Two walks during this annual Peak District Weekend, now shifted from August to May to take advantage of better opportunities for accommodation as well as Spring flowers. John J's Saturday walk started in Eyam village and took us past Eyam Hall and reminders of the plague, including Riley's Graves on the outskirts of Eyam. Then we descended to the River Derwent at Froggatt Bridge and climbed through woods to Nether Padley and on to Grindleford Station at the entrance to the Totley Tunnel. Passing Padley Manor, we dropped down to the river near Kettle House and crossed the Hathersage road for lunch at Leadmill Bridge.After lunch, we walked above Highlow Brook with views of Burbage Edge and Stanage Edge above Hathersage, skirted the northern edge of Eyam Moor through Highlow Wood up to the junction of the remote Abney and Bretton Cloughs before climbing up over the moor to Sir William Hill and back to Eyam.
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| Eyam Hall, a small Jacobean Manor House built in 1672, just six years after the plague |
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| Examining the cottages in Eyam |
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| St Lawrence's Church, Eyam in which can be found the Plague Window, a modern stained glass window which depicts the famous outbreak of bubonic plague in the village in 1665. It depicts is the Reverend William Mompesson, rector of Eyam at the time, who is credited with ensuring that the disease did not spread beyond the village |
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| The graves of the all the members of the Hancock family who died of plague in Eyam |
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| Froggatt and Froggatt Edge |
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| Standing on top of the Derwent Valley Aqueduct. Treated water flows from Bamford Water Treatment Works to Hallgates Service Reservoir near Leicester, serving more than half a million customers in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire |
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| Our (joint) leader |
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| Totley Tunnel, completed in 1893 on the Sheffield to Manchester line, at 6,230 yards long it is the second longest railway tunnel in the UK |
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| One of many coffee stops today - Grindleford Station Cafe |
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| Padley Gorge and Burbage Brook |
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| Approaching Padley Mill, a refurbished corn mill |
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| Padley Chapel on the site of the former Padley Hall (or Padley Manor) |
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| Late 17th century Kettle House, Leadmill, Hathersage |
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| Fisherman near Leadmill Bridge |
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| Leadmill Bridge - lunch |
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| Climbing up Eyam Moor |
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| Looking back towards the junction of Abney Clough and Bretton Clough |
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| Nottinghamshire Area Ramblers are Associate Members of the Peak and Northern Footpaths Society who provide many fine signposts in this area |
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| Sir William Hill, 429m above sea level. Nothing higher to the east until the Ural Mountains |
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| Ladywash Mine, a mixed ore mine which exploited the Hucklow Edge veins until its closure in 1979. Baslow Edge in the distance |
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| Just off-route - Mompesson's Well on the edge of Eyam |
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| William Mompesson was a Church of England priest whose decisive action by isolating the village when his parish became infected with the plague averted a more widespread catastrophe. In all, 260 of the village's inhabitants, including his wife Catherine, died before the plague claimed its last victim in December 1666. Mompesson became associated with the plague and was not universally welcomed at his next parish, Eakring |
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| 11½ miles, 710m of ascent |
