Leg Stretching

The forecast had promised fog and low clouds all the way to mid day. As we looked out of the window Monday morning, the sun was shining from a clear blue sky. Ha! I had initially picked a high route all around Dove Dale, but we decided to stick to the very popular low route along the river as Rich felt a bit stiff and I didn't mind an easier walk. Leg stretcher instead of a work out.

We had breakfast, packed and drove down to Dove Dale. At 10:30am the car park was half full but we still expected to see a lot people on such a fine day out. A wide and mostly paved path led directly along the river 3 miles up to Milldale with hills rising high on each bank. We knew straight away why this spot was so popular. Countless families and couples with dogs were strolling along the water enjoying the sun and the fresh air just like we did.

We decided to climb a small outcrop to escape the crowds, sat on the top and had a short break with food and drink watching people walk past below. We could've sat there forever but craving for a pint we eventually dropped down to the path again and strolled into Milldale just after noon. The tiny village was packed with people sitting on stone walls or the green having lunch.
There was no pub, only some kind of cafe with a long long queue. Nah.

Looking down from our lofty viewpoint

Walked back to the car park, had two massive scoops of ice cream each and off we went squeezing along an endless queue of cars waiting to get into the full car park. And by "squeezing" I mean folding in my right hand rear mirror. Phew.

We set the sat nav to Stratford-upon-Avon but found ourselves in a gridlock on a very narrow road not even 2 mins later. Cars parked on the left made it impossible to have traffic passing though in both directions at the same time. This time I had to fold in both rear mirrors.
As cars added quickly to the queue at each end, one guy took control of the situation, found a small drive way for a u-turn and asked the four cars behind us to back into it and leave the way we came. Phew. Worked a treat although I got my clutch pretty hot steering my long estate all the way back through the narrow space.

Finally free we made for Straford. Arrived around 5pm, had a pint and then headed for the Chinese I had found there on my visit before, serving authentic hot pot. Ordered two soup bases and a good selection of small pieces to throw in. We seemed like experts (had seen it on tv), haha! The spicy sezcuan pork dumplings were certainly the best and the soup very tasty.

Left Stratford with full bellies having cut our journey in half and headed home on rather quiet roads to arrive around 9:30pm.

I greatly enjoyed my second trip to the Peak District this year! The weather was much better than expected with only the first day being shit. Road cycling is very easy there. Just take a map and choose a combination of B roads. The area we've been to is rarely ever flat which makes for interesting rides.
The area around Edale offers great walking with fine views on a good day. After a long winter and not many chances for a proper walk, I realized how alive I feel when I'm on a hill. Rich said something like "You look like you really belong here." and I think it's true. Taking the Pennine Way back into Edale, I also realized how much I long for doing the next long distance trail. But choosing between say the Cape Wrath Trail or Pennine Way and climbing the next 6000m mountain is tough. At the moment I favour mountaineering as it is the greater challenge for me. But should I decide to take a break from it, you'll certainly find me with a backpack on some remote trail :).