Arriving ‘oop north’ for a week of Mum’s cooking and
general 5-star service, my London-based daughter had already produced her
bucket list:
A trip to a stately home (see my post on Harewood House);
the new Jason Bourne movie; and, of course, another mammoth walk from the now
very well-thumbed Green Book.*
My Gorgeous Girl (GG) had already pinpointed the most suitable place for
our walk, one we considered during her last visit but rejected in favour of our
Wormhill workout.~ Well, I’m only human - one marathon per visit is all I can manage!
Over Haddon is a tiny, picturesque village in the White Peak,
a couple of miles from Haddon Hall, Bakewell where "Elizabeth”, "Pride & Prejudice”, “The Other
Boleyn Girl”, “The Princess Bride” and no less than THREE versions
of Jane Eyre were filmed in recent years.
The village itself has also had its
drama. In the 17th century, for instance, a young lass called Martha
Taylor starved herself to death. It took a while, mind: The “fasting Damsel” or
“‘Mirabile Pecci” (whatever
that means), swallowed nothing but a few drops of water with a little sugar and
the occasional raisin for nearly two years, dying as a national celebrity at barely
20 years old.+
Centuries later, Over Haddon was again put on the map,
being the birthplace of Sir Maurice Oldfield, a former head of MI6, who is now buried
in the local churchyard. Another reason to spy out the land!
According to the Green Book, the walk is roughly 3 miles,
although in our case it proved to be twice as long due to a (ahem!) little
error of judgement!
To start with, however, the omens were good. We managed
to find somewhere to park, a public toilet block and - oh joy! - sunshine! So
it was with high expectations we set off down a hill from the village car park
for the first leg of our journey.
“’At the bottom of the hill turn left along the riverside
path,’” reads GG from the Green Book. She has obviously assumed the role of
navigator and no one, least of all her Mum, can wrest the book from her grasp.
We stride gamely along the narrow path. Looking down on Lathkill
River to our right. An unusual river, it has a habit of disappearing
underground when the weather is dry, a process that seems to turn the deepest
part of the river a brilliant shade of blue, but whether this is due to the
clarity of these ‘Blue Waters’, or to the limestone through which it passes is
anyone’s guess.
Strangely, for the school holidays the walk is really
quiet. Except for two young families splashing about by the river edge, and a
couple of solitary passers-by - gentlemen with back packs and spring-loaded walking
sticks – we meet no one. I put it down to the weather forecast; the Beeb had
given rain, a prediction backed up by threatening clouds as we left that
morning. But now, the sun was out, the birds were singing their
hearts out, and the scent of hedgerows and recent hay mowing lifted our
spirits.
Suddenly, the peace was shattered! Further along the
river, we heard a dog yelping frantically! Either it was injured or barking to
alert someone to its owner’s distress….just like Lassie!
GG and I ran along the river and saw a collie in the
corner of an inlet, jumping and yelping as though his life depended on it.
“Maybe he’s stuck!” I said and was just about to paddle
to the rescue when a lady called: “Don’t worry! He’s not hurt or anything! Hush
now, Willow!”
The lady owner and her companion had been following
Willow from a distance when the dog raced ahead to dive in the river.
“He’s always doing that,” the owner explained. “Wherever
there’s water, he just goes bananas! Here Willow! Fetch!” She threw in a stick
for her pet to chase, no doubt hoping he’d stop once the object reached his
mouth.
After a short chat, we parted company: Willow and the
ladies vanishing up the fields; Madam and I crossing the river “by a
humped-back bridge and continuing uphill on a narrow path through a wood.”
This was where it all went pear-shaped. Instead of “bearing
left at the top of the path along a
wide track”, GG decided to turn right.
As I would never dare accuse my daughter of ‘erring’ in any way, there can only
be one explanation: Whereas most of us have a dominant side, my daughter is totally
ambidextrous, which means the concept of ‘right’ and ‘left’ has always been
alien to her.
Blissfully unaware of this false step, we continued across
open fields to witness the most spectacular views I can remember – and we’ve see
many in the Peak. They were truly breath-taking!
“I think this is my second most favourite walk,” declared GG.
“Well, I think it’s my first most favourite walk.” I
replied. It was downhill too, which is always a plus when you get to my age!
We crossed a wide hayfield under a million acres of sky, now
peppered with clusters of cloud, and followed a wall past a ploughed field and
another where the hay had already been cut.
As we descended, we could see the turrets of Haddon Hall,
looking as magnificent as ever.
“Strange,” I mused, “I never expected to come out here,”
then stopped to take a photograph, much to GG’s displeasure.
It was only when we reached the A6 that our problem came
into view. We’d gone miles out of our way.
“So which way from here?” said GG.
“Let’s google for directions,” I suggested and took out
my phone, only for GG to snatch it from my hand.
“You’re too slow!” she said and began to pound the screen
with her finger. Ten minutes later, she was still pounding, waiting and pounding, but help was at
hand. A young man was running toward us, obviously in training. I leapt in front of him
and, to my relief, he removed his earphones as I asked the way to Over Haddon.
“It’s miles away!” he replied. “Best bet is to walk to
Bakewell.”
“But that’s along the main road!” moaned GG. Then the
awful truth hit us. We just had to go back the way we came.....and it was all uphill!
......and it started raining!
BUT, we were rewarded by this beautiful sight!
*Short Walks in the
Peak Park by William and Vera Parker
~http://jacybrean.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/a-walk-in-peak-wormhill-and-river-wye.html
+http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/over-haddon-c2983.html
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