MILLERS DALE, PEAK FOREST, DAM DALE, HAY DALE, MONKS DALE

Distance: 10 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Weather: Sunny

Walkers: Colin Davison, Alan Hart, George Dearsley, George Whaites, Lawrie Fairman,

Apologies: Peter Beal (on his boat), Jock Rooney(in Panama)

B walkers Ken Sparrow and Geoff  Spurrell

Non-walking drinkers: Frank Dudley, John Eckersley and Tony Job.

Leader: Davison  Diarist: Dearsley Driver: Hart

Starting Point: The car park opposite the church in Litton Mill

Starting Time: 9.57am. Finishing Time: 3.10pm

Millers Dale

We enjoyed perfect walking conditions for our visit to Millers Dale. Congregating at Litton Mill, with Mr Davison leading, we set off by crossing the road from the small car park and turning right so that the church was on out left.

We began by climbing a hill and after 75 yards we took a path to the left up a further incline signposted to the “Limestone Way”. At the top we turned left through a farm.

Let the records show that we had only been walking for 18 minutes before our leader was obliged to consult his map.

Suitably reassured, we continued on, crossing a road to find ourselves on the “Pennine Bridleway”.

Conversation turned to the derivation of the phrase “to pull someone’s leg”

It would appear the term has rather sinister connotations. Despite its humorous associations the origin of the expression has its roots in the criminal world of 18th and 19th century London. In those days street robbers often worked in gangs of two. One would trip up the unsuspecting victim and the other would remove his money and other valuables while he was lying on the ground. The robber didn’t literally pull the victim’s leg but caused him to stumble and fall and then lose his valuables.

An alternative, but equally dark theory, is that it comes from a Scottish rhyme in which "draw" is used in the sense of "pull" rather than the word itself. It goes:

He preached, and at last drew the auld body's leg,

Sae the Kirk got the gatherins o' our Aunty Meg.

The suggestion in the rhyme is that Aunty Meg was hung for a crime and, at the end, the preacher pulled on her legs to ensure that she was dead.

We continued on our way, crossing a road and turning left.

We followed a sign to Peak Forest and at 11.03am stopped for Pie Time.

Resuming at 11.15am, we entered a field opposite where we had stopped, via a five bar gate, and crossed the field diagonally. At the far side we mounted a dry stone wall and proceeded to climb two further, similar stiles before emerging with the road to Chesterfield on our right and a dry stone wall to our left.

We hugged the wall and about 100 yards down the incline found a rather forlorn and under used stile over the wall which led us eventually to the road through the village of Peak Forest, emerging about 75 yards from the Devonshire Arms pub.

It was 11.55am and the pub appeared closed. But just as Mr Fairman inspected a graveyard opposite the equally dead hostelry burst into life in the shape of a landlady putting out an A-frame sign.

The group duly entered and ordered five pints of Black Sheep at £2.90 apiece. But the ale was very cloudy and it was soon obvious we had been served the dregs of the barrel. The apologetic landlady tried to blame a scheme in which the pub was obliged on a regular basis to buy two casks of real ale, which they clearly struggled to sell.

The beer was changed to a more palatable Worthington at no additional charge.

We set off again at 12.51pm and the post pit stop walk was probably the longest (more than two hours) your diarist has ever done with the Wanderers.

We crossed the road from the pub and went down the side of the church with the building to our right. After a farm we turned left. We negotiated a stile, circumventing the farm and passing a second much bigger farm called Dam Dale Farm.

We were now in Dam Dale and were immediately struck by the number of wild flowers. Mr Davison captured a beautiful purple orchid (below).

From Dam Dale we entered Hay Dale stopping for lunch at 1.30pm to be entertained by a woodpecker.

We set off at 1.45pm and notwithstanding any tiredness, this part of the walk was the most difficult of the day, having to negotiate very rocky terrain. It would not have been easy in icy conditions.

At 1.57pm we turned right following a further sign to the “Limestone Way”.After 20 yards we turned left, crossed a road and eventually entered Monks Dale at 2.20pm.The route back brought us to a hill overlooking the church where we had started our walk.

Purple orchid

At the end of the walk your diarist departed. However, after de-booting and Mr Hart drove Mr Whaites and Mr Davison to The Wheatsheaf at Doveholes, arriving at 3.30pm. B walkers Ken Sparrow and Geoff Spurrell were already in the company of non-walking drinkers Frank Dudley, John Eckersley and Tony Job. We had been expected at 2.30pm, and the remaining Wanderers had no hesitation in blaming our curly-haired leader for the late arrival. Robbies' mild and bitter were in good form at £5-40 for a pint of each (I suspect £2-80 and £2-60).

Next week, because of a range of prior commitments, there will be no A walk. There is, however, a plan by the B walkers to meet for a stroll from Bollington, finishing at either The Poachers or The Dog and Partridge. Details will be available on Tuesday night from Tony.

The following week, June 13th, it was decided to start our walk from the car park of The Cock, Whaley Bridge, at 9.30am, with a stop around 12.30pm at The Shady Oak, Fernilee, returning to The Cock around 2.15pm.