A selection of photos from today's walk through Hay Dale, Peter Dale and Monk's Dale.
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| Top of Hay Dale |
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| Lower Hay Dale with the English Nature sign board |
My walk today took me through three of the dales in the north of the White Peak area of the Peak District. Hay Dale, Peter Dale and Monk's Dale are three separately named parts of a single valley running from Peak Forest to Miller's Dale. They are surprisingly different in character. Hay Dale is quite open, with grassy banks with some exposed limestone. Peter Dale is wilder. Sometimes tightly enclosed by limestone cliffs. Monk's Dale is deep and dark with a very stony path leading through the bottom. Hay Dale and Monk's Dale are both part of the English Nature's Peak Dales National Nature Reserve. The main natural interest is the wide variety of plants tolerant of calcereous soils.
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| Cowslips |
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Peter Dale |
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| Path in Monk's Dale |
The path through Monk's Dale is very good for strengthening the ankles ... or for breaking them!
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| Moss covered wall in Monk's Dale |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Wood Sorrel (Shamrock if you're Irish!) |
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| Near the bottom of Monk's Dale |
The three dales (and Dam Dale to the north) are dry except for the bottom few hundred meters of Monk's Dale where the stream emerges from its secretive underground course. A pleasant walk if a little tough on the old ankles! All the photos will enlarge with a click.
(All Photos: Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm lens)
We walked through Monks Dale not so long ago - lovely area but the paths are a bit tricky in places!
ReplyDeleteThey are tough! I walked lots of similar paths on the hills in Southern France, so I'm pretty used to it. Still they need careful attention!
ReplyDeleteI like the mossy wall at Monk's Dale, quite a camera magnet I should think.
ReplyDeleteI love these mossy textures. Sort of soft walls!
ReplyDelete