Short and Sweet
My grandparents are probably the reason I first got into hiking, igniting a love of getting out and exploring that which would not usually be seen. That's why I jumped at the opportunity to go on another walk with them this week down Lathkill Dale.
Although they don't walk as far as they use to, this particular walk was about 4.5 miles long and, unusually for me, was linear not circular as my grandad drove the car to the end of the walk and met us halfway. The walk itself was pretty pleasant, the weather being a particular highlight - not to hot and not to cold with a nice breeze.
Starting at Over Haddon, my nan, my grandparents' friend, and me began by walking down a fairly steep surfaced road down to the bottom of the dale. Here, it changed into a trail which followed the river up the dale. The path varied between being smooth to quite rocky and awkward to walk on, and the further up the dale we went the more craggy the sides got, with big portions of exposed pale limestone - the rock which gives the White Peak its name.
At roughly the halfway mark, we met up with my grandad and then began the steady climb up and out the dale. Although not overly steep, the path again was quite rocky at times. Additionally, by this point the river had disappeared, I suspect underground though I haven't checked, and the dale sides began to get closer together but also shorter in height at the same time. Finally the path exited the dale altogether, passed through two fields before arriving at the road, where this was a WC and a small amount of parking.
It was here the walk ended but my time in peak district didn't, as afterwards we went for lunch at a pub in Monyash, the Bull's Head, just a short way down the road. Overall, the walk and meal combined to make this a very enjoyable half day out.
