A blustery day with some light rain didn't stop us taking a pleasant walk in the Dark Peak. Our usual transport, the 272, dropped us off at Fox House pub. We walked through Longshaw Estate until we found a suitable, ant-free spot to have lunch. The woods here have large, active ants' nests which are both interesting and not the sort of thing you want to sit near. Wandering on, we made our way back to the cafe at Longshaw where the National Trust Rangers forced us to eat tea and cake.
We walk to Frog's Mouth and followed the tracks up to Higger Tor. One of the pleasures along the way being the sound of the beck which, while not in flood, still managed a symphony of water music which was accompanied by the light, blustery wind. The views of the surrounding, purple-red, heather covered moors were spectacular. The light rain and billowing clouds added an air of mystery which leads people to think of the moors as wild, isolated places untouched and primordial. Not so. Sheffield is but a short 10 miles away from Higger Tor and the whole landscape has been modifiedby human activity stretching back to well before the Bronze Age.
Hope valley spread out before us so that we could just make out Mam Tor in the distance; atop which are the remains of a very large Bronze-Iron Age hill fort which enclosed up to 100 dwellings; the only blemish on the scene being the cement factory - as has been the case for as long as I have been visiting the area. Human industry spanning 3-4 thousand years in the same valley!
We walked down to Surprise View car park which allowed us to catch the 272 back to Sheffield. A delightful, if wind blown, day out.
