Ten of us met in Over Haddon for a 7.5 mile walk above and then through Lathkill Dale. Walking westwards along the lane out of the village we admired a landscape which, minus the drystone walls and scattered farmsteads, is very similar to that which was experienced by the earliest humans to reach this area at the end of the Ice Age some 12 000 years ago. As the ice retreated, these Mesolithic hunter gatherers were able to follow and hunt migrating herds of reindeer, aurochs and wild horses and would have encountered mammoths, woolly rhinos and hyenas along the way. It was hard to imagine all this as we passed placid herds of grazing cows but a chilly wind helped to put us in the picture!
We passed the jumbled remains of Ringham Low, once a five-chambered burial mound from the Neolithic period, and then made our way down through Ricklow Dale and its quarry to the shelter of Lathkill Dale. We visited the sites of Mesolithic rock shelters at Lathkill Head Cave and Cales Dale before moving into the woodland of the lower valley. Here the focus switched to the 18th & 19th century remnants of the lead mining industry and water-powered corn mills. We explored the ruins of Bateman’s House and Mandale Mine’s engine house but a new fence and rank vegetation prevented us from visiting the outlet of Mandale Sough – but we could at least hear the sound of the only running water we encountered all day. We finished with the steep climb back to the village.
We were lucky with the weather, just one brief but heavy downpour, and the day was rounded off with Helen distributing pieces of delicious, home-made, apple bake – very tasty.
Thanks for your company everyone
Steve W
Submit a CommentPlease be polite. We appreciate that.