no doubt tell you every detail about both the engine and the carriages. All I know is that it was a lovely black steam engine so if you need to know more about it you'll have to ask Roy!

We found that we had a carriage reserved especially for our group and soon we were all seated in an open carriage.

An added bonus was Harry and his mentor who were volunteers with the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. All the way along the route they were able to indicate points of interest whith great good humour and enthusiasm.

Young Harry was well able to deal with Roy's technical questions and, for us less steam train literate travellers, he pointed out various land marks that appear in the 1970 film version of Edith Nesbit's story of "The Railway Children".

We were told that the KWVR is a standard gauge branch line which joins the national railway network at Keighley in the north east of England and runs 5-miles up the Worth Valley to Oxenhope.

Thus we passed through several beautifully restored stations, including this one (Oakwood) which was the location of the film 'The Railway Children'.

On arrival in Keighley we watched our engine shunt round - preparing to take the carriages back out to Oxenhope.

We then left the station and boarded the coach for Skipton.

St. John's day trip to Yorkshire, summer 2011 (Part1)

After a picturesque drive with, a short comfort break en route, our first scheduled stop was the beautiful village of Haworth.

Our lovely coach driver Dave, dropped us in Haworth station Car Park. Dave had a beautiful coach of which he was justly proud. He was a fantastic driver and confessed to having lived in Birkdale as a child and attended the St. John's Sunday School - an undisclosed number of years ago!

On leaving the coach, in Haworth Station car park, we walked up ....







....and up until we finally reached Haworth Main Street!




The village was beautiful.

Most people availed themselves of one of the many delightful pubs and cafés for at least a cup of tea! In Haworth the traditional Yorkshire weather was like the traditional Yorkshire tea - hot and wet!

Another much visited location was Rose & Co. Apothecary from which many a tin of Zam-Buk was brought back to the coach.

Other places of interest to visit were the Bronte Parsonage and the Bronte Memorial Chapel inside St Michael and All Angels (the Haworth parish church).

We had been told that "our train to Keighley leaves at 12.36" and been exhorted not to miss it as there wouldn't be another train for 2 hours!

Fortunately, the walk back to the station was down hill all the way; thus we all congregated at Haworth Station in good time to meet our train.