Abney, Abney Clough & Eyam Moor

Drove over to Sir William Hill Road and parked. It was heaving with people about to do an orienteering event, starting on the route over the moor that I’d originally thought to set off on, so we opted to go around the opposite way. Actually I think it worked better.

Looking across Bretton Clough, Hathersage in the far distance.

Finally left the hordes at Nether Bretton, where we continued a short distance and dropped down through the fields, back into their busy-ness for a short while and then up the other side of the valley.

 

 The top end of Bretton Clough with Cockey Farm and Abney in the distance.

Strange ant-like people apparently running around in circles.  I'm sure they think cavers are mad too!!

We climbed quite a way up through the bracken and then stopped for a quick drink of hot chocolate and watched the ants going about their orienteering below.  Passed to the east (right) of Cockey Farm and into Abney. I felt pretty knackered by that time and was wondering how I’d manage the climb up from Stoke Ford. From there we dropped down into the delights of wooded Abney Clough, what a pretty, peaceful, place it was too.

Abney Clough, peaceful and pretty, but also very shady on the north side of Abney Low.

We stopped about a hundred yards above Stoke Ford (luckily) and had our lunch.

Near Stoke Ford.

By the time we headed on down to Stoke Ford and started on the long climb up onto the tops of Eyam Moor, all the nutters had disappeared (thankfully) and we took our time.

Looking southwest up Bretton Clough.

There was a bit of a debate about which route to take once we reached the moor, the one we took from Leadmills the other week, or the one we’d intended to take that morning, but eventually went with the latter. Lovely walk.