Peak District 2004

Me and Kevin went on a short Youth Hostelling Break.
Tuesday 1^st  June
  Me and Kevin caught the train with Bob, we got off at Ely, he stayed on to London.  We then caught a train to Grantham, the train was packed, then changed to the Derby train for Matlock., between Derby and Matlock it was a lovely route.  On arriving at Matlock we found the Youth Hostel very easily and booked in, we then went for a walk and looked round Matlock, weather was poor and damp so we soon went back, we played pool and some board games, then we had dinner and watched TV for a while.

Wednesday 2^nd June
  We got up and had breakfast, weather was glorious, we left and caught a bus to Darley Dale and then walked to Darley Bridge and carried on walking towards Bakewell, there were some fantastic views, we passed a lot of wild campers who were campaigning against the reopening of a mine, we sat on a hill in a sheep field with a spectacular view having our elevenses, Kevin found a stick and wittled away with a pen knife making a walking pole, we arrived at Rowsley at lunchtime, we were seriously low on water but found the post office shut on Wednesday, so we couldn’t stock up on drink, this caused me some worry so we continued our journey to Bakewell by bus.
At Bakewell we bought a Bakewell pudding and sat eating it on the green overlooking the River Wye. Kevin said Mr Kiplings Bakewells are better.
We arrived at the YHA about 5pm, it was small and basic, meals were adequate, during the evening we read and played cards.  We met some old ladies who were backpacking who were in there 80’s.

Thursday 3^rd June
  After breakfast we set off, we had some difficulty finding the Monsal trail, but when we did it was an easy pleasant walk, unfortunately it was raining and it got heavier and heavier, by the time we reached Great Longstone we were a sorry damp pair, so we took a bus back to Bakewell and then to Eyam, we had a look round, visited a pleasant museum, and went on to the YHA, we then registered.
This hostel was like a hotel.
We had a game of pool, but it was a bit cramped, we then had our evening meal.

Friday 4^th June
  We left after breakfast and caught a bus to Sheffield, then caught a train to Ely, we got home about 3.20pm