Day three, a short roughly 7 mile walk from Eyam to Bakewell for a bus back to Derby dawned misty, as I made my way downhill from the hostel.
The spiders webs were glistening and luminous amongst the dew on the grasses beside the path.
Once in Eyam I followed an old unpaved road down to Stony Middleton. Another former mining and quarrying village, which nestles in the bottom of the dale where Lover’s Leap is situated.
The countryside around Eyam and Stony Middleton, whilst hilly and steep in places is also quite verdant with flat land for growing.
This said, there are still deep, steep sided dales cutting through the landscape.
I encountered and walked some way up Coombs Dale just after passing through Stony Middleton.
Initially the path at the bottom of the dale was tarmacked, making for quick going. But then I switched out onto a goat track like path, precarious on the steep sided dale, climbing up and out of the gorge.
At the top of Coombs Dale I encountered fresh limestone workings. A human made dale for the extraction of the southern Peak District’s valuable stone.
The final part of the walk was in a more or less straight line through pretty, agrarian countryside.
Walking along the road through the hamlet of Rowland I spotted a well cared for and unusual flock of grey chickens scratching about in a backwardness underneath trees.
By the time I reached Rowland the mist had lifted.
I was nearing Bakewell passing through the relatively flat and populous countryside around the town. Some farmers were even growing crops rather than raising hardy livestock.
Crossing the Monsal Trail and it’s swarms of cyclists and walking parties I crossed the final expanse of hills before Bakewell.
Soon the town appeared beneath me.
After a short walk through woodland I entered the town across an old stone bridge.
I’d made it by just after 12:00 so was in good time for lunch. Two and a half days of walking and around 40 miles completed, time to buy a Bakewell pudding for the household.
Then to get the bus back to Derby and the train home.
See the route I took here