I had a lovely Sunday afternoon with my clan exploring the forest and moorland above Matlock.
We started at Two Dales in Darley Dale, taking the long 'O.R.P.A' that ascends to Darley Grange, and then west onto the open moor:
We trotted along the Beeley Moor road for a short distance before heading southwards again on the bridleway down to Northwood:
This might look familiar to anyone who has seen the Shane Meadow's film 'Dead Man's Shoes', as this is the path that Paddy Considine's character is striding down at the start of the film, as he is on his way to Matlock to begin his killing spree...
..but instead of any of us doing anything like this, we simply wound our way back to Two Dales on the quiet lanes of Darley Hillside (posh houses!).
We then finished-off the afternoon with a look around the Yeoman's campshow in Darley Dale - Outwell's teepee was very cool, as was Vango's little one-man backpacking tent.
The GPS said it was 8.85km all-in-all (so the kids did well!). Great views across to Stanton Moor, and North West to the Chatsworth estate.
I think it would be nice to extend the walk across the access land to Hob's Hurst House via Raven Tor, with a relaxed walk back on the flat of the Derwent Valley Way path, but that's for another (full) day -without the kids.
