Topley Pike

March 15, 2017.

TOPLEY PIKE, WYE VALLEY, CHEE DALE, LIMESTONE WAY, PRIESTCLIFF, FIVE WELLS FARM, BANK PIT SPRING (ILLY WILLY WATER),THE CHURCH AT CHELMORTON, SHEPLEY FARM, TOPLEY PIKE QUARRY, THE WYE VALLEY HOUSE HOTEL (WETHERSPOONS) AT BUXTON

Distance: Eight miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry and warm with early cloud replaced by blue skies and sunshine.

Walkers: Peter Beal , Alan Hart and Jock Rooney with Tips.

Apologies: Tom Cunliffe (Spanish hols), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (recovering from hernia op), Mark Gibby (monitoring Cheltenham races), Julian Ross (dealing with troublesome tenant), George Whaites (Welsh hols), Steve Kemp (traffic jam).

Non-walking drinker: Colin Davison.

Leader: Rooney. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Lay-by next to quarry entrance at Topley Pike on A6 out of Buxton.

Starting time: 9.57am. Finishing time: 2.25pm.

What a difference a month makes ! From the dizzy heights of ten A-team walkers on February 15 we plummeted to just two for the start of this walk. We were joined by a third member at the first watering hole and a fourth at the end.

The absentees missed a glorious spring day, a varied and picturesque walk and a visit to one of your diarist’s favourite pubs. The thirst-quencher at The Church in Chelmorton was consumed at the outside tables while we basked in sunshine under blue skies.

Holidays and health problems were the main causes for the depletions in our ranks. They shall think themselves accursed they were not here.

We crossed the A6 and entered the pay-and-display car park where the path along the right bank of the River Wye leads to the Monsal Trail. Just before we reached a viaduct we turned right at a wooden public footpath sign towards the Monsal Trail (13mins)

A plaque announcing we were in Chee Dale also informed us that the Midland railway opened an  8 ½ mile track between Buxton and Bakewell, providing a link between Manchester and London, in 1863.

The route through the Wye Valley was necessitated because the Duke of Devonshire, who lived in Chatsworth Hall, objected to the railway passing through his grounds. The Duke of Rutland, who lived in Haddon Hall, insisted on the construction of Haddon Tunnel to hide the railway from his view. What a joy it must be to hold such power.

When it opened, the poet and conservationist John Ruskin wrote: “The valley is gone – now every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour and every fool in Bakewell in Buxton.” His words are inscribed on the viaduct, which is the subject of a preservation order because of its architectural beauty !

The last train used the line in 1968. It was reopened in 1981 for hikers, cyclists and horse-riders. The tunnels were made safe and reopened in 2011.

We walked through Chee Tor No 2 Tunnel (32mins) and turned right just before Chee Tor Tunnel (34mins) following a sign for Millers Dale and Wye Dale. At the foot of a flight of stone steps we turned right with the river on our left and crossed a footbridge to the far bank (36mins)

The path took us along stepping stones as we entered a gorge which was once a cave. Sticking to the path on the left bank of the Wye, we picked our way over limestone rocks and crossed two planked footbridges across tributary streams (51mins) until we reached a more substantial stone footbridge, which we crossed to pause for pies and port on a convenient tufted mound (63mins)

We retraced our footsteps back across the bridge and turned right to continue along the path, looking in vain for the water voles, brown rats and grey wagtails which can sometimes be spotted here. The path ultimately led us to the B 6049 (81mins) where we turned right for 250 yards before crossing it and turning left (86mins) uphill along a farm track.

This brought us to a road where we turned left (106mins). At a four-way junction we turned left again following a sign for the Limestone Way (108mins) This road emerged opposite The Waterloo at Priestcliff (111mins) . We followed a track uphill to the left of the pub and asked a man working in the pub’s rear garden whether it was still open for business.

The man, with dyed blonde hair covering his tattooed head, informed us that he had bought the premises. It was only open on three weekend nights selling bottled beers until he had refurbished it, installed a kitchen and reopened it as a pub restaurant. Jock tells me this former Robbies’ pub was once known as The Farmers’ Palace because it hosted weddings, christenings and funerals. 

We went through a metal gate (113mins) and a wooden gate (120mins) before turning right over a stone step stile marked with a yellow arrow (123mins). We crossed two low broken walls to change fields and headed towards a farm along a muddy tractor-tyred track. This brought us through Five Wells Farm (130mins) and beyond to a junction where we dog-legged left and right to follow a wooden public footpath sign for Chelmorton (135mins)

This path passed Bank Pit Spring on our right (143mins), where a plaque informed us that it was known locally as “Illy Willy Water” for reasons either unknown or unexplained. A minute later we reached The Church Inn on our right (144mins) where Peter was already sitting in the beer garden with a girly drink.

He had been delayed, as he had forewarned us, by the late departure of overnight guests. We joined him and enjoyed the Moonshine cask bitter at £3-35 a pint.

After the best part on an hour in the warm sunshine we reluctantly set off by turning right out of the pub downhill. After 60 yards we turned right at a wooden public footpath sign (145mins). We passed Shepley Farm on our right (148mins) and crossed a road (156mins) before stopping for lunch (166mins) en route.

From here we followed the only path through fields via gates and stiles, at one stage descending a steep hillside and passing the quarry on our left before returning to the cars to deboot (187mins). We drove to the Wye Valley House Hotel (Wetherspoons) in Buxton, where our wounded comrade Colin was found basking in the sunshine outside.

He described in some detail his alpine ordeal three weeks ago during a ski-ing holiday when he had “caught the back edge” and somersaulted down the slope on the third day of his week-long trip. A friend who witnessed the fall summoned help and a helicopter lifted him off the piste and took him to hospital where he was found to have broken two ribs. Although unfit to walk with us, he had bravely mounted a bus near his home to join us for drinks.

He is still taking painkillers to ease his discomfort, but there were signs that his sense of humour was beginning to return. Perhaps the B team can lick him into shape before he makes a full return to the A team fold.

Next week’s brand new walk will start at 9.35am from The Shady Oak at Fernilee hoping to reach The Soldier Dick at Furness Vale around 12.30pm for a livener before returning to The Shady Oak at about 2.20pm.

Happy wandering !