On a clear, mild October afternoon three walkers met outside church for our walk down the valley of Bretton Clough.
After driving through Baslow we took the A623 through Calver and Stoney Middleton before turning off to go through Foolow before taking the narrow road up to the hamlet of Bretton. After parking at the side of the road we started our walk.
We enjoyed the views as we walked along the lane, Eyam was immediately below us and three miles further south we could see Longstone Edge.
Turning off the lane on our left we followed a grassy walled track before following a more stoney track towards some farm buildings. Here we stopped and sat on a low stone wall to eat our sandwiches.
A ‘clough’ is a local term for a small steep sided valley and after our lunch we entered the sheltered valley between the upland Abney Moor and Eyam Moor. The narrow path was initially down through bracken covered slopes but after climbing a high ladder stile and greeting fellow walkers eating their lunch we had a fabulous view from its high eastern rim into Bretton Clough. Once more following the path on the bracken covered slope we soon reached Bretton Brook. We turned left and made our way slowly up the valley following the brook below us.
This hidden valley proved useful in 1745, when local farmers hid their cattle here from Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Highland army as they marched south to Derby.
Continuing through the bracken we noticed many fine examples of fly agaric toadstools before we came to an open area.
Here we could see the ruins of a number of farm buildings, evidence of the farmsteads that once stood here. The bumpy, uneven valley floor was the result of ancient landslips caused by unstable shale layered between the harder gritstone giving away.
We soon entered a wooded area made up of birch and oak, crossing a small stream. We momentarily paused, sitting on a dilapidated wooden bench before once more walking up a bracken concealed path which took us onto a lane. The few houses here made up the hamlet of Bretton and as we turned a corner we walked by the side of the Barrel Inn
This hostelry at over 1300 feet is the highest pub in Derbyshire. It has served travellers on the local turnpike routes, packhorse roads and footpaths for over 250 years. We paused to take pictures, enjoying the warm weather and views, but in the winter of 1947 severe blizzards cut off the pub for over two weeks. Snowdrifts almost enveloped the whole building and a tunnel had to be dug to find the front door!
Continuing up the lane we reached our car and returned to Chesterfield via the plague village of Eyam.
If anyone wishes to join us on our next walk from Eyam then meet us outside church at 12pm with a packed lunch on Sunday 1st November. You will be made very welcome.
Steve Franks