We had a good hike on Christmas Eve, climbing part way up the Montgo mountain to a cave where Roman soldiers were garrisoned hundreds of years ago. When I say climbed, of course, I don't mean in a mountaineering sense! The track got pretty steep in places though and there are leg-achingly big steps towards the end. There's also a dizzyingly long drop from a short section of footpath so if heights aren't your favourite thing, maybe don't do this walk!
We parked in the street opposite the Ermita Pare Pere which is a pretty shrine and worth a brief diversion to look around. If all the parking is taken here, follow the road upwards and there is more space just past where the walking route leaves the road. For full walk instructions, Click This Link. It describes a circular walk of 5.4k which we intended to do, but didn't due to the rocky footpaths after the cave detour being very slippery. We reckoned we would probably manage to climb up to Raco del Bou, but I didn't fancy potential accidents on the slide back down!
The initial ascent however is toddler friendly. It's continuously uphill but not especially strenuous and was a popular family walk on Christmas Eve. Part way along this gravelled road, clear signs indicate the footpath up to the Cova de l'Aigua. A later fork in this footpath is also clearly signed. We were high above Denia at this point and there are spectacular views across the town and out to sea. The winding path admittedly doesn't scream 'Romans were here' in the same way their distinctive straight roads do. It gets steeper the nearer we got to the cave and in several places large steps have helpfully been cut into the rock. Once we turned off the track to the footpath we had it completely to ourselves which was great as I didn't feel as though I needed to rush. I could imagine that it could be tricky trying to get up here and back at the same time as lots of other people - on a summer weekend for example.
The Roman evidence - an inscription in the rock dating from 238AD - is now protected by a metal cage although it had already been partly graffitied before the grille was put into place. It's not actually in the cave itself, but just before the last few steps. You can see the edge of the cage in the bottom left of this photograph. For an idea of scale, Dave can just be seen climbing up mid-picture.
And the inscription itself is here:
(You might need to squint!)
The cave itself is believed to have been in use for thousands of years before the Roman visitation and for hundreds of years after they left as well. We could walk into the large first chamber and along a dark passage - you'll want to take a torch - from which we could peer into a flooded second chamber. Clay pipe remnants buried in the floor show where this mountain water used to be piped out to a now vanished hillside village. By medieval standards, this was valuable fresh drinking water - we didn't taste it!
Today we enjoyed the second part of our Castleton caves joint ticket by paying a visit to The Devil's Arse, also more politely known as Peak Cavern. The more interesting name apparently came about due to local folks in historical times believing that the sound of gurgling water that sometimes heard from within the cave was actually the Devil himself farting. Although no water gurgled today, our guide did imitate the sound and I could understand why superstitious minds made the connection! The renaming was a hasty decision for Queen Victoria's first visit, a question of decorum!
The mouth of Peak Cavern is massive, so massive in fact that I couldn't get far enough back to capture its expanse in a photograph so you've got the dramatic cliffs overshadowing the path instead. Within the entrance cavern, we were treated to a demonstration of ropemaking - from fragile flax to sturdy rope - which we both found fascinating. Parts of Hailsham are named for the ropemaking industry there, but I had never thought through its practicalities before. I now understand just what that statue outside Hailsham Tesco is doing! Troglodytes lived and worked in Peak Cavern as ropemakers from the 1600s until 1915, amazingly, and we saw what I presume is a replica of one of their tiny dwellings
Peak Cavern does have some low overhangs, but is far less claustrophobic than Speedwell Cavern and is completely walkable - no boat rides here. We were shown rock formations including flowstones and unusually dark coloured little stalactites, the result of water trickling through volcanic rock above. Another change for Queen Victoria, this time for her second visit, was the blasting through of a short bypass tunnel at one point, high enough for her to walk through. Previously visitors had lain individually in a 'boat' that looked suspiciously like an unlidded coffin and been shoved through a very small aperture along a short stream. It looked horrifying so I was glad of the manmade alternative. Most of the Cavern is still natural though.
Approaching Peak Cavern through Castleton
Speedwell Cavern and Peak Cavern could easily both be visited in a single day, although it is possible to book a joint ticket that lasts six months. This is what we did, taking advantage of the early bird discount which didn't actually require us to get up especially early. Booking is advised for Speedwell and we got lucky with Peak Cavern today as there were only six people on our tour, but a whole school party arriving as we left! Do allow time to appreciate the pretty walk to Peak Cavern. From the car park, we walked along narrow streets between extremely cute little cottages and alongside a small river with arched stone bridges. All very picturesque! There were even Shetland ponies in a field (with the obligatory sheep).
On a different note, an urgent 38 Degrees appeal for action:
Our bees are in danger again. Toxic chemical companies are trying to get
their banned pesticides back on UK fields. On Tuesday an application was submitted to the government asking them to lift the ban on bee-killing chemicals for some crops planted this autumn. A huge petition will make it clear to the environment minister, Elizabeth Truss, that she still needs to protect our bees, not the toxic profits of bee-killing chemical companies. Please sign this 38 Degrees petition.
Dave planned us a great walk for yesterday's glorious sunshine. Starting
Sunken road
from our campsite, we started off with a gentle uphill along the single track road. The road is probably very old as it has now sunk several feet from the surrounding fields. Tree roots of several species can be seen all through the banks and there are bluebells and cow parsley flowering too. We thought the road part of the walk would be dull, but it was one of the highlights! There was practically no motorised traffic, just a few cyclists and a couple of women on horses. I liked how rivulets of water frequently came tumbling down the mossy banks from the ground above and wonder if they are from springs that flow all year round, or if they will dry up when summer comes?
We followed footpaths signposted towards Yorkshire Bridge and joined
the Thornhill Trail which is a traffic-free walking/cycling route alongside Ladybower Reservoir. The Trail is popular and was busy compared to the rest of our walk. I liked this (pictured) sculpture but am not sure what it is commemorating. I am not sure if the woodland is big enough to be forest, but it was wonderful to be walking with a great expanse of water one side, and trees as far as we could see up the hill the other side. Building began on the reservoir in 1935 and apparently it took eight years to complete and then another two years to fill. The bridge across is especially elegant and the reservoir has two huge stepped plugholes which are overflows to be used in times of heavy rain. I am not sure if the Ladybower dam was one used for training by the Dambusters squadron in the Second World War but it looked similar to those in the film! The even trail surface makes for fast walking so we actually extended our planned walk and continued to the far end of the reservoir where we ate our picnic lunch on a grassy bank by a much smaller metal bridge. The spot had been recently vacated by a couple of pairs of Canada geese with their goslings.
Suitably refreshed and refuelled, our footpath then took a steep uphill course for a hundred metres or so, completely changing our environment again. Now we climbed through dense pine wood which was actually much darker and eerier than the photograph suggests.
Our footsteps were completely muffled by a thick carpet of dropped pine needles and these needles coloured everything pale brown except for where vivid green moss grew on exposed rocks. The contrast resulted in an otherworldly effect and, at first sight, the rocks did appear to have been painted!
Gasping a bit at the top of the hill, we were greeted with the sight of Hope Cross - which isn't actually a cross shape, but marks a crossroads. The ancient waymarker has a different town name on each face - Hope, Glossop, Edale and Shefield (sic). The pillar is dated 1737, but the marker is believed to have stood here since at least medieval times and indicates the old packhorse routes. We took the Roman Road back in the direction of Hope. It's not quite dead straight but nicely level and wound around Win Hill giving us gorgeous views across the valley. The goods train from the cement works looked like a toy set from this height! I'm not used to seeing long goods trains at all. I don't think there were any on the line through Polegate - I certainly never saw any in the hours I spent waiting at Polegate level crossing. However, the line here passes close to our campsite and it seems there are almost as many goods trains as passenger trains.
Again, on this walk, I was glad of my North Face boots which didn't allow a single drop of water to get to my feet! I am considering buying another pair of walking trousers though. My Berghaus ones are ok, but are getting a bit thin in places and there's a small hole in the back, ripped when falling on scree in Spain. Hathersage, nearby, has a branch of Go Outdoors and I like the look of these Craghoppers trousers. They can convert into shorts too which I always find very useful. Perhaps I should wait until we have walked more first though. We have both put on some weight over the past couple of months and there is No Way I am buying a size 18!
This morning we went on a journey of a different kind - boat trip underground at Speedwell Cavern just outside Castleton. A former leadmine which was first worked in 1771, it is now a tourist attraction and quite a different experience to the Vall d'Uixo in Spain. For a start, we were issued with hard hats here, and there wasn't any gaudy lighting! I didn't get vertigo, but was a little claustrophobic at times. Our guide-boatman gave an interesting talk and both Dave and I are sure we would have been hopeless lead miners. I enjoyed the visit, but was glad to get back to daylight again. We did get a good deal on the tickets: by ordering advance joint tickets online yesterday afternoon (access to a printer needed) and choosing the earlybird offer, we got the Speedwell Cavern boat trip and a visit to Peak Cavern at-any-time-in-the-next-six-months for £24.20 for us both.
And this evening, we have another treat lined up. We are going to the NTlive broadcast of Man And Superman which is being screened by Tideswell Cinema at The George Inn in Tideswell.
which didn't allow a single drop of water to get to my feet! I am considering buying another pair of walking trousers though. My