05-Nov-2024
We've continued to be lucky with the weather. We've seen little of the sun over the last week, and it has often been misty, but we've not been plagued with rain or wind, and the temperatures have been quite buoyant. Perfect walking weather, in fact.
This was a great little circuit, all very easy until the slightly muddy bit at the end.
We started by taking the Hulleys bus again, but got off this time in Stanton in Peak:
After a quick recce of this very pretty village, we set off over an attractive stretch of ground that blends rocks and woodland:
And it's not long before you reach the Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor. Actually, there are 10, as one had been buried, and was discovered only later:
The story is that the ladies were turned to stone as a punishment for dancing on a Sunday (there's always some misogynist subtext to these tales...). The fiddler who accompanied them was also petrified, and became the King Stone, which stands a little apart from the group:
The graffiti on the King Stone include the name Bill Stumps, mentioned in Charles Dickens's Pickwick Papers
Legends aside, Stanton Moor is awash with stone circles and standing stones. There are about 70 of them, and they date back some 4,000 years.
It is an incredibly atmospheric site, and you can easily imagine enchantment here:
It's possible to track down another of the circles, but it's not nearly so obvious as the first one:
The land is becoming more heathery and moor-like by now:
And you're not finished with interesting things, because there are also Big Rocks:
Approaching the outcrop known as Stanton Moor Edge
The biggest of the rocks is the perfect place to sit and eat your sandwiches. Gourmet sandwiches, actually. Stilton, with the walnut-and-raisin-sourdough you can buy from the Winster community shop
Bracken is apparently a pest on the moor, as it discourages the heather. But it's very pretty in its russet autumnal dress
A couple more rock views
And then you're off again, heading across some farmland (and, yes, the peacocks were a bit of a surprise):
There's Winster, over on the other side of the valley
But there are still a few fields and stiles to negotiate first
And then you're home again. Another very cheap and simple morning out, but 100 per cent rewarding.