Although there is only one steep part (a valley right at the bottom) there is a steady gradient up from Ashbourne so I decided to start there and do the harder part first. By comparison there was 911 feet of ascent going one way, 265 the other! I parked up at Mapleton Lane, on the edge of the town, with my destination being Hartington Station, a distance of 11.2 miles each way. I had a reasonable ride up, not particularly quick and more reliance on the motor than I’d prefer but then I haven’t been out for quite a while. I had one brief stop at just over half way then was ready for a break at the top. Food and drinks are served from the old signal box (there’s little left of the station itself) and the coffee was decent enough.
The bike is just by the picnic table
I chatted with a few people, the last being a group of four on two e-tandems - one conventional style and one half recumbent (conventional seat at the back, which has the steering, recumbent seat for the stoker in front). I’ve seen these before, often where one rider is disabled although that didn’t seem to be the case here. I asked where they were headed, expecting them to say Parsley Hay (the top of the trail) or somewhere local, the answer was Berwick Upon Tweed! They were following Sustrans Route 68 and expected to finish Saturday; I’m assuming they had some sort of support vehicle since they didn’t seem to have sufficient kit for all of them for a week. It was handy having friendly people there as they watched my bike for me while I nipped to the facilities.
The route isn’t the most scenic in the area, contouring gently up the valley with just a couple of cuttings
I was able to ride most of the way back at a quicker pace, although that wasn’t entirely reflected in my timings as I stopped at Tissington Station for lunch. I just had a cheese and onion sandwich but it was great to have a proper, freshly made, one on good bread and bursting with grated cheese. Chatting to the cafe owner he was saying that often in summer they get families who’ve cycled down from the top, not thinking that they’ve got to get back up again. It’s good business for him as by the time they get to the station after going to Ashbourne the kids are getting fractious so Mum stops with them, buying ice creams, chocolate and drinks, while Dad rides back up and fetches the car.
Looking back past the platform at Tissington towards the cafe
There were a few spots of rain as I neared the end but nothing too bad until I’d loaded up the bike and nipped to the facilities at which point the heavens really opened! I wasn’t the only one to get slightly soggy rushing back to a vehicle. Yesterday I went east of the direct route back to the site so today I went west, towards Leek then cutting back across the hills. I was rewarded with some great views (unfortunately the panorama shot I took from a viewing point didn’t come out very well).
It’s a sign of how variable the weather has been lately, when I came away I put the small evaporative cooler fan in the ‘van, fortunately I also left the fan heater in ‘cause I’ve put that on this evening due to the chill and the dampness in the air. Tomorrow I’m planning to go into Buxton, hopefully meeting friends for lunch; it looks like it could be another wet day unfortunately.
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