Stoney Middleton, Eyam & Foolow

Had breakfast at Outside. Parked at the A623 car park at the bottom of Stoney Middleton Dale and walked back down through the village, past the 'Roman' baths (which aren't Roman, but are thermal) to pick up a track. We followed the track up to a lane where we got some fantastic views of the eastern edges.

The view north towards Grindleford

Crossing the lane we headed into a field, up through a small valley in the woods and out onto another lane.

 Looking south across Stoney Middleton Dale and Coombs Dale

We turned left onto the lane and followed it a short way to a stile into the field where the 'Riley Graves' are, where the Hancock(e) family is buried.

The Riley Graves

The information board at the bottom of the lane reads:

"You will see grave stones where Mrs Hancock buried her husband and six children, victims of the plague, between the 3rd and 10th August 1666.  The Hancock's farmed this field, known as Riley's field.

Riley comes from 'Rois Ley's', which means 'King's Field'. It was part of William the Conqueror's Royal Hunting Ground."

After taking some photos of the gravestones, we followed the lane the rest of the way down into Eyam. Turning right by a café with a phenomenal choice of cakes, we followed Water Lane up out of the village, and picked up a path that rises steeply across fields, up through the woods...

Looking southwest to the western most end of Stoney Middleton Dale

Looking back down the hill to Eyam

and out onto the edge before heading further north onto a lane, which we crossed and continued north past Ladywash Mine...

Ladywash Mine

Ladywash farm...

Ladywash Farm

and out onto Sir William Hill Lane.

Sir William Hill Lane

We turned left onto that too and followed it out onto the lane that runs along the top of the ridge to Bretton and the The Barrel Inn pub. We took the left fork just past the pub and dropped down towards Foolow. We stopped for lunch just north of the village at a 'wayside' well.

Wayside well just north of Foolow

Stone cross and Methodist chapel in Foolow

As we left Foolow, we heard the sound of many horses following us through the village and then had an entertaining time watching the hunt riding across the fields, jumping walls (or not!) and generally going around in circles, as we headed across the fields towards Eyam. We finally dropped down a large open 'park-like' field, and down through the village.

The Eyam village 'map' at the craft centre

Sundial on Eyam church

Celtic Cross, thought to date from the 8th century, in Eyam churchyard

The boards list the huge variety of cakes that this cafe in Eyam has

We stopped off at the cake café for tea and a hot sausage roll, and then followed Lydgate Lane out of Eyam, across the fields to the main field on the hill past the boundary stone.

The boundary stone

In 1666, during the outbreak of plague in Eyam, the story goes that the villagers left money for their supplies in the holes on the top of the stone, filled with vinegar to sterilise the coins.

The Derwent Valley

Paul on the path down to Stoney Middleton - note the north facing slope opposite