Bradford Dale

Date: 7th March 2007

Weather: Mild, sunny intervals Walkers - Audrey, Celia, Roger.

Parking: Area on the right just over the bridge in Alport. Beware only enter this via the dropped pavement at the top and take great care as long potholes can result in scraped bottoms and the beached whale syndrome.

The Walk:

We were going to walk up Lathkill Dale. Well, mud did not permit! Or more accurately the river flooding a stretch of the footpath from Alport to Conksbury did not permit. As we were only a few minutes into the walk we decided to return to the main road and set off in the opposite direction. Here is what we discovered!

Take the path through an open gate by the bridge over the river. The River Lathkill is a torrent rushing under this bridge and we marvelled at the power of water as it thundered past to be met by the River Bradford a little further on. 

Follow the well made up path as it bends to the right and follows the course of the River Bradford as it meanders past Rhienstor Plantation. No danger of getting wet feet here! Ignore the pretty footbridge that crosses the river to the houses between the sports ground and Youlgrave Church (shown on the map as Bradford). There is an overhanging outcrop of rock here with a seat and suitable dedication. 

The path swings right to cross the river further on, affording a wet area which was useful for cleaning boots on the return leg of the journey. Squeeze through the stone gap beside the locked gate onto Mawstone Lane and pick up the path on the other side of the road which follows the right hand bank of the river.

Where the path meets a lane coming from the right, cross the river by a footbridge to continue up on its left bank. Today there was a man sitting in the river with impressive photographic equipment. We dared not ask him what he was looking for as we feared that we had already disturbed the wild life as we clattered over the bridge. From here the river runs through a steep sided limestone gorge and you pass a number of weirs where it has been dammed, presumably to create ponds for fish. It is strange to think that this broad, rushing river can go underground and disappear completely in long dry summers necessitating the dressing of five wells in the nearby village of Youlgreave to ensure its return.

 

As you approach the head of the gorge near Middleton the river swings to the left and the path divides. We had our fruit and nut stop here and consulted the map! Take the path to the left by the river past a deep pool of clear water emerging from rocks in the hillside. Some previous traveller had felt compelled to make an offering of a silver coin to the water sprites. we resisted not wishing to turn it into another Mother Shipton's Cave. Take a bridge to the left across the stream. Further on the path divides by a further river crossing where you can find a Middleton Millennium Site of Meaning situated over the water. Take the path to the left up the hillside and through the trees (a number of options here) until you emerge in a field and the landscape opens up in front of you. Follow the path bearing left at the junction with the path to Hopping Farm. Cross a field with a ruined house on the hillside above. Cross two more large fields and cut across the corner of another before crossing two more narrow fields. This was the muddiest part of the walk but the route is clearly marked by arrows. One field had a warning about a bull but there was no livestock today! When you enter the next field you come to a crossroad of paths. To your left the path leads back down to the river crossing. Roger checked and the man with the camera was still in the river! However it is better to go straight on and at the other side of the field exit onto the path that runs along the top of the gorge looking down on the river below. This path leads back to Mawstone Lane.

Cross the lane, squeeze through the stone gap by the gate and return to Alport retracing the route taken by the river on the outward leg of the walk.

Hostelry: The Post Office at Beeley - Reliable and good value for money. We poked our noses round the door of the Devonshire Arms but there was a half hour wait for a table! On a Wednesday! Obviously booking is compulsory.

Comments: You can make this walk into a distorted figure of eight by returning to Alport from Mawstone Lane via Bradford along a path on the hillside above the river on the opposite bank to the outward route.

Celia