Thirteen walkers met in Shillito Wood car park on a very pleasant Tuesday morning. We started out by following the path through the wood so that we could see the ancient stone cross, erected in the medieval period. We continued down Fox lane all the way to the main Baslow Road. The roadside verges were a rich source for wildflowers, with Graham identifying both Common Spotted and Southern March orchids. We crossed over the road and continued on a good path over moorland all the way to Wellington’s monument. Joe gave us some information about the monument and how the builders had ensured that is was taller than the nearby Nelson’s monument.
The next part of the walk took us along Baslow edge where we enjoyed stunning views of near perfect clarity. The break in the edge known as Curbar Gap severed as our lunch stop where some of us took advantage of the mobile coffee station (ok just me). After continuing along the edge for a while we turned away from the edge and started our journey back. The navigational skills of our leaders, Chris and Joe were tested as we crossed a section of the moor with no distinct path. This was no problem because we arrived perfectly at the gate leading onto Baslow Road where we had started from. As an added bonus we spotted red deer in a nearby field.
In the final part of the walk, we re-traced our steps along Fox Lane back to the car park. This was a superb walk packed full of wildlife. Many thanks to Chris and Joe for leading us round.
