Not sure what happened to the accompanying map. Things " just disappear" off my laptop and phone!

Amidst the agriculture and empty hillsides - reminders of industry - a centuries old brickworks

Farmers reaping crops already - presumably for fodder

The songful yellow wagtail posed nicely for binoculars, camera and Merlin app confirmation

The Gotham curve was the steepest bend on the standard guage network when the line was open.

the Monsal Trail features a crazy number of tunnels and viaducts but

This one has a remarkable number of big embankments. A lot of work for a small line

Hidden in trees a farm building from which horses were despatched to the front in 1914-18

This raised section had a sign saying Hopton Bank cutting. It looked like an embankment to me!

Middleton Top Engine House - one of the buildings associated with hauling trains up the inclines

One of many wooded hillsides carpeted with wild garlic

Trains really do still run on this (very) narrow guage railway

Quirky and leisure based now it carried 120,000 headstones to war grave sites in WW1.

First sight of Black Rocks peeping out of the trees

I scrambled to the top of there recently - with the help of a grandchild!

Another engine house. Sadly there were accidents involving runaway trains on the inclines

One with a train carrying explosive led to the building of this escape tunnel

These carriages contain a brilliantly curated display about the different roles within the railway

Day 3

May 15–18 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

Another great day and NO RAIN!
The statement " there's no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothing" is patent nonsense. Of course good protective clothing helps and makes enjoyment possible even in bad weather, but it's so much nicer when the ☀️ shines.
Thankfully the buses all worked fine this morning. I nearly missed the second one because having waited anxiously for the second one (lots of ifs and buts in the timetable making me wonder if I'd read it right!) it turned out to be a little minibus which wasn't what I was looking out for.
The third bus was a real country service. The driver told all us pensioners to sit down and set off and then got us to "bip" our passes once it was 9.30! He reminded me of Gary who ued to drive the bus on our estate who would drop you off outside your door if you gave him a Mars bar. This driver kindly dropped me exactly where I wanted despite not having a Mars bar in my possession!
Within half a mile I was back on the High Peak Trail and it was downhill all the way. It was however 15.6 miles and being hard surfaced very hard on the feet.

The trail was remarkably quiet and I went long periods without seeing a soul.
The first part was mainly farmland, endless lovely countryside with at times some powerful agricultural aromas.
Then the views opened out and it was just expansive loveliness. I must have walked and cycled the entire Trail a few times but I really didn't remember this section.

In the final section the history and heritage of this exceptional railway line was centre stage.
The line was built when it was realised that getting the Cromford Canal up and over the hills of the Peak District to connect with the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge was going to require a quite impractical number of locks. The rail line still had to get up and over the hills so was built with a series of inclined with separate static engines hauling the trains up.
The heritage carriages information on roles on the railway is fascinating. they include a man employed solely to switch the points if a runaway train was sighted so it ran into the escape tunnel. The driver were expected to leap out it hit the tunnel in this scenario

Finally there was a pleasant mile along the only remaining navigable bit of the Cromford Canal.
There have been some pressing family concerns for me to pray for today and as ever broader areas for prayer must fit around these. Thankfully there have been some encouraging answers todayRead more