Flagg day.

We parked at Monyash (the name means ‘place of many ashes’) to start todays walk. I intended to visit some of the villages in the locale, one of them being Flagg. We parked up (free car park) in the middle of the village, and set off across the fields. Soon, we joined the Limestone way. Quiet tracks are a big feature of the Way, and I DO love them at this time of the year.

This one is just outside Monyash village. It leads to a row of chocolate box cottages on the outskirts. As you can see, growth is now at full stretch. The only problem with this is that shorts and nettles don’t mix (as Sue and I found out several times today).

 Pretty cottages and cottage gardens.

This is one of the most ornate bird baths I’ve ever seen. It’s got a better roof than my shed at home! 

These ‘peak and northern’ footpath signs are just fab! We see them all over the peak district. It really does make me want to join the society. Most of them have a dedication plaque (like this one) just underneath. 

We visited Mining low on our previous walk, and if you remember, I commented on how distinctive the site was, and how it could be seen from most areas of the Peak District. Well, there it was, proud as ever, on the far horizon. (Click on the picture for a larger version)

Sue walks through the barley.............. 

........feeling the tops as she goes. 

We came across this ‘restored’ mere – Taddington High moor mere’, which has been restored and fenced off. You can read all about it here; http://www.derbyshireheritage.co.uk/Menu/Ancient/others/Taddington-moor-high-mere.php It’s quite incongruous, but it was VERY important to packhorses and the like in the past. 

The insects and bees were taking full advantage of the nectar on offer – and I was taking full advantage of the photo opportunities. 

A busy bee (is there any other type??). 

The butterflies too, all slaking their thirst with the high energy drink. 

An old dew pond. Can’t say I’d want to fill my water bottle from it, but I think the animals wouldn’t be as fussy.

You can read up on dew ponds here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dew_pond 

We entered a big(ish) field system, with lots of walls and stiles to climb. 

We passed a dilapidated farm, obviously not lived in now. The farmhouse looked very sad, with no sign of life, but the outbuildings were being used. This was the seasons hay (or, some of it) being brought back to ‘base’. 

Burrs on the side of the track. 

And the ever lovely scabius. 

The top of deep dale. We were going to sit here and eat our picnic, but it’s ‘that time of the year’ – in other words the farmers are spreading manure on lots of the fields, and the stink here was REALLY strong so we pressed on. 

We sat on a sort of ‘loving seat’ here to eat. It was a stile, but made a nice perch to take our break, one of us either side of it.. The fields are really looking tired now, some more than most. This one has the look of autumn about it. 

The ragwort was here too, hugging the walls. Although we’d had heavy cloud all day, we’d been lucky in that it hadn’t rained. However, just two minutes from the car, the heavens opened and it REALLY poured down. We managed to get to the car mildly damp, but relieved to have missed the worst. It had been a lovely day, spent close to home. Just a short drive took us back to Bakewell.