Middleton Top, Slaley, Ible, Grangemill, Limestone Way, High Peak Trail

Niki phoned me just after I got up and said that she was up for a walk and there hadn't been much snow after all. I picked her up at Bank Top, as usual, running a bit close to time, but it only took us ten minutes to drive to Middleton Top.

We congregated in the icy car park and set off soon after 10am - Peter, Paul C, Jill, Mike, Phil and us. Peter said he'd been persuaded to join us, but he planned to take a short cut.

We set off across the fields to Middleton in thick fog, turned down the road towards the Via Gellia, then picked up a footpath that took us across a field and into the woods down the steep side of the valley. We took a short detour to Good Luck Mine...

The gated entrance to Good Luck Mine

L-R:  Phil, Peter, Paul, Jill, Mike and Niki

and sat in the coe and had a hot drink before continuing down to the Via Gellia. We followed the road around the bend - Niki found a nice shovel on the way (as you do) - and took a small path up the hillside on the other side of the valley, which was steep and slippy. Just below a pump house we crossed a couple of streams and continued up the hill to the east-ish to Slaley. We then followed the muck wagon a short way up the hill and popped into the Bonsall Moor fields and out onto the lane again, effectively cutting the corner. I got very confused at that point about what part of the Limestone Way we were on and suggested that we were heading for Winster, but actually we were on the Ashbourne section, so headed for Ible, as intended.

The lone figure of Peter disappearing into the clag

Peter left us at Leys Farm and we became six as we continued on across the fields to Ible - what an odd place, no more than half a dozen houses and a couple of farms clinging to the top of the hill. Cute cows though!!

We then followed a lane down to the main road and headed down to Grangemill and the Hollybush.  The pub was closed (it's up for sale again), so we sat on some benches around the side and had our butties, which was pretty chilly and the road was busy so it was pretty noisy too, but it was somewhere to sit.

Lunch over, we crossed the junction diagonally and continued up a track...

Prospect Quarry, on the northern side of the Via Gellia

A dead pylon near the quarry

that took us around the back of Longcliffe Quarry.  By this time the fog was beginning to lift a bit.

Longcliffe Quarry - this is only a small part of it

It's big!! As we continued along the Limestone Way, we came over the top of the hill and within view of the B5062 again - I never even realised there was a footpath up there!

We went to the wrong corner of the last field, but soon clambered over a stone stile onto the High Peak Trail - thank God! We still had a good walk, mostly in deep slush, but at least we were on the home straight. We passed Harborough Rocks and followed Manystones Lane...

Trees looming in the fog on the other side of Manystones Lane

through a tunnel...

and back to Middleton Top. I was so knackered and stiff! Why does walking on the flat always do that to me?