Your home from home in the Peak District
Whaley Bridge
Peak District Life – taking it all for granted
011 months ago
I was lucky enough to be able to squeeze a quick couple of days up at the cottage in between guests. The garden needed some serious attention along with a few jobs indoors!
While I was there something struck me – how much we all take for granted or just don’t see the great things we have right on our doorstep. In this case the Peak District!
Now that I don’t live in the cottage any more, lots of things about the area strike me when I visit.
One is the beauty of the countryside. Living amongst the rolling hills, green fields and dramatic moorland of the High Peak District I somehow become numb to its beauty – which is really sad.
Now when I arrive in Buxworth after my 3 hour drive from suburban North London I am amazed how I did not notice every day how lovely it was.
Just in a fairly small part of the Peak District, the scenery changes dramatically from the striking moorland landscape of the Kinder plateau to the rolling green hills south of Hayfield, the pretty basin and canals around Buxworth, the stunning scenery of the Goyte Valley and the breathtaking decent down Winnats Pass at the head of the Hope Valley.
All of this within 15 minutes of where I lived and I stopped noticing after a while!
Secondly you forget quite how strong the sense of community is in the Peak District and quite how much there is going on.
For example last weekend there was the Whaley Water weekend down on the canal basin in Whaley Bridge (15 mins wak from the cottage) with live music, boat rides and all sorts of other stalls and activities.
Then there was a display of static engines at Bugsworth Basin 2 minutes walk from the cottage. The basin itself was a hive of activity with canal boats coming and going through Buxworth all weekend.
There was a cricket match taking place outside the cottage at Buxworth Cricket Club and Goyte Valley striders running club came past the front door.
Our local Morris dancing team The Powder Kegs were performing and there were signs up outside many local villages advertising their well dressing. On top of all that on Saturday night it was the monthly film showing by Chinley Community Cinema .
So much going on in such a small corner of the Peak District. What a wonderful place to be – only wish we could live there!
Linking Liverpool to the Peak District
01 year ago
Did you know that there is a physical link between the Peak District & the home of the world famous rock band The Beatles? No, well let me explain.
The Goyt Valley is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful areas of natural beauty within the Peak District National Park. It lies just southwest of Whaley Bridge (a few minutes from our cottage) and only a few miles from Buxton.
The scenery in the valley and on the surrounding hills typifies this area of the Peak District known as the High Peak or Dark Peak and is made up of a beautiful patchwork of high moorland, lush green river valleys, woodland and farmland with grazing cattle and sheep. To my shame, I don’t have any photographs of the Goyt Valley but you can have a look at this Goyt Valley Photo Gallery – although I don’t think it does the area justice.
Small streams that are formed high up on the hills surrounding the valley literally provide the source of the link to Liverpool. The streams run down into the valley where they merge to form the River Goyt. The river then flows through Whaley Bridge and on to Stockport where, with the addition of the rivers Etherow and Tame, it becomes the world famous River Mersey and hence the link between the Peak District & Liverpool!
If you fancy visiting the Goyt Valley there is plenty to do. The varied landscape provides the opportunity to take part in many outdoor activities including fishing, sailing, cycling, bird watching, horse riding, walking and running. The natural Goyt valley also has the addition of two man made reservoirs, Errwood & Fernilee which provide habitat for different wildlife and the home of Errwood Sailing Club. There are some great circular routes you can follow and although there is no formal access agreement on the open moorland, a network of concessionary and public paths means there is access for running and walking throughout the valley.
To find out more about this glorious bit of the Peak District you can try these:
Peak District National Park Goyt Valley leaflet
Goyt Valley Information Site
