Walk #70: Thorpe to Matlock

H29 Photo from Tissington Trail looking north towards Parwich.		H28 My frosty tent.

General Data

H32 Looking over Bonsall from near Upper Town

Map of the walk

Notes

This was a very hot and tiring day, and in many ways was harder than many of the days on the Pennine Way. This was mainly down to a quite aggressive timescale (I had to get to Matlock for 14.00) and the fact that the day consisted of a large amount of up-and-down'ing over hills and into valleys, and in some cases these climbs were very steep.

I am pleased because even after a relatively hard day yesterday my legs stood up well to the shocks and impacts of the walk. This is a distinct difference to the situation I found myself in on many of the days of the Pennine Way, where my legs ran out of energy. It appears that all the walking that I have been doing recently has been worth the effort.

The scenery on this stretch is marvellous, with some excellent views being available, particularly above Ballidon Church and near Brassington, from where Carsington Water is visible.

I was starting to develop a hotspot on the ball of my left foot, so I stopped at Brassington and sat down outside the telephone exchange so that I could apply a compeed plaster to the afflicted area.

I woke in the morning to find a heavy frost covering my tent. Despite this, the early morning air temperature was not too cold and I did not need to wear gloves to attempt to keep my hands warm. Packing up my tent and the morning ablutions were completed quickly, and I was soon ready to hit the road.

I was ready to depart from the campsite at 07.00, but unfortunately the campsite is one of those that require the user to give a £2.50 deposit for a key to use the facilities. Unfortunately, they did not open in the morning until 09.00 for the return of keys and the deposit. Fortunately I managed to come to an agreement with the campsite warden that allowed me to drop off the key and regain my deposit at 07.30 instead.

Directions

This walk follows the Limestone Way. See 'Walking the Limestone Way', by R&E Haydock and B&D Allen, ISBN 0 907758 92 4 for excellent details and route maps of this walk.

Distances

This makes a total distance of 13.0 miles, with 2188 feet of ascent and 2588 feet of descent.

Transport

As with yesterady's walk, this is an area where transport links are nowhere near as good as they could be. Thorpe and the campsite near Fenny Bentley are both quite near the main A515 Ashbourne to Buxton road, and Matlock has both frequent bus services to Derby, Buxton, Chesterfield and Sheffield and a train service to Derby. Bus services can also be caught from Matlock to Ashbourne, and then a change of bus can take you into Thorpe.

As usual, weekday services generally tend to far superior to those at weekends, particularly on Sundays. During high season, however, some services run to cater for holidaymakers that do not run during the rest of the year.

Disclaimer

Please note that I take no responsibility for anything that may happen when following these directions. If you intend to follow this route, then please use the relevant maps and check the route out before you go out. As always when walking, use common sense and you should be fine.

If you find any information on any of these routes that is inaccurate, or you wish to add anything, then please email me.

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And finally, enjoy your walking!

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