Wednesday 13 June 2007

Day 1 – 25 May 2007, Getting to Edale








Well, here we are. 25 May dawned early (Margarette was snoring again). We got up about 7.00am and repacked my bags for the 5th or 6th time. This was really a displacement activity, as an excuse not to actually face up to the walk ahead! A full breakfast, relaxing in the sight of our builders starting to repair the roof then it was time for the last minute checks…freezer and fridge emptied, bins double bagged, water, gas and electricity switched off. Then we wanted a cup of tea. Start again…

09:40. Time to leave. Dennis, our neighbour, must have had a bet on that we would actually start, as he had offered to run us to the station for the Birmingham, Sheffield and Edale train shuttles. Many thanks, Dennis. By this time, of course, the main bags were too heavy…who ever heard of taking 36 litres of high-energy fluids to Derbyshire? Perhaps the planning gnomes had infiltrated too far. Brigantes, our main bag carrier, recommended a maximum weight per bag of 14 Kg. Maybe they won’t notice, especially if we drink as much as possible today, on the camel principle.

Train connections all worked fine and we arrived in Edale at 15:00. No taxis appear keen to come to Edale – especially later at night - but the school bus was due at 15:30 so no problem there…except that it left from the school, about 900 metres up the road. Liquids are heavy, aren’t they? Anyway, the school bus from Edale to our accommodation at Castleton was an education in itself. Bowers, the company, have the cheeriest and most helpful driver…great rapport with the kids who themselves were simply full of good-natured fun and very well behaved: a good recommendation for small country schools. The bus even stopped at one lad’s house so he could pop in and get his football boots before going with his friends to Hope village. The driver then pointed us in the right direction to the Youth Hostel in Castleton.

Fortunately, the effort in booking in early January paid off and we had a room and beds for the night. A walk around the village confirmed it as the home of Blue John stone jewellery and a series of caves including “The Devil’s Arse”. Castleton is really a beautiful village – but very boring and miserable as one local lady described it – in other words, almost Yorkshire in its outlook. Dinner in the Bull's Head was competent but possibly not the best the town had to offer…the bar staffs were cheery but fairly disorganised: that said, the food itself was really good. There are lots of bars and hotels in Castleton, so to single one out is perhaps unfair….must spend longer here next time. Lots of B&B accommodation, in contrast to Edale. With hindsight, perhaps we should have left the train at Hope and taken a one mile taxi ride to Castleton. Less stressful than trying to catch the bus!

The Youth Hostel is a pretty, old building on the market place. Staff here are cheery and appear very competent as well as being experienced walkers themselves. The YHA is busy with people of all ages, from late middle-aged (us!) to young families and the odd courting couple (I wonder what she thinks of this “weekend in a country house”?) Dinner, breakfast and packed lunch are all available. Accommodation is cheap, Spartan but clean…just what the YHA is well known for. Absolutely no complaints.

A local taxi company in Castleton will take us over the hill to Edale tomorrow (Saturday) at 08:30 for £8, so not too bad. Breakfast in the YHA starts at 07:30…a little later than we would have wished as it means we won’t be en route till about 09:00 and with 16 miles of (reportedly) hard moor land ahead, this is later than I would have liked to start.

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