Leadmill Squirrel

On the path to Leadmill a squirrel jumped out of the undergrowth and started running towards me. I stood still and it took a few minutes for him to realise I was there. He promptly jumped back into the undergrowth and scooted up a tree. The track was made of crushed hardcore. I wonder if squirrels' feet ever get sore running over this type of terrain.

I crossed the River Derwent at Leadmill Bridge and walked on the path to Mount Pleasant. There was then a bit of up and down until I reached Hoghall. It sounded like something out of Harry Potter.

The route then followed the delightful path along the valley, above Highlow Brook.

Ant Hotels

I was walking through the wood, engrossed in my own thoughts when a number of large mounds appeared ahead, next to the path. At first I thought they were debris from some forestry operation. On closer inspection were swarming with ants; they were ant hills or ant hotels, as I like to think of them. There must have been half a dozen mounds, possibly even more going into the woods. I was surprised at the size of them; they were probably about a metre high and maybe 3 metres in diameter.I tried not to stand in one place too long as I took some photos. I posted a photo of these on a local Facebook site and somebody replied that these ant hills had been around for years.

Wrong Route To Eyam Moor

In deep thought about this amazing natural phenomenon, I failed to notice that I'd drifted off on to the wrong path. I was well down the track before I realised and so decided to continue. The track brought me to a grouse colony and a ruin of a house where I was able to get on to the right path (see notes on map). The path up to Eyam Moor gives good views down into Bretton Clough.

Eyam Moor was relatively flat and the path followed a stone wall right through to the junction with Sir William Hill Road. Given the very specific, titled name it seems odd nobody knows after which dignitary the road was named. No sooner had I reached Sir William Hill Road, then the route bounces northeast over the moor. I'd been over the moor about a month before and Goldfinches were very much in evidence both now and then. The track across the moor dropped down to a road at Leam and I followed this down and down, back to the Leadmill Bridge.

Derwent Reservo

It was a pleasent shaded path along the River Derwent towards Grindleford. I branched from this on to a path that led me over a railway bridge and then past the rather 'remote feeling' houses on the Windses Estate. After the houses, I took the path that heads up the west side of Padley Gorge. This was a lovely woodland trail. There are plenty of paths that head down to the brook or upwards into the woods. To head up the gorge I walked on an obvious trail that stayed well above the brook. Eventually the trail with the stream and a footbridge.

The usual ice-cream van was parked at his usual spot on the B6521. Positioned so that you may struggle to get through the gate in the wall, if there's a queue to get an ice-cream on the other side.

It is always nice to stroll through the grounds of the Longshaw Estate. My attention was grabbed by a sheep that was missing a horn and seemed to have a lob-sided mouth. I wondered how he might have lost that horn.

As I walked past Longshaw Lodge a helicopter started circling around the Burbage area. As I reached Fox House a Mountain Rescue Landrover drove past escorted by two police cars. Sadly, it looked like somebody's day had not ended as well as mine.