“… and Other Adventures”

I entitled this blog thus, because not all my adventures are on Heimlich. I left her at home this weekend, in favour of boots and a backpack, and headed up to the Peak District. The boots being Doc Martens, because my trusty walking boots which live in the car usually, I had left at home! Doh! There’s always something. Long distance walking with a fully loaded pack is not something I’ve ever done before, so I set off on Saturday with my tent, gear and food on board, my backpack weighing about 14kg, (I’m sure my shoulders and back will grow to forgive me) and just walked. Over the beautiful landscapes of Stanage, Burbage, Lawrencefield.

Stanage Edge is one of my most favourite places on this whole planet. I feel like I belong when I’m there. I’ve never walked as far north as I did on this visit, and also never seen so many mushrooms there! The red ones with white spots are the iconic fly agaric (*Do not eat unless you want to taste the smell of colour and then possibly be sick or die*); the orange ones I am unsure about, but my bestie is a mushroom pro so I will be asking her! In the north section of the crag are many numbered pools carved into the rock. These are grouse troughs, for feeding the game birds when the area was used for hunting. I’m yet to discover what the grouse thought of the different numbers…

Heimlich may have stayed at home, but Twiglette came along for the journey, I needed to introduce her to some of England’s highlights. Any thoughts on where else I need to take her? Turns out she likes a bit of climbing too 🙂

I covered about 12 miles in total. I found some other wild campers along the way, a brilliant bunch of people, and we chatted away the evening at our camp. It always changes an adventure, meeting like-minded folk, and being able to share stories. Talk to strangers! 🙂

This morning, I hitched a lift with my new camp friends all the way to Castleton, before resuming my walk. I did wonder for a moment if this counts as cheating, but this seems to be the beauty of backpacking. I might be going slower than on a bike most of the time, but it’s much easier to accept a lift with just one bag!
Today’s walk followed some beautiful footpaths across the fields north of Castleton, to Hope, Bamford, and eventually back to Stanage. I feel like I’ve been playing human dot-to-dot this weekend. Most of these places I have visited before, but via the main roads, and mostly by car. Over the last two days I’ve discovered the spaces in between, defogged the computer game map, and given these locations meaning of a greater context. For example, I know that from this moment on, the view from Stanage will be ever more real and meaningful. What once was just a pretty landscape, now I can pick out tiny paths and landmarks in the distance, where my feet have fallen.

I’ve covered about 20 miles this weekend, and been humbled by how stunning this place is. I’ve seen rivers, and hills, rocks and trees, mushrooms, flowers, hedgerows and bees. Been stung by a wasp, pelted with hail, rained on, pushed around by the wind, but also warmed by the glorious autumn sun. The weather has been generally kind, and most of the waterproofs stayed in the bag! I’ve come back feeling tired but alive, Derbyshire air in my lungs, an ache in my legs, and damp gear hanging around my house. All signs of time well spent 🙂