As a child I thought that Thorpe Cloud...

..was the highest point for miles, so it was quite a revelation to look out of our surprise birthday celebration destination and recognise the pyramid shape of the hill below us in the distance.

The Peak District is just gorgeous and we were blessed with a few days of good weather- OK one day when we got wet.  REALLY wet. I thought that a gentle stroll along the cycle track from Waterhouses would provide some shelter.  I expect in comparison to walking along the tops of the hills it was at least mild, but I do not think we could have been wetter if we had gone swimming!



One day we walked down from our holiday accommodation towards Ilam and when we got back realised that we had walked about five and a half miles, the first one and a half miles all down hill. That of course meant some hard work on the return journey!

Thorpe Cloud is endlessly fascinating from whichever angle it is viewed.

We did pass on the opportunity to walk up it though as it was very windy, so I stood at the base and took a photo of the stepping stones instead. The local council has added concrete tops to the stones for health and safety reasons. To be honest, they are not that noticeable and I did not see anyone foolhardy enough to attempt to cross anyway!

 

In any case, we had ventured to the top of the valley when we got as far as "The Twelve Apostles"

A lovely time was had by all, we did a little walking, liberally punctuated by stops for tea and cake in Buxton, Ashbourne, Hartington and Waterhouses. We sampled the delights of free Buxton water straight from the spring, The Original Bakewell Pudding and Derbyshire Oatcakes. We window shopped in Bakewell and Ashbourne and saw some really lovely local and crafts on display in Buxton Pavillion.

It was a knitting free week, but I managed a few little embroidery samples.