Totley Moss Walking with Lacey

10/07/24

Today’s walk with Lacey started in Grindleford, a lovely little village in the Derwent Valley. Our first move was to cross the bridge over the Derwent and head off across the fields towards the woods. The weather was dull and we were dressed for the chances of heavy showers, disappointing for July but it did not dampen our enthusiasm for the ramble.

The riverside open grassland included some wonderful mature oak trees imposing and pleasing to see. Our walks are always interesting as we never do the same route twice so we never actually know what will be encountered. I always try to include a local land mark or two and todays main one is The Lady's Cross. Onwards into Froggatt Woods.

The woods were damp and on this part of the walk we were aware that rain was falling but we were pretty much protected by the trees. The paved stretches of old blocks of stone looked ancient so were perhaps the remnants of packhorse trails.

Greenery and standing water with slippery rocks dominated the dripping woodland, suprisingly pleasant to walk through. The upward direct of the walk was almost unnoticable though we were ascending with every step.

Ancient walls completely covered in moss proliferated and gave the woodland an almost mystical air.

Plenty of running water off the hillside to our right where occasionally we got glimpses of large rocks and craggs above us through the trees.

We crossed a clearing in the woods where there were long, though misty, views up the valley to Win Hill and Bamford Edge (and Hathersage) plus a nice view of Grindleford in the valley bottom. No improvement to the weather although it was no longer raining.

Lacey stopped to take photos of a plant, an orchid of some sort.

We crossed the clearing and re-entered the woods and the path did start to climb more steeply to the right up a steep valley. The sound of running water was loud and close.

The ancient woodland landscape with fantastically shaped old trees and plenty of interesting nooks and crannies reminded us again that Robin Hood, Little John and his band were supposedly inhabitants of these woods.

After a risky crossing of a wide fast flowing stream on slippery and partly submerged rocks we climbed a steep slithery path past a water fall up to the car park at the top of the valley. At this point we passed a trio of ramblers the first people we had seen on our journey through the woods.

The wood turned to meadow and we crossed a wet area to the Grouse Inn where a Kestrel hunted the grassy verges. The dull skies were still just that.

We crossed the road and then climbed a gentle slope across a huge field towards the moor. The sign on the field gate warned of bulls in the field but we only saw cows relaxing in the long grass.

We crossed White Edge Moor towards the lodge with the same name. We discussed the isolation of the Lodge and how it was a bit too far from the shops to be an attractive place to live.

The high moor had actually been relatively easy to get to as the long winding route was never hard to do. The cross of Lady's Cross the base with the top part laid to the side is truly ancient being first mentioned in a document from 1263 but probably being old even then. The moor is less fearful today than in days gone by with a road crossing over it but it still has an atmosphere especially on a misty sort of day.

At this point we met our first interesting dog of the day, Zak. We saw the dog apparently hiding in the heather with the lady owner a short distance away down the trail. The dog ignored us but when the lady looked back towards us it dropped its head so she could not see it. Curious. We caught up to the lady who was dawdling, probably waiting for Zak, a muscular old border collie. She told us that Zak whenever she took him for a walk always did the same thing, that was to instinctively herd her as if he was herding sheep. It was one of the oddest but most charming dog behaviours I have ever seen. Well done Zak.

She told us some details about the cross and indicated the presence of stone circles and such on Big Moor. Its always a pleasure to meet such genuine people on our walks.

We trekked over the long mound of Totley Moss towards the Trig Point where we could see Sheffield in the far distance. My 30x zoom lens capturing the city in the gloom. This view delighted Lacey who did not expect to see Sheffield on this walk. I confess it was a much better view than I expected.

The sun shone brightly on Dore in the forground with the city on the horizon.

We journeyed on away from the city back towards the Derbyshire Hills over progressively wetter and harder to cross ground. Avoiding these puddles and mud hollows adds time and distance to these walks.
At this point we met another couple with a Golden Labrador called Alex. We stopped for a chat and found out that the dog was named after its proposed keeper as it was a failed trainee assistance dog. It might not have made the grade as a worker but it was a beautiful and very gentle natured dog and loving Lacey's attention. We chatted on about the beauties of the area and the brooding nature of the weather and our relative walks but eventually we had to part to continue our routes. These stops are wonderful and all ramblers should be proud of the fact that we are so friendly. Up the ramblers!

We passed The Fox House and crossed Burbage Moor and over the main road between Sheffield and Hathersage down to the weird and wonderful Burbage Brook Valley.

We followed the valley which turned into a gorge all the way down to Grindleford Station. There were plenty of people here but no hikers just people enjoying the area. It is a fascinating and beautiful valley.

From the station we made our way down the hill towards Grindleford, speculating upon whether the village had a cafe, when we passed the community shop, just up from the bridge, where a sign indicating tea and coffee caught our attention. We enjoyed tea and cakes in the graveyard provided by a very friendly lady in the shop. We were initially the only customers but soon others arrived noticeable a chap with a very friendly bull terrier going by the unusual name of Bristol.

What a wonderful eventful and satisfying walk with hardly a beam of sunshine all morning.

This weeks blog has a slight variation in that in this section I am just going to include Lacey's photos without commentary. The only thing I will say is that the hovering bird is a Kestrel and the birds at the top of the bush are Stonechats as they were definitely making clicking noises.