As ever, the journey was painful, as once again the major arteries in this country were clogged. Via a long detour through Leicester we eventually rocked up at the very popular Caravan Club site in Castleton, pitched up and wandered the short distance into the village for a refreshing pint of foaming ale in front of a toasty log fire.
On Wednesday we set out for a very long walk (about 9 miles) across Mam Tor, Lose Hill and down through Hope village. We packed for a day out - waterproofs, flask, sandwiches, decent boots etc. As we left the site it rained. It rained more. The wind got behind the rain and drove it horizontally. The rain got colder - and wetter, the wind driving it into stinging needles of cold misery. We climbed up past Treak Cliff Cavern and onto the shoulder of Mam to be hit by a blast of gale driven sleet with a narrow, muddy, slushy footpath with no grip underfoot. I sounded the retreat and we ran away bravely back into town to dry out, eating our sarnies in the lee of a wall by the stream. The rain eased but by then we didn't have enough daylight hours left to complete the walk so we trundled up the very impressive Cave Dale, past Peverill Castle and onto the top for a different perspective on the view.
On Thursday it rained again, but we had decided to visit one of the Blue John Caves, Treak Cliff Cavern, where we enjoyed a very informative and interesting personal tour by one of the guides. This place is well worth a visit. As we exited the cave we met a large school party of youngsters who had walked up from the youth hostel in town. They were soaked to the skin and freezing cold, one poor little girl shivering in sodden leggings and trainers. Yuk! Apparently whilst we were burrowing like demented hobbits we missed a blizzard. Bargain! We went back into town and had an excellent lunch in Tilly's - again highly recommended.
We were due to leave on Friday to move up to West Yorkshire but the weather had been so bad we thought that we had better check to see if we could still get onto our intended pitch. The site owner suggested that it was a non starter as the site was very muddy. Disappointed we searched for alternatives, but they all seemed to be suffering from the weather conditions. Accordingly we asked the site wardens if we could stay another couple of nights, albeit the site was full on Saturday night. Luckily the very kind and helpful wardens managed to find us a pitch. They didn't need to go to all that effort but they did and it was much appreciated.
On Friday we caught the rather expensive bus into Hathersage for a look around. It didn't take long....
Saturday was bright, clear and cold. We climbed Lose Hill and were back in time to watch the England v Fiji game before wandering into town to watch the much hyped Christmas Lights switch on. The parking was mad. It is infuriating that some inconsiderate a***holes think it fine to park on the pavements forcing kids and prams to walk in the road. The switch on was, erm, underwhelming to say the least.
On Sunday we took advantage of our CSSC English Heritage membership and explored Peverill Castle before watching the Leicester v Harlequins game. The castle was good, the match was the opposite.
On Monday it rained, and rained more. The whole way home it rained. Even stopping at my least favourite place, Boundary Mills in Grantham, we got soaked running from the car park. It was lucky we left when we did as the whole area suffered from the rain.
In all Castleton Caravan Club site is a great place to visit and the wardens are absolutely brilliant. It's a shame we didn't complete the trip to Yorkshire but I think that the Peaks is a place to go back to, even if it does rain a lot.
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| Cave Dale |
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| Mam Tor |
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| Treak Cliff Cavern |
