Double header in the Derbyshire Dales

A double header of walks for Dearne Valley Walking Group saw us venture into the Peak District to complete a 6.8 miles circuit of the Derbyshire Dales in quite lovely early autumn conditions.   Â
Dearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in WakefieldDearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in Wakefield
Dearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in Wakefield

Starting from the pretty but often overlooked village of Tideswell we made our way out towards the Limestone Way, heading for Monks Dale.

Monks Dale, as anyone who remembers our walk through there back in winter 2015 would agree it is quite a connoisseurs walk. Today, in sharp contrast to our 2015 walk the dale and river were dry. Although the Dale was dry it is still quite tricky to walk through this Dale, a nature reserve where nature has simply taken over. Our party negotiated the slippery stone paths and fallen trees admirably if not always in a dignified manner.

Dearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in WakefieldDearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in Wakefield
Dearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in Wakefield
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Towards the end of the Dale we finished up walking along the river bed which was bone dry and made for an easier path through than the one alongside. We sat on the bridge across the river to take a belated lunch break, our feet dangling off the bridge. Had we tried this back in 2015 our party would have been shin deep in water. After emerging from Monks Dale, we entered the pretty village of Millers Dale pausing briefly to check our route we then had to ascend a quite brutal path to the Monsal Trail.

As you may imagine the Monsal Trail was extremely busy with both walkers and cyclists taking advantage of the weather conditions, for the DVWG party it was only a short stretch to walk, before leaving and descending to the stunning hamlet of Litton. From Litton we took a steady meander through Tideswell Dale, again another very stunning Derbyshire Dale, which is very popular because of both its beauty and wide, well surfaced paths. From here another short but steep footpath took us to Tideswell Town End where we took a steady walk down the narrow streets into the village and the end of our walk.

A quick beer (for some) followed at the Horse & Jockey in Tideswell before commencing our journey home. Well done to the 8 people and one dog who completed today's lovely 6.8 miles walk especially Katie Summerell who tackled the walk and challenging conditions in Monks Dale admirably, even freely sharing her iced party ring biscuits along the way.. Our second walk of the weekend was our quarterly toddler walk for our youngest participants - a 1.6 miles steady walk around the 'Blown Away' trail at Pugney's Country Park near Wakefield. Six adults and seven children attended the walk in glorious autumn sunshine, albeit a tad windy.

The Blown Away Trail follows the story of the children's book, Blown Away which is about the mischievous wind and its effects, several signs with blown away items are strategically placed on a lap of the lake. All in all this was a fun event aimed at getting our youngest participants out walking. At the end of the walk there were opportunities for a visit to the Pirates Cove play area and for the older assembled children, David, Emily, Emma and Nick an opportunity to demonstrate their prowess on the adjacent zip wire. Of course there was time for ice cream to finish off the event too.

Dearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in WakefieldDearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in Wakefield
Dearne Valley Walking Group taking walks in the Peak District and Pugneys in Wakefield
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Well done to all our youngsters who completed the walk and thank you to the adults who supported the event. A final special mention goes to Harvey Coy who demonstrated how to enjoy muddy puddles and his younger brother Toby who demonstrated that eating ice cream should be a fun but messy affair. Dearne Valley Walking Group's forthcoming walks include our 7.5 mile Bronte Classic Walk on Sunday 7th October. This starts from Bronte Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth, Keighley, BD22 8DR. To join us on any of our walks please contact David Kirk via email on [email protected] or on 07904 010347. For more visit www.dvwg.org.uk website.

Â