Day 28 - Priestcliffe to Edale
Margaret and John's neighbour's Sheila and Arthur kindly gave me £15 for my efforts. Fresh eggs for breakfast from Marigold (one of the 19 free range hens at Highfield B&B) then off...ran through several fields occasionally having to stop to climb over the stone stiles and on to a disused quarry where there was a VERY steep downhill with large cobbled stones which made it incredibly difficult to run. Millers Dale has an old water wheel from 1860 which used to grind corn and animal feed : the landlord at the time took part of the ground corn as payment. Steep uphill onto Limestone Way on a track between dry stone walls then on quiet lanes. It was very overcast, spitting and windy...great! Picked up the Pennine bridleway at Wheaton. Two dozing lambs woke with a start and began bleating furiously as if lost - one 'baa' from mum and they legged it..talk about instant voice recognition. Very craggy and steep hills up onto Old Moor : very bleak and open but grassy waymarked paths. Back on Limstone Way and dropped down very very steeply on damp rocky path under Peveril Castle and into Castleton. Stopped for a coffee and toasted t-cake in a lovely coffee shop and one of the customers kindly donated £10. Out through the other side of Castleton where I picked up the footpath that would take me over the top of Back Tor and down into the Vale of Edale. Very steep uphill and from the top I could just make out the Pennine Way wrapping itself around the hills! Ran down into the Vale and to the YH - no internet access (broken!) or mobile coverage and a huge group of school kids staying for the weekend!! Also no transport back into Castleton where I was planning to spend tomorrow! Very tired tonight and fell asleep just after 5pm...woke for nice 3 course tea and in bed by 7.30 at which time the kids were just going out for their evening events!
Mileage 11.66 and time 3.06

Total mileage 475.30