My first solo-trip: A walk in the woods - Monsal Trail - Part 2

Please read the first part of this HERE. 

Waking up at about half past six, I went down with all my luggage and checked out at half past seven. I had the modest breakfast that was served. It consisted of cereals, milk, juice, toast and scrambled egg. Robert was quite busy, so I had no opportunity to speak with him other than to hand over his dues and shake his hand. When I left the hotel, I had not much of a clue on how to go about reaching the trail, although I had all the bus route numbers and stuff from my internet search. On the previous night, I did go to the bus stops mentioned in the flyers I had downloaded, but it did not amount to much "on-the-ground" information. I ventured out to the railway station, and searched for the information on the various tourist boards. Then I walked down the railway road to the other side where the town centre is listed. I had information on five designated bus stops for all major travel into and out of Buxton, but I could not locate these stops for the life of me. I approached a driver within a bus that was halted at one of the stops. He was not really able to guide me, but he did help me by offering me a ride in his bus with no charges, saying that he would leave me at the town centre, where I could look at the various bus stops and find the ones that were relevant.

I finally located my stops, which were stops A and B right opposite the Buxton Town hall. 

Buxton Town Hall

The stairs to the trail

Basically, one can take the following buses to Miller's Dale: 65, 66 and 68. These buses are not run frequently, but return tickets on them are easier on the pocket and are honoured across all three routes, although 65 is run by an operator different from the one that runs the other two buses. Tony was the driver on the 65 that I got from Stop A. The bus took off at 9.30, and on my request, Tony dropped me at Wormhill - one stop before the one that was mentioned on my flyer (which was Angler's Nest). Just behind the stop, I found, on my right, a flight of wooden stairs that led me up to the Monsal Trail. The walk was on!

Information about Monsal trail

How it looked at the start

This trail is about 2 miles from where I climbed up to its western end at Wyedale. It passes by several side trails and bridle paths (which are meant for horse-riders). The main trail can be used by those who are walking, those who are on bicycles and those horse-riding. Being a wet, winter day, I met less than 20 co-travellers in the next 3 hours that I was on the trail. None was on horse-back, around six or eight were walkers, and the rest, on bicycles. It was very quiet and serene. The trees were shorn of leaves, but the floor of the forest was covered with leaves of these trees. I spotted a very few birds, and heard bird calls from the stone hills on my left and a few green hills on my right, but could identify none. I hardly saw any animals, insects or birds and no flowers either. But what was interesting was the lovely view of the hills and prmontories all along the way. On one of the bridleways, I had trouble coming down, as I slipped on the muddy floor three times! I did not hurt myself, and managed to clean my rear in a large receptacle of water that I found at the base of the trail. So, it was okay. A distinguished looking man by the name of Tony was walking in the opposite direction when I met him with his son Scott (19) and his dog Molly (2). He gave me additional information on the old railway lines that ran here between 1860 and 1968. These lines took passengers from Manchester to London and back, and Miller's Dale station was among the most busy ones on this track. I had a chance to see the station at the very end of my walk, just before I reached the bus stop to take a return bus to Buxton. 

One of the side-trails that goes to the top of the kiln

The two main highlights of my trail included visiting an old Lime Kiln and walking through three tunnels. I am posting pictures of my trail walk, as well as those of the kiln and the tunnels. Enjoy these:

And now, on to the third, the most important and enjoyable highlight of the entire walk: the Wye river. It gurgled and flowed in a relentless stream, twisting this way and that, appearing sometimes on my right, and sometimes on my left, as it meandered down its way. 

The Wye river is a small river here, but its force has to be reckoned with! I took several pictures of the river as it flowed below the walking areas. I even shot a few videos of it.  These photos will be posted here too. Just look below. 

Top of the lime-kiln

Inside the kiln

How the kiln was operated 

The lime kiln

Information about the trail itself and how it runs from one end
to the other

Chee tor tunnel # 1

Inside the tunnel. Lights switch off at dusk

Yet another tunnel

And, one more

Selfie ... inside the tunnel

The last overhang, before the trail nears its end

Information about the trail, with new insights

The old Miller's Dale railway station

I went down here and put my hand in the stream ... it was a strong current indeed.

The gushing river

A selfie by the river

The river at the Wyedale end ... this is at the proximal end

And that brings me to the end of this journey. The rest can be told in five lines. I returned to Buxton by two in the afternoon, and my return journey from there to Blackpool was completed in just over 3 hours and ten minutes, which includes the waiting time between changes. On the return journey, there was a transfer by bus from the Piccadilly station to the Victoria station ... and this bus journey was included in my ticket fare. My final ride was from Manchester Victoria to Blackpool North. And then, it was a bus-ride home, but not until after a dinner at a new place I discovered ... Nunzio's ... but more on this in my food-related entries in this blog.

I hope you enjoyed reading this entry! Do enlarge the photos (just click on them) to enjoy them even more. Thank you. Do comment please ...