I returned from my weekend trip to the Peak District just over an hour ago. I’ve had a nice cup of tea and a luxurious hot shower and I now feel refreshed, if a little tired. It wasn’t a late night of debauchery – far from it, I was in bed by 10.30! No, it’s just that I was in a room with two of my travelling companions, and I’m not used to that, so sleep was fitful and of poor quality. There wasn’t a lot of snoring or nocturnal toilet visits to disturb me, it was just the presence of Gary in the bunk above me and Steve across the room that affected my shut-eye.

We had a great couple of days of walking, talking, laughing and putting the world to rights. It was a great journey up there on Saturday morning, we were in Hartington by 8.45, waiting for the café to open for our breakfast, after which we set out on our walk from the village in the direction of Biggin Dale, picking up the river Dove, and on to Milldale where we should have had a coffee stop, but the café was closed, much to our chagrin. We turned away from the river and climbed steeply up to the village of Alstonfield, where, luck would have it, stood The George pub. Well it would be rude not to wouldn’t it? So a pint of ale was taken before hiking back in the direction of Hartington, taking in Wolfscote Dale and re-joining the Dove in its steeply sided limestone gorge. Once back at the village we rehydrated at the Charles Cotton hostelry, before checking in at the Youth Hostel. We met in the Devonshire Arms at 7.30 for a very nice meal, and in the process completely nonplussed the chef. When it came to ordering puddings those that wanted one relayed their choice to the waiter – raspberry crumble, vanilla cheesecake, sticky toffee pudding, so far so conventional. Then John (he’s Scottish) requested soup for his dessert! Upon receiving the order in the kitchen the bewildered chef appeared in the restaurant and demanded to know who had ordered soup for their afters? On discovering that the request was genuine and not a wind-up she returned to the kitchen shaking her head. 😀

A motley crew

This morning we had breakfast in the hostel and headed out of the village in the opposite direction to the previous day. We walked on higher terrain than yesterday, and it was noticeably cooler as the cold front that we have been warned of in recent days arrived ahead of here in East Anglia. Our focal point was the remains of Pilsbury Castle, of which little but earthworks remain, but it is an imposing rocky outcrop that commanded a strategically important position above the river. It dates back to the Iron Age and was further developed by the Normans. After leaving the castle we dropped down to the Dove, crossed it and headed back towards Hartington and a welcome cup of coffee at the village stores. Today’s walk was around 7 miles and yesterday’s 12, leaving plenty of time for rest and relaxation.

In other news, the owl (named Wyken) has made a good recovery at the Phoenix Rescue Centre. He has been eating and perching, and the plan is for him to be released sometime this week close to where he was found. It has turned out to be a very good news story.

Vegetable availability is pretty much the same as last week, except that there will be tomatoes this week. There was a new delivery driver last Thursday and he got into a proper muddle, to the point where he didn’t turn up. Don’t forget to adjust your online payment if you had already paid before receiving your order. It’s going to be cold this week, below zero overnight temperatures and not far above during the daytime. That being the case this week’s selection is ideal for making warming meals to keep the chill at bay.

On Friday I received bad news. The owner of Capel Mushrooms phoned me to tell me that week commencing 2nd of December will be the last that I can buy mushrooms from him because production will cease and the farm will close. Alternative UK organic suppliers are as rare as hen’s teeth, so at this time I am unsure about what I am going to do. I will research the market and hope to find a supplier, but it is not going to be easy. as a top selling product it was not the call that I wanted or expected.

I will be back at Wyken next Saturday so order collections can be made from there.

That’s it from me, stay warm and have a good week.

Phil