Thursday walk 21 Nov 2013

Andy Smith
Nov 21, 2013
CMC Thursday walk 21 Nov 2013.
Eleven of us started from Monsal Head. The weather was quite
good, with some sunshine, but cold. It was good to have Sean,
a returning member from many years ago. We headed down to
the footbridge and crossed the Wye. Turning left along the
riverside path we reached the first of many muddy sections
encountered during the day. A lot of white water was coming
over the weir; ‘Derbyshire’s Niagara” someone commented.
We soon reached crossed the A6. A coffee and loo stop was
taken at the White Lodge car park. Then it was uphill,
up a path that looked more like a stream. A steep climb
into Shacklow Wood brought us to a path junction, where
we turned left to Ashford-in-the-Water and the path levelled
off. It soon began to descend to river level again. After
a short tarmac section we reached Ashford where we sat
on benches in the sun: very pleasant. Leaving the village,
the route led uphill again to the oddly named Pennyunk Lane.
We enjoyed excellent views to the east over the Derwent
Valley. Eventually the lane lead back to Monsal Head where
it was disappointing to find the cafe closed.
6.3 miles, 1060ft of ascent.

Andy

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Andy Smith – Bradwell, Derbyshire, England; andy@…