It was a misty start in parts on Wednesday 18th August 2021 for the lovely drive over to Alstonefield, where 25 members met for the 7 mile walk led by Brian Peake.

From the centre of the village we took footpaths across fields and later descended into Narrowdale, and the amazing site of the farm abandoned in the 1970's. There are two large Grade 2 listed farmhouses here, plus many other stone outbuildings and derelict Land Rovers covering a considerable area. From here we continued into Wolfscote Dale, where we took a drinks break. This is a very steep sided limestone ravine, under the care of the National Trust. The River Dove, (the main river that runs through the Peak District) flows along here, and in parts the water looked like glass. However there are many small weirs where it tumbles over rocks, and we were lucky enough to spot a Dipper. Sheep could be spotted grazing high above us, seemingly in quite precarious positions.

We carried on alongside the river for quite a while before we reached Fish Pond Bank, and here we turned onto the road for a stretch to take us along into Milldale. This is a very popular spot, but for a while we only had the ever hungry ducks for company, before quite a number of people arrived to take advantage of this village setting by the river for lunch.

From this lovely site we walked past the very busy shop to take a path up though a VERY steep field towards Alstonefield. This was definitely a ''sting in the tail'' and it reduced the level of chatter right down ! From the top of the hill we just had another field to cross, with the church being visible though the trees, to return to the cars.

A very pretty enjoyable walk, on a mild breezy day.

Gillian Gibbons