NCV Summer Walk: 20-09-2022

Want to Walk the Walls?

"Of course we do!" said the NCVs. "Especially  when we don't need to do any work and can stop off at the Wellington Inn at Darley for a tasty lunch." It was that time of the year when the NCVs down tools and go for a stroll. This year they followed the 'Dacre Walls Walk'.

This covers a distance of 5.5 miles (although we think this is an underestimate according to all our step counters!!) and has some interesting things to look at en route. Read on to see what they saw ....

Osian looked every inch the part

of a seasoned walker.

"Now - before we leave - who was it that ordered

 the cheese and chutney on granary bread?"

Andrew was worried - he had no idea.

Brenda needed to consult her diary to remind herself.

Sandwich order sorted they were finally off.

Best feet forward chaps!

Very soon they had to negotiate the first of the walls.

A nice little bridge took them over...

... and along the lovely Darley beck.

A second wall had to be negotiated at this point....

...and another.

It was clearly a day when hips and knees were 

going to be put to the test.

Andy explained the workings of the simple 3

bar barrier that would have slotted into this

'Stang Stoop' gate post in days long ago.

Oh - another wall. 

Brenda decided she would just sit on top for a while.

Graham toiled up hill...

...and looked longingly at this olde worlde hot tub.

"If only I had brought my towel" he thought.

Then it was over another wall or two and into a 

patch of coniferous woodland.

Now THAT beech tree definitely needs to be recorded for 

the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory.

Ros E. made a mental note to return and do just that.

After a couple more wall crossings

 the NCVs made a little detour to see....

And very nice it was too.

Especially outside, where everyone 

stopped for coffee and flapjack.

All these two needed was a couple of fishing 

rods to be mistaken for a pair of gnomes.

And these two were deep in conversation about 

goodness knows what.

Off they went again - through another wall 

and over this wonderful packhorse bridge.

Luckily it was still strong enough to hold 4 NCVs

 including the flapjack they had just eaten.

Through a wall and into the woods...

...up the road and across the upland pasture.

Just keep an eye on those cows folks!

Guess what - another stile.

Well - it's not called the 'Dacre Walls Walk' for nothing.

Ahhh. Now that's a bit different. No climbing involved.

You just need to think thin to squeeze through the

kissing gate with a rucksack on.

Two ponds had been created in this area.

Julia stopped to harvest a couple of large field mushrooms.

Well - at least I hope that's all they were...

Others harvested blackberries

 that were in plentiful supply.

Being NCVs they couldn't resist cleaning up the interpretation

panel for the Dacre Quaker Burial Ground.

Great job! The algae removal job now means

 that walkers can actually read the sign.

And here's the entrance to the burial ground.

Created in 1682.

A peaceful place....

...with a record of all the Quakers buried here.

I don't think these two have been here since 1682.

Although - you never know....

By now time was marching on - and that is exactly

 what the NCVs had to do if they wanted to get

 to the Wellington for their allotted time.

Of course there were a number of walls still to be 

negotiated...

....as well as these over- inquisitive hens.

And then it was all, just about, over. After passing this weir we just

needed to walk up the road from Darley Mill and....

...Hurray!! It was time for a sit down and a bite to eat.

Anita fell instantly asleep.

Thanks to Liz for organising the walk and to the AONB office 

for funding the lunch. A thoroughly enjoyable 'task' day.

Perhaps we could do something similar next week? 😊

And finally......

From time to time, over the coming weeks, you will notice, at the bottom of the blog, a picture of an NCV taken in times gone by. Your challenge is to guess who it is. The answer will be given in the following week's blog. This idea was formulated at coffee time last week when we had a conversation about how our hairdos have changed over the years.

Days from a bygone age....

Now which NCV is this we have here? Is she posing for a fashion shoot or taking a rest from a morning’s work in the farmyard? Take a guess and check next week's blog to see if you were right.