Hikers on the march in Matlock
HALTON Ramblers travelled to Matlock Bath, Derbyshire on Sunday, August 4.
Walking enthusiasts from the Halton area gathered together to travel south east heading towards Derbyshire and Matlock Bath, situated in the Peak District between Buxton and Derby.
A town developed as one of the country’s first tourist destinations, lying in the beautiful gorge of the River Derwent, with attractive riverside gardens, wooded hillside and rocky limestone crags, now a designated conservation area.
It became a tourist destination in the late 17th century when spa waters were discovered, its hey
day being in the Victorian era, attracting many renowned people including Lord Byron who named the area as ‘Little Switzerland’.
Visitors can take an exciting cable car ride up to The Heights Of Abraham where the wooded country park is crowned with the Victoria Prospect Tower, or as many do you can walk up the zig zag paths enjoying the views as you go.
For those with strong nerves a narrow walkway called Giddy Ledge winds around a section of the cliff.
There are also two caves you can visit Great Masson and Great Rutland, previously mined for lead ore.
With an area with so much to offer it was suitable for all the grades of walks that the group cater for their walkers.
The first group to leave the coaches were the B group a walk of 12.5 miles led by Ray Brown, poetically encouraging his group to walk the limestone Dales with him with the lyrics from a song by the Corries, Come Walk The Limestone Dales With Me ‘where the birds sing in tune and even the trees sway in time’.
They started their walk in the market town of Bakewell to walk across the Derbyshire limestone Dales via Robin Hoods stride, to the Heights of Abraham, situated on High Tor high above Matlock Bath, so then it was a steep descent into the valley below into Matlock Bath.
A long 14 mile A walk was led by John Nickson, the group immediately climbed up Masson Hill via the zig zag path to The Heights Of Abraham, then headed towards Bonsall village joining the Limestone Way.
The Limestone Way is a long distance path of 45 miles in the White Peak area of the Peak District, the walkers continued on this path till they reached Cratcliffe Rocks, at the base of the rocks is a hermits cave with a 4ft crudely carved crucifix probably dating back to the 14th Century.
The group then headed north to Darley Bridge and finished with a four mile walk through fields and onto Masson Hill for their descent into Matlock Bath.
Phil Gregory led a hard 9.5 mile C walk, Phil had short notice to lead the walk so had chosen one he had led previously taking wooded paths to climb high onto the hills making their way to the village of Cromford, from there they joined the Midshires Way.
The Midshires way is another long distance walking route of 230 miles, designed for multi-use, linking the Ridgeway National Trail with the Trans-Pennine trail across the shires of Middle England, starting in Bledlow, Buckinghamshire to Stockport, Gtr Manchester.
At Crich the group crossed over the A6 to join the Derwent Valley Heritage Way walking alongside the canal, The Derwent Valley Heritage Way explores the beauty and heritage of Derbyshire’s River Derwent along 51miles. The last leg of the walk was a short skip along the road back into Matlock Bath.
The D walk of only a short 4.5 miles was led by Clare Naughton although short it was not easy as they climbed the steep zig zag paths up through High Tor Park to the top reaching Abraham Heights, after taking in the views the group took a gentler route down into the town.
Clare offered an extension to her walk following the Lover’s walk to the far end of Matlock Bath.
Several ladies we call the ‘Golden Girls’ stayed locally exploring the town and the walks along the river and gardens, enjoying the activities that the town puts on for tourists.
All the walks were completed in time for some welcome refreshment and the day stayed dry only raining as we returned to the coaches.
If you would like to join us contact the booking secretary on 07842 160 944 or visit the website at www. nmc- ramblers. org. uk or Halton Ramblers Facebook page. The next excursion is to Ladybower on Sunday, September 1.