Outtomunch
Member
Not much of a ride report but I thought the following might be of interest 
We've got some unseasonably warm spring weather here in the UK at the moment so it seemed rude not to take a day off work and head out to one of my favourite parts of the country; The Derbyshire Dales National Park.
I'm very fortunate in that it's only an hour or so's ride from my home town, Nottingham (yeah that Nottingham, where the Robin Hood geezer is supposed to have hung out
).
Once out of Nottingham I'm on quiet back roads with little traffic as they climb, fall and twist through the rolling hills of the Dales. Fields are small and bordered with drystone walls, some of which will have been there for hundreds of years (with regular rebuilding, an art in itself) and in the fields are flocks of sheep and, due to the time of year, lots of gambolling lambs ~ all very spring like!
My destination is Wetton Mill in the Manifold Valley. A lovely place to stop, be alone (usually) and just soak in the beautiful spring weather.
Wetton Mill was, well, a water mill that used to mill locally produced corn. It closed down in the 1850's and all that remains are a couple of cottages and a very old bridge (several hundred years old?) over the river Manifold.
The geology of the area is mostly limestone and it's this which informs the lay of the land (and makes it a very popular area for pot holers).
Where I'm sat, under the bridge munching on a pack up, I can see way above me the arch of Thor's Cave (which has evidence of human occupation form over 10,000 years ago) and then the river itself; the meanders, or many folds, of the River Manifold give it its name. In dry spells, it disappears underground via the swallets or sink holes just south of Wetton Mill to re-emerge in the grounds of Ilam Hall some eight miles away. At the moment, the river is flowing where I'm sat but only 300m or so further down there's just a dry river bed and it'll stay like that now until the winter.
So, here's a picture of my quiet little picnic spot.
I'll do some proper ride reports later in the year as I've a few European trips being planned.
Oh, and of course, no ride report is complete without mention of Matlock Bath in Derbyshire; a Victorian landlocked seaside town which has the best chippies (fish and chip shops) for miles and is a mecca for bikers from all around ~ to be continued
Andres
We've got some unseasonably warm spring weather here in the UK at the moment so it seemed rude not to take a day off work and head out to one of my favourite parts of the country; The Derbyshire Dales National Park.
I'm very fortunate in that it's only an hour or so's ride from my home town, Nottingham (yeah that Nottingham, where the Robin Hood geezer is supposed to have hung out
).Once out of Nottingham I'm on quiet back roads with little traffic as they climb, fall and twist through the rolling hills of the Dales. Fields are small and bordered with drystone walls, some of which will have been there for hundreds of years (with regular rebuilding, an art in itself) and in the fields are flocks of sheep and, due to the time of year, lots of gambolling lambs ~ all very spring like!
My destination is Wetton Mill in the Manifold Valley. A lovely place to stop, be alone (usually) and just soak in the beautiful spring weather.
Wetton Mill was, well, a water mill that used to mill locally produced corn. It closed down in the 1850's and all that remains are a couple of cottages and a very old bridge (several hundred years old?) over the river Manifold.
The geology of the area is mostly limestone and it's this which informs the lay of the land (and makes it a very popular area for pot holers).
Where I'm sat, under the bridge munching on a pack up, I can see way above me the arch of Thor's Cave (which has evidence of human occupation form over 10,000 years ago) and then the river itself; the meanders, or many folds, of the River Manifold give it its name. In dry spells, it disappears underground via the swallets or sink holes just south of Wetton Mill to re-emerge in the grounds of Ilam Hall some eight miles away. At the moment, the river is flowing where I'm sat but only 300m or so further down there's just a dry river bed and it'll stay like that now until the winter.
So, here's a picture of my quiet little picnic spot.
I'll do some proper ride reports later in the year as I've a few European trips being planned.
Oh, and of course, no ride report is complete without mention of Matlock Bath in Derbyshire; a Victorian landlocked seaside town which has the best chippies (fish and chip shops) for miles and is a mecca for bikers from all around ~ to be continued
Andres
