Hathersage, and Sybil's first swimming lesson

Today I decided to do a walk out of my new book, More Peak District Walks. This one appealed to me as it was on the Hope Valley line and included a riverside walk.

After leaving the station I headed to Leadmill Bridge and stopped to admire the view of the river. Much to my delight I spotted a dipper heading downstream. It bobbed a few times on a rock, then dove into the water to catch itself some dinner.

River Derwent

We then headed along the riverbank, following the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. A couple of fields away, a group of people appeared to be clay pigeon shooting so the sound of gunshots accompanied us along the riverside. Eventually reaching the stepping stones, I put Sybil back on the lead with the aim of us going across side by side; however she was soon jumping about like a mad dog, hopping in the river and making the stones wet and slippery so I thought well, every woman for herself and let her off the lead. I was slightly concerned about her due to the size and depth of the river, but she was soon swimming about, albeit not very happily.

Stepping stones

Crossing the river was very unnerving. By the time I got halfway across, I was crouching and using my hands. I could see the headline in the newspapers: "Girl and dog swept away by river", but in fact Sybil had other ideas and by the time I caught up with her she had unfortunately found a flock of sheep and was practising her sheepdog skills. Luckily she doesn't hurt sheep but she still got a quick telling off and I checked each field before letting her off after that.

The walk then continued through several fields with outstanding views of the surrounding countryside. One in particular had views across to Stanage Edge, a cliff of stone popular with climbers.

View to Stanage Edge

The track descended into a delightful little wood known as The Warren with a brook running through it. Thus began Sybil's second swimming lesson when part of the stream was a lot deeper than expected! She was getting the hang of it now though and soon dried off with a good shake as we headed up to the church to visit Little John's grave, before going back into Hathersage and catching the train home.

Little John's grave