Seeing the old year out in the Peak District - almost!

Our plan was to spend the last few days of 2024 with a 4-night trip to the Peak District. Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out that way. 

Things began well because after a very foggy journey across from Norfolk we suddenly emerged from the wall of fog into sunny blue skies just 3 miles from Matlock. We parked for the afternoon and night on the lovely Meadows Carpark at Cromford and enjoyed a long walk along the Cromford Canal and in a loop taking in the River Derwent and Arkwrights famous mill. That night the fog rolled in again and I began to feel rough. 

As I wasn’t feeling well we almost headed for home the following morning but decided to try to soldier on. One of the things we wanted to do was to visit High Tor above Matlock Bath, and in particular the infamous Giddy Edge. This narrow path along a ledge just below the top of High Tor is supposed to be the scariest footpath in England due to a 300 foot drop but we didn’t find it too bad at all. Maybe the fog obscuring the view helped! In time-honoured tradition we also did some fence-hopping to explore the high Tor Grotto Mine which was great fun! In the afternoon we walked in the Chatsworth estate including a look at the impressive ‘skeleton and shroud’ tomb in Edensor church but by now I was really suffering and having to drag myself along. 

As the light began to fade we found an overnight spot along Combes Road on the edge of Bakewell despite many of the suggested spots being too narrow or like quagmires. After we’d settled in however we got the dreaded knock on the door. Luckily it was a friendly farmer who just wanted us to move slightly so he could swing his hay trailer into a field and he said it was fine to stay there. 

By now I was feeling terrible with whatever virus had hit me so we headed for home the next morning, effectively cutting the trip down to half its intended length. 

The whole trip and illness in general has made us think very carefully about our future plans. While we still plan to hit the road at the end of March we are going to initially restrict it to 4 months. This will still give us time to do the Northeast, Scotland, The Lake District, Northwest and some of Wales.

Lessons learned - being ill in the van is shit! It’s always good to have a ‘plan b’!