I'd also managed to park right outside a lovely looking coffee shop just a few doors back from Yoemans on the A515, opposite the Barclays Bank. I'd give you the name but I didn't take it, and according to Google StreetView it used to be a "Bargain Booze" store... nice. Anyway, I approached the nice girls behind the counter, with my Costa Coffee mug in hand and after a few good mornings asked for a "cappuccino to go". Oddly this flustered her a bit, but she produced a cardboard cup and set it by the side of the expensive coffee machine, which roughly had the footprint of a small car, on the bench behind. As she was pottering with a china cup under the machine I nicely piped up "Please can I have it in my mug" pointing to this large plaster tankard that I'd brought in and placed on the counter as we chatted. This clearly confused matters further and elicited a "oh, you want it in that". I smiled and thought to myself, "no dear, I just brought this along for a morning walk, I'm going shopping with it later to buy it a pair of shoes". It was nice coffee though.
Back in the car, I flicked through P & P Tindsall's "Short Circular Walks in the Peak National Park", which was now looking nicely grubby and thumbed. Now while I'm an ordered chap, some say that my orderliness is an OCD / Autism [I've some nice friends don't I...] it did strike me as odd that I'd so far managed to do walks numbered 1, 2 and then next convenient was No 3... yes, it was just convenient and not contrived... to be clear, elsewhere in the book walk 1 is near walk 12, and walk 19 is near walk 28... :D
Walk 3 is from Thorpe Car Park up the Tissington Trail and back across country. After parking in the designated car park, we set off up the well maintained Tissington Trail for about an hour, old meeting one family with a tiny little dog, which Tikka was so scared by she hid behind my legs. The owners also ignored my cheery "good afternoon" and give me a funny look. Maybe it was Tikka's strange manner, maybe it was because I was a vision in red with my RAB jacket, Berghaus day pack, cap, walking stick and shiny new boots; and they were dressed in trainers jeans and a jacket... "ah", I thought, "but in half an hour they'd be at home, and I'd be trudging across a muddy field and it would be raining". Oh yes I could see that the clouds ahead were broadcasting that wet stuff aplenty.
Passing through Tissington Station, I could see that I was rather late for the last service...
As we trudged on we passed a number of sorry looking derelict buildings...
And a good number of wonderfully maintained a pretty buildings... This one was directly opposite the above derelict one...
At this point the guide directed us off the road and across fields, yes, this was better; I am no fan walks along well maintained tracks and roads, I want to be off across fields and stiles... We met a few fields of sheep along the way, Tikka paid little interest in them, although they decidedly noticed her. In the next picture there were 5 sheep in an adjacent barn, 6ft away... and she was rather uncertain what to do...
I'd not seen any hay or straw bales in my walk so far, so this field was a pleasant change; I almost felt like hopping over the wall to try my hand at some arty shots, but time was pushing on and I didn't wan to be walking in the dark.
We were now about two thirds along the guided walk and were both enjoying the open fields, squeeze stiles and over the wall stiles. The path was reasonably well defined in the grass, which gave me some comfort as the directions were a little ambiguous at times; or at least I've never been one to follow directions too well - perhaps 'my friends' are right after all...
Hopping over the squeeze and gated stile we saw the next stile up the grassy hill and the road beyond. Noticing the cows in the distance in the fields either side we made our way up the grass path; I was quite getting the hang of this walking stick now and I could tell that it was easing the ache under my left knee cap.
With 30ft of the top gate I noticed that the adjacent field of cows weren't all that separate after all and the gates to both of them were open and the cows were coming to see us. Except they weren't just any cows, they were young bullocks, not as big as the black ones we passed by during the morning walk, but still the size of a small car. I stopped, they stopped. No point turning back, they'd get to me before I got to the gate at the bottom of the field. no point running towards the top gate, I could see that they were now guarding that quite well. Suddenly they were moving again, towards us... I was close-ish to the left hand stone wall, which I noticed to my dismay also had taller barbed wire fence just the other side. I could feel my chest tightening and my heart racing... I'd heard stories of cows, dogs and people... and some of them turning out to be quite nasty with a few people reaching a rather sudden end...
I acted, grabbing Tikka's leash I launched us both towards the stone wall. I cleared it and was now heading towards the grass field the other side... I made a soft, if not exactly elegant landing, on my side, as I did so my oomph was accompanied by tearing sound. Feeling nothing I flicked my tattered left trouser leg free and stood up. Tikka positioning herself once more at my side. The cows were now in the adjacent field, although I knew the gate was open further up and I could see them making their way back.
The commotion had obviously caused quite a stir to the cattle and turning around I realised that I may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire... a herd of more bullocks had made their way up the hill and were now blocking my planned escape route. The old way out now was up to the original gate at the top of the field.
For those of you who wish to see this event, I've extracted some images for you below...
Makes me shudder to remember this
Which is nicely supported by peak in heart rate...
But back to the story... now surrounded by young bullocks on one side and against a wall on the other I was still only 30ft or so from the top gate. Caught in a pincer movement I waved my walking stick around and shouted aggressively - this shocked them and they all took a few steps back. Recognising that this would likely have some success for only a limited period I took a few steps towards the gate and turned and shouted again and lunged at them with the walking stick, they stopped their advance and took a few steps back... repeating this I hurried towards the gate. This wasn't the time with fumbling with a gate; I'd wanted it open smoothly but more importantly quickly, really quickly. But it didn't, I fumbled and I new that the herd were only a few feet behind. I got it, it opened and we were through; I pulled the gate shut and jumped a few feet away just as they reached the gate and pushed up against it. Naturally I took a picture...
I'm not ashamed to say that other than taking the picture I took several moments to pull myself together. Tikka was laying flat on the verge and not looking exactly at peace with recent events either.
Examining my walking trousers I could see that they'd not be joining my other clothes in the washing machine on my return home... they'd likely not leave Derbyshire. RIP trousers.
Checking my pockets I confirmed the presence of car keys [I wasn't going to have to face that embarrassment again - at least today! [need a magnetic box!]], wallet, camera, dog and map. Whatever I may have lost I'd manage without; time to read the guide for the rest of the journey.
At the next stile Tikka and I both looked in with trepidation; the guide instructed straight across four fields and five stiles. Mercifully all we saw were fields of sheep. Stoking up our confidence we strode out acorss the fields, passing a lovely little church and really well kept graveyard before reaching a quite lane just outside of Thorpe and on the home stretch to the car.
Fields with cows were never on the list of great trips, now they're decidedly to be avoided at all costs... here's hoping that I'll catch sight of them sooner and have the opportunity to back track!
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