The English Ilam
The previous few weekends were boring, to say the least, and we didn't want to miss this one. My friends and colleagues J & L were too keen on walking / hiking, and I decided to take them to Peak District, for one can't get anything so good so close to Nottingham.
The Walking Englishman has always been a favorite place I'd look before I go, and this time, I decided to do the Dove Dale and Wolfscote Dale trail. And unlike earlier, I had planned a bit more than usual, and hence this ended up to be one of the most economic & hassle-free itineraries. Given that it wasn't just myself but 2 others, I had to not only plan & organize but also make it lighter on their wallets.
I'd always preferred YHAs for their standards & the incredible value for money. I chose YHA Ilam Hall, and there are no direct buses / trains. It was Nottingham - Derby - Ashbourne - YHA Ilam Hall, with the last leg on a taxi and the rest by bus. Trentbarton, which operate in these areas have what's called a zigzag ticket, with which one could travel pretty much of their entire network for as little as £6.50/person/day or £14/group/day. The taxi from Ashbourne to YHA cost us £10, and hence we 3 got from Nottingham to Ilam for £8!
We stopped for breakfast at Ashbourne while waiting for the taxi, and 0830 was quite early hours by its standard, the shops weren't open yet. We strolled the city center, looked at a few antique-shops, and couldn't enter the church, for it was closed. Sad.
The drive to Ilam was just a little over 10 minutes, and it was more than pleasant. We rolled the windows down to the fresh chill breeze, getting to know the area through the cabbie, a friendly nice man who was driving all the way from Birmingham every single day! We dropped our bags at YHA, and since there was no reception, took a few pics of the trail we wanted to do and set off.
Day 1 (09-Mar-2019): Ilam - Milldale - Tissington tRail
We just had to follow the river Dove, and it was fine a for a while, until we got lost and somehow got on track. A few minutes into our walk, hail was slapping our earlobes so hard that we had to cover up. The next surprise was car park sign featuring Punjabi! J & L were quite excited to have pictures taken at almost every other interesting thing on the way - caves, streams, etc., but I was too old for this, and was making conversation with a Henry from Hong Kong! He was originally from Yorkshire, but later settled in HK, having met & married a woman there! He had plenty of stories to tell, and when I expressed the lack of any in me, he cheered me up saying he's 62 and that I'd have as many when I turn his age. Quite comforting, tbh. We filled our water bottles at a stream we crossed, and parted Henry at Milldale.
J wanted to get into Milldale as well, and I involuntarily said, "Let's go tomorrow".
"Are we coming here tomorrow as well?"
"No, that's what parents say when kids ask for something"
We all shared a laugh, skipped the urge to stop for coffee, and got onto the path towards the Tissington trail.
The Tissington Trail was a railway track primarily owned by the then London and North Western Railway (LNWR). It was closed in 1939, and most of the track routes are now paths open for walking / biking / horse-riding. Since we didn't have an offline map with positioning, we got lost a bit, asked around and managed to get onto this.
It was quite a long stretch, and tbh, less interesting than the one to Milldale, for we were pretty much simply walking over what was earlier a rail route. The many archways on the way were the only respite, and not to mention our brief stopover for a quick bite into a few apples.
We reached where the Tissington station once stood, decided not to venture into the town, for we would lose daylight, and proceeded further to Thorpe.
At the Thorpe junction we proceeded Westwards to Ilam. We were slightly exhausted already, and closer we got to the hostel, the happier we visibly were. Oh, and there was also the soft-border crossing - Derbyshire to Staffordshire.
We changed, had showers, and took a good view of the hostel - it was a hall earlier, and was later converted into the hostel it is now. The high & decorated roofs, sturdy doors, the large lounge were all quite beautiful in themselves. We had dinner, played TT and promptly went to bed.
Day 2 (10-Mar-2019): The Manifold Trail
We woke up to find a white blanket for as long as we could see. It had snowed overnight, and we were looking forward to the day already. And this was the day with the craziest weather I've ever seen in my near-year stay in the UK. If all the seasons & phases were rolled into one, this was it - snow, sleet, hail, rain, sunshine, wind and everything in between - all in one day! At one point, I said to J, "Let's go for a coffee before it starts snowing again", and there it was - snow!
We got lost at the very first turn, walked back for 20 mins, and another half an hour in, J sprained her leg and had to return to the hostel, but encouraged us to proceed. We proceeded towards Throwley & up, and the snowfall was getting a heavier for a while. L seemed to enjoy the walk, not forgetting the pictures all along. It was quite easy for L, for he trains for marathons, and hence this wasn't difficult for him at all.
We reached a junction - a farm with cows of considerable sizes. I'm kinda ashamed to admit that I helped myself to a bit of the bran, but am sure the farm owner wouldn't have minded.
While L & I were looking for the next turn, the thing I feared the most happened - we stepped into the puddles! Our socks got wet, and we were trudging for the next few minutes. My shoes' soles started sliding off, and it was getting tougher with every step, with frequent stops for me to fix them. Notwithstanding the wet feet, we marched on, descended onto the Manifold valley, crossed the river Hamps, and walked up the hill to join a group of 60+ young folks out for a walk.
When of them remarked, "Oh, come join us and reduce the average age", all I had to say was, "Well, I'm much older inside!". Plain humour for them, dark humour for me. I was busy conversing with a kind 68-year young agile and active lady from Exeter, Devon. She said she had visited India long ago, and we were speaking of our travels & other interests.
We finally reached the hostel by 1300. We had planned to ascend Thorpe Cloud too, but given my shoes' state, I decided not to, but L went on. Good for him. I promptly washed & dried my shoes and when checked with the reception, I was told that the kitchen was closed - meaning no lunch, and I walked out in my cloth slippers to neighbouring restaurant run by The National Trust, thus gaining unwarranted attention. And a special mention to their delicious carrot cake! 👌
L returned from the lovely Thorpe Cloud, we hopped on to our taxi, reached Ashbourne, and were back to Derby & then Nottingham!
N.B. We were all surprised to know that the tiny village that it should've been, Ashbourne had gas lighting all the way back in 1864!
Thanks to this widget again for letting me create galleries out of Google Photos albums, but I just realized that it doesn't support videos yet. 😏
The Walking Englishman has always been a favorite place I'd look before I go, and this time, I decided to do the Dove Dale and Wolfscote Dale trail. And unlike earlier, I had planned a bit more than usual, and hence this ended up to be one of the most economic & hassle-free itineraries. Given that it wasn't just myself but 2 others, I had to not only plan & organize but also make it lighter on their wallets.
I'd always preferred YHAs for their standards & the incredible value for money. I chose YHA Ilam Hall, and there are no direct buses / trains. It was Nottingham - Derby - Ashbourne - YHA Ilam Hall, with the last leg on a taxi and the rest by bus. Trentbarton, which operate in these areas have what's called a zigzag ticket, with which one could travel pretty much of their entire network for as little as £6.50/person/day or £14/group/day. The taxi from Ashbourne to YHA cost us £10, and hence we 3 got from Nottingham to Ilam for £8!
We stopped for breakfast at Ashbourne while waiting for the taxi, and 0830 was quite early hours by its standard, the shops weren't open yet. We strolled the city center, looked at a few antique-shops, and couldn't enter the church, for it was closed. Sad.
The drive to Ilam was just a little over 10 minutes, and it was more than pleasant. We rolled the windows down to the fresh chill breeze, getting to know the area through the cabbie, a friendly nice man who was driving all the way from Birmingham every single day! We dropped our bags at YHA, and since there was no reception, took a few pics of the trail we wanted to do and set off.
Day 1 (09-Mar-2019): Ilam - Milldale - Tissington tRail
We just had to follow the river Dove, and it was fine a for a while, until we got lost and somehow got on track. A few minutes into our walk, hail was slapping our earlobes so hard that we had to cover up. The next surprise was car park sign featuring Punjabi! J & L were quite excited to have pictures taken at almost every other interesting thing on the way - caves, streams, etc., but I was too old for this, and was making conversation with a Henry from Hong Kong! He was originally from Yorkshire, but later settled in HK, having met & married a woman there! He had plenty of stories to tell, and when I expressed the lack of any in me, he cheered me up saying he's 62 and that I'd have as many when I turn his age. Quite comforting, tbh. We filled our water bottles at a stream we crossed, and parted Henry at Milldale.
J wanted to get into Milldale as well, and I involuntarily said, "Let's go tomorrow".
"Are we coming here tomorrow as well?"
"No, that's what parents say when kids ask for something"
We all shared a laugh, skipped the urge to stop for coffee, and got onto the path towards the Tissington trail.
The Tissington Trail was a railway track primarily owned by the then London and North Western Railway (LNWR). It was closed in 1939, and most of the track routes are now paths open for walking / biking / horse-riding. Since we didn't have an offline map with positioning, we got lost a bit, asked around and managed to get onto this.
It was quite a long stretch, and tbh, less interesting than the one to Milldale, for we were pretty much simply walking over what was earlier a rail route. The many archways on the way were the only respite, and not to mention our brief stopover for a quick bite into a few apples.
We reached where the Tissington station once stood, decided not to venture into the town, for we would lose daylight, and proceeded further to Thorpe.
At the Thorpe junction we proceeded Westwards to Ilam. We were slightly exhausted already, and closer we got to the hostel, the happier we visibly were. Oh, and there was also the soft-border crossing - Derbyshire to Staffordshire.
We changed, had showers, and took a good view of the hostel - it was a hall earlier, and was later converted into the hostel it is now. The high & decorated roofs, sturdy doors, the large lounge were all quite beautiful in themselves. We had dinner, played TT and promptly went to bed.
Day 2 (10-Mar-2019): The Manifold Trail
We woke up to find a white blanket for as long as we could see. It had snowed overnight, and we were looking forward to the day already. And this was the day with the craziest weather I've ever seen in my near-year stay in the UK. If all the seasons & phases were rolled into one, this was it - snow, sleet, hail, rain, sunshine, wind and everything in between - all in one day! At one point, I said to J, "Let's go for a coffee before it starts snowing again", and there it was - snow!
We got lost at the very first turn, walked back for 20 mins, and another half an hour in, J sprained her leg and had to return to the hostel, but encouraged us to proceed. We proceeded towards Throwley & up, and the snowfall was getting a heavier for a while. L seemed to enjoy the walk, not forgetting the pictures all along. It was quite easy for L, for he trains for marathons, and hence this wasn't difficult for him at all.
We reached a junction - a farm with cows of considerable sizes. I'm kinda ashamed to admit that I helped myself to a bit of the bran, but am sure the farm owner wouldn't have minded.
While L & I were looking for the next turn, the thing I feared the most happened - we stepped into the puddles! Our socks got wet, and we were trudging for the next few minutes. My shoes' soles started sliding off, and it was getting tougher with every step, with frequent stops for me to fix them. Notwithstanding the wet feet, we marched on, descended onto the Manifold valley, crossed the river Hamps, and walked up the hill to join a group of 60+ young folks out for a walk.
When of them remarked, "Oh, come join us and reduce the average age", all I had to say was, "Well, I'm much older inside!". Plain humour for them, dark humour for me. I was busy conversing with a kind 68-year young agile and active lady from Exeter, Devon. She said she had visited India long ago, and we were speaking of our travels & other interests.
We finally reached the hostel by 1300. We had planned to ascend Thorpe Cloud too, but given my shoes' state, I decided not to, but L went on. Good for him. I promptly washed & dried my shoes and when checked with the reception, I was told that the kitchen was closed - meaning no lunch, and I walked out in my cloth slippers to neighbouring restaurant run by The National Trust, thus gaining unwarranted attention. And a special mention to their delicious carrot cake! 👌
L returned from the lovely Thorpe Cloud, we hopped on to our taxi, reached Ashbourne, and were back to Derby & then Nottingham!
N.B. We were all surprised to know that the tiny village that it should've been, Ashbourne had gas lighting all the way back in 1864!
Thanks to this widget again for letting me create galleries out of Google Photos albums, but I just realized that it doesn't support videos yet. 😏
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