Paul's 10½ mile walk started in the Moor Lane car park just west of Yougreave and followed the Limestone Way over to Cales Dale and the Lathkill Dale National Nature Reserve before climbing up to One Ash Grange Farm. Then we left the Limestone Way to descend to the (dry) valley of Lathkill Dale.
After a coffee stop, we followed the dale and eventually the river down to Alport before rejoining the Limestone Way, turning up Bradford Dale, with Youlgreave above on the right, and climbing back to the start.
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| Colourful start in the Moor Lane car park |
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| Lathkill Dale is one of the five dales which make up the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve, the others being Cressbrook Dale, Monk's Dale, Long Dale and Hay Dale. These five dales represent some of the best examples of wildlife and geology in the White Peak |
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| Slippery descent into Cales Dale |
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| Cales Dale |
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| Climbing out of Cales Dale towards One Ash Grange Farm |
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| Long term residents of the farm |
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| Interesting pig styes at One Ash Grange Farm, now Grade II listed buildings. The farm was originally an outpost of Roche Abbey, settled by the Cistercian monks in 1147 |
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| Coffee in Lathkill Dale |
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| Looking down Lathkill Dale |
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| Lathkill Head Cave - the source of the river in winter ... |
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| ... but dry in summer |
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| Waterfall in Lathkill Dale |
Lathkill Dale was heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century and there are remains of old lead mines, pumping houses, crushing circles, ponds, aqueduct and leats everywhere.
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| Evidence of a mill |
One of the most unusual devices to be found here was a disc pump, invented in about 1831, evidence of which can be seen by going over a footbridge into the remains of Bateman's House and descending a shaft on a steep ladder.
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| The nutating disc pump |
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| Weirs and fish ponds in the Lower Lathkill - lunch stop in the sunshine |
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| Snowdrops and crocuses near Alport |
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| Lower reaches of Bradford Dale, Youlgreave above the trees |
