Sixteen walkers gathered in Shillito Wood car park on a dull Saturday morning with just a hint of rain in the air.
We started out walking through the wood so that we could view the medieval wayside cross. This Christian cross is unusual in that it is housed in a square socket hole. In addition to the stone circles and reservoirs in this area there are also three companion stones on the route. The carvings on the stone have weathered a little but you can check them out on http://www.companionstones.org.uk . We passed the first one at the start of a track that runs parallel to the stream taking us all the way to Car Road. This track is notoriously muddy in the winter and despite the dry weather we have had recently there were still a few muddy patches. After crossing over Car Road and heading up to the Baslow road through Greaves’s Piece we stopped for a break.
We were now on open moorland heading for the disused Barbrook Reservoir. On reaching the reservoir we turned left towards the pond sometimes known as Little Barbrook. This is a spot favoured by wild swimmers and at its top end is a nice example of a packhorse bridge.
After continuing along the track for a short time we reached the path taking us to the bronze age stone circle known as Barbrook 1. Continuing on another 250 metres took us to Barbrook 2 which differs from Barbrook 1 because the stones are set into a dry stone wall. If you want to read more about the stone circles and others, check out the website http://www.stone-circles.org.uk/stone/barbrook1.htm
After Joe, our leader had told us all about the stone circles we turned back and continued on our walk, crossing back over the Baslow Road and on to the car park where we started our walk.
Many thanks to Joe for leading us on a lovely walk packed full of history. Even the weather turned out nice in the end.
