A Walk from Ashford in the Water

With Karen starting from Ashford in the Water, we followed Fennel Lane as far as Vicarage Lane, then along a footpath leading past houses to reach a large field. Crossing this large field we crossed paths with two men out shooting with shotguns and reached a stile in the far corner which brought us onto a lane.
The lane brought us to more pasture, including a dew pond which still had a large amount of ice with the sad remains of a number of toads who obviously had succumbed to the recent cold weather when the dew pond had probably become completely frozen.

  

 Sheepwash Bridge, Ahford in the Water

Leaving the pasture, we arrived at a viewpoint overlooking Monsal Dale, not very far from the pub. After a quick break to make use of a convenient wooden bench and have a quick hot drink from our flasks. We followed onwards along the path.

 Monsal Had and the Wye Valley

We soon reached a path leading down through woodland to reach a weir and the River Wye. Crossing a footbridge, we soon arrived at the A6 and crossed over into White Lodge car park. We followed the path up towards Demon Dell and found a small stream which obviously only flows in wet conditions as its bed was a small trench in the grassy hill side. We found the source of the stream to be a small cave nearby which had a fair amount of water flowing from its entrance, called Demons Dell Cave.
It was a lovely day and we stopped for a bit of lunch sitting on a couple of limestone blocks near the cave.

 Demons Dell Cave

Stream flowing from Demons Dell Cave 

We followed a small gorge called Demon's Dell, luckily being able to avoid the water by stepping on mud, rocks or bits of trees. We left the ravine where there was a small waterfall and followed the path into Deep Dale. Along the Dale we had a quick look at the Hubberdale Mine shaft which has a metal pipe and lid right next to the wall following the bottom of the Dale.

 Ravine in Demons Dell

The end of Deep Dale brought us into more walled fields with stiles and views to the old buildings of Magpie Mine in the distance and eventually the village of Sheldon. From Sheldon we dropped down pasture to arrive back at the A6 and then back into Ashford in the Water after a walk of 8 miles (12.8 km,).
I wore my Icepeak X-Treme trousers, Paramo Summit Hoodie and Paramo Fuera Ascent jacket. Also Polar Buff as a hat, Contour Navigator boots and Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack.