A sea of rocks

Wednesday started off not too bad weather wise, but very overcast, so we decided to wait until mid morning before setting off on another Off Road course.

Starting at Monsal Dale, a very scenic view over the countryside, we travelled through very narrow lanes, where you could touch the high stone walls on either side of the car. These lanes give way to wonderful views that very few ever see, but also some very scary moments when the lane starts off with partial Tarmac that turns into cobbles and then becomes a roller coaster of scree and boulders. The occasional hail storm hit us as we travelled along but then the weak sun would come out.

The route we were taking took us within 50 yards of our holiday home, so we decided to stop and have our pack-ups in comfort.

Resuming our trip every now and then it would snow, followed by hail and then again the sun would try to appear. Such a mixed bag of weather. We passed through quite a few gates that I got out to open and close and the cold wind took my breath away.

The remains of a Lead works.

We passed farmers, cyclists, dog walkers, hikers and every time they waved and spoke to us. There is room in this amazing land for everyone to enjoy the countryside if they keep to the paths and lanes.

The final lane was one never to be forgotten, (Blurry photo proof of trying to hang on) a steep twisty descent over large boulders and steep side banks where the car was thrown from side to side. It was described on the route as 'A sea of rocks dropping off the edge of the hill, this is a proper rock crawl'. It was really scary and even when I tried closing my eyes the fact I was either pressed against the door or trying not to fall onto Chris did not help.

One thing we were quite impressed with were the signs everywhere, including notices saying the once rough lanes had been adopted by the local councils as BOATs. An upgrade for 4x4 use.

 

 

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