After yesterdays wintery weather, this morning dawned cold and dry, with frost on the cars and blue skies above.

Time for a slow communal breakfast, a chat to everyone who arrived last night, play with the grandchildren and to decide who wants to walk where.

The view from our 'Cowshed' accommodation across the yard, to a new day and a fine sunrise.

Numbers have been swollen now and a self-timer photo catches everyone in the sunshine of the yard.

- - - o o o - -

Most of the gang have opted for an adventurous walk from here, following the ups and downs of the Deepdale valley and the River Wye.

Three of us decide on a more 'level' walk with less potential muddy paths.

So it was Pat, Loes and myself who set off by car the short distance to Miller Dale, slightly further up the Wye Valley.

Distant moorland beyond Buxton to the west, is white with snow.

Blackwell Dale, one of the classic dry valleys of Derbyshire, with it's classic Ravine Woodlands.

Our walk started at the old Miller Dale Station.

Pat walked with us part of the way, but we would part company when she returned to the station cafe

as the full walk we had proposed was going to be too much for her. We would meet up again at the end of the walk.

Clinging to the side of the valley, the railway track gave us tremendous views down the the valley and of the river far below.

This would have been both a glacial and river cut cliff valley and this face may even have been quarried.

To give you an idea of scale, people at the bottom of the cliff are too small to see !

More geology as we walk through the Litton Mill railway cutting.

The rounded boulders in the cliff are thought to be volcanic boulders that have been super-cooled by being thrown into the sea during a volcanic eruption.

The limestone would have been set down during a period of warm weather and on an ocean bed, when this area was much closer to the equator of the Earth, millennia ago.

The volcanic rock intrusion has subsequently forced its way under the limestone that was being laid down at that time.

Modern brickwork of this era . . . the huge bridges allowed a double track railway to pass underneath.

The township of Litton Mill with a footbridge crossing the river down in Miller's Dale.

The Mill buildings that gave the village its name.

The river location would have provided water power for the mill, but the chimney also harkens to the addition of steam power, used when the water was low.

The first of our tunnels, again full height and width for a double track.

This is the curved Litton Tunnel with a notice saying it gets dark when they turn off the lights at dusk. I though it got dark at that time anyway !

Dougal is still carrying that same stick that he had in the photo with Pat at the start of the walk.

Keep left where possible . . . to avoid conflict with the bike traffic.

This tunnel was huge compared to the Threlkeld railway track tunnels back home in Cumbria, but those are only a single track wide.

Out into the sunshine, or at least the sunny day . . . we were in the shade here because of the adjacent high slopes and so there was still a hard frost on the ground.

Emerging into the sunshine once more, we look across to the Cressbrook Mill, which drew power from both The Wye and the Cressbrook Dale Rivers.

It was one of Arkwright's famous mills and "brought in orphans from the city" to work in the mill and who lived in the cottages behind.

Later in the day we drove past the entrance on our way home . . . this photo gives a better idea of the scale of the mill.

It ceased cotton spinning as recently as 1965 and has since been converted to residential accommodation.

Back on the track . . . and round the next bend, we get our first sight of the Monsal Head houses on the top of the hill.

Reaching the next viaduct, suddenly the number of people increased as we reached the landmark location.

It seems that the world and his wife (and kids) were all here.

Starting over the viaduct . . .

Impressive views down on both sides . . . here looking south, down river.

Impressive shadows looking up river towards Cressbrook Dale.

There was a car park and bridge near the farm below which would have added to the number of folk visiting the viaduct.

The Monsal Head Tunnel would be the turning point for us.

Had we gone on, then it's another three miles further down the trail to Bakewell Town.