Peak Forest / Old Dam Walk

I thought I'd left early enough to get to Peak Forest, but when I realised that I'd taken a longer route than necessary by going along the A6 and through Mill Dale to Tideswell and then run into really thick fog, I was beginning to wonder.  I also wasn't sure where we were parking, but I guessed right and managed to park up outside the church.  I saw Paul arrive soon after, so knew I was in the right place.

In the end there were only five of us - Paul, Peter, Jill and a guy that I recognised from the Carsington walk, whose name is Phil.  We headed off up to Eldon Hole and then dropped back down the main field to an enormous rake that runs across the fields; I can't believe I've never noticed it before.  We took a footpath on the left just past the rake and followed it up and over the top of the hill to Watts Plantation...

Heading north and dropping down from the top of the hill.

heading more or less north until we came to an enormous shaft, covered by a large grate.

The others stood on the grating over the shaft.

The shaft had a diameter of something like six feet and appears to continue at the bottom.

From there, we headed back slightly and along the eastern side of the hill until we eventually dropped right down into the bottom of the valley.  We then missed a turn, which would have taken us across the fields and cut the corner, but we continued down onto Old Dam Lane and turned east along it until we reached the Limestone Way.  After a steep climb up and over the hill we crossed the A623 and continued along a lane opposite, following the Limestone Way.

Along the lane a way, we turned right onto a lane which followed the route of the Pennine Bridleway and dropped steeply into the valley.  After realising we'd missed the path, we returned to the very bottom of the hill and took a path that led along the bottom of the right-hand side of the valley to Damside Farm.

Dam Dale.

From there it was a simple walk along the lane back into Peak Forest and the cars.