Rowsley Walk

This has to be one of our better walks. Firstly it has the right degree of challenge, it was varied despite the shortness of it, it was quiet for a Derbyshire beauty spot, it is circular, the parking was free, and best of their was a 'pit-stop' at the start and the end.

Rowsley is a village along the A6 between Matlock and Bakewell. The walk starts at Cauldwell working flour mill. We did not arrive particularly early, but the mill was not yet running. After tea and cake I returned to the car. I had to photograph the powerful gush of water coming from under the mill.

It created a powerful spray just a little further down stream.

Had I not have taken the photographs at the this time I could not have done so later. Once the mill was running the powerful force was converted to the energy needed to turn the mill and only a weak outlet was visible on our return in the middle of the afternoon.

This was also one of the better documented walks. The author of the walk's description made only one error. It was reasonably clear which was the private road to start on. However, the road was marked as going to Woodhouse Eaves rather than Stanton Lees.

Off we set. A nice gentle start followed by a sudden climb which continued for miles.

Stanton Lees was quite a pretty village. Its hard to believe that you can get a sense of remoteness and still see the A6.

The top of the village

The top of the lower part of the village

Leaving the village. Note the lower pool.

Not far through the village we exited onto a road which we followed until we reached the stile to enter Stanton Moor. We had decided that the path around the moor would be too much for us so we went over the stile and only as far as a log to sit and have lunch. This was another plus of the walk as we sat looking over the Derwent valley.

The Nine Ladies stone circle would have to wait for another day.

Back to the road and another up hill trudge to the start of Stanton in Peak village. Just before the village the path left of the road and down through the woods, back onto a road which had a view point before we left the road on the left.

From the view point

Foot path entrance stile

And so on back down the hill; giving us a view of the River Wye.

Back down to Cauldwell Mill. It was now running. This was quite nostalgic. As I looked through the door I could see the boxed in belt lifting grain to the start of its journey as I had done as a boy in thewater powered flour mill that my dad worked in. The same clanking noises. King's Mill where he worked stood on the site of a Medieval water mill, but by the time my dad was working there the mill wheel had been replaced by turbines that generated electricity to turn the massive grinding machines.

Mill entrance

So to the final 'pit stop' and collect one each of the local ice-creams. These we enjoyed sitting on a rough wooden seat looking up to the mill weir. The ducks were disappointed by our purchase, but happily followed us up to edge of the weir before we left for home.

Unlucky duck

Ducks on the mill pond

There will be another episode when we return to Stanton Moor and the Nine Ladies.