13/1/24
We took a last minute decision to go and do a random hike that Tom had made the night before. Tom sort of knew what he had planned but I had no clue until we were on the hike.
We drove down there and paid for parking, just as we turned up a massive hiking group were setting off, luckily, they were not doing our hike. I love a hiking group but only when I am on the hike myself haha! We got ourselves ready and set off in the lovely cold weather we were having!
We had decided on this hike, as you all know Jan 2024 has been full of storms and really shocking weather in the UK, so we wanted to stay low and out of the mountains where possible.
We first hit a café called The Old Sawmill Café where we had to purchase our tickets to get into the grounds, this was around £5 for the 2 of us. The staff here were so lovely! We bought a caramel slice off them, if you do go please pop in! They want to cater for hikers. They had many questions for us regarding the sort of food hikers like to take on hikes so they could try and offer items more suited to us. Which is an amazing idea and good on them!
The hike started off very cold but something about it felt very autumn for a winters day. As we headed around the lake, there were trees that had fallen into the lake sidewards but stayed in one piece, so they looked like they were growing from under the water. The way everything was reflecting off the water too just gave it a very upside down feel.
The hike took you down a lovely path through all the wooded area. There are stunning views with some information signs posted around. We did find some Japanese plants too, that look like they would be stunning when in bloom!
Tom obviously found his bench with a view, although this time it was a stone bench that has definitely been there a very long time.
As you carry on the walk, you come across some lovely and spooky places. First off was an old building that had amazing stone work which is clearly loved by the birds these days. The work that must have gone into something like that, always amazes me! The next thing we came across was the spookiest thing I have ever seen, until you read what it is! So from a distance you can hear a banging noise. It sounds like someone is working away somewhere, You then come across 2 very small looking building type things, which is where the noise is actually coming from. It is so creepy that I did not want to go near it, it sounded like someone or something was in side trying to get out! Tom went and had a read and it is some sort of machine working away in there making that noise, but I still felt very uneasy so didn’t get too close ha!
We carried on walking, and very quickly came up to the caves. The caves are priced around £12 each I think. We decided to go in, seeming as we were already there! The caves were interesting and to be honest, better than any of the ones in the Peak district (I have done 90% of those ones) With this cave, it is a self guided tour! Which personally I prefer as I don’t like listening to some ramble on for ages about the likes of the rope they used to make in the cave (Yes, devils arse is all about rope and he even shows you how they used to make it! That is 30 minutes of your tour gone!) The caves on our route though, were self guided tour. There was a guy walking about in case we did have any questions etc. We did stop to speak to him for a minute before he went off to get warm and enjoy a coffee…Couldn’t blame him! He knows so much about those caves and shown us the important bits that we either would of missed or have never seen without his UV light! So we were grateful for that. It was an interesting tour that allows cameras etc throughout. You can see our video on this on our YouTube channel.
They say to spend a while in there and take your time going through it so you do not miss anything. You do come back the same way, but there were bits we spotted on our way back we missed on our way in. Worth a visit if you do go past!
We carried on our hike, as the main thing we were hear for that day was Gaping Gill.
Heading back out, it was cold, low clouds which were getting lower, while the cold was getting colder! It was becoming less enjoyable. Before getting to Gaping Gill, we had a lovely scramble to do, it was short but sweet. I love a scramble because it gets you up quickly without killing you off by getting out of breathe.
We pushed on to Gaping Gill, through the double gate which I have never seen before. Gaping Gill its self, was minutes away from these gates. It was so interesting to see it, I would love to go back when you can go to the bottom. It is such a stunning place to see for yourself. As we were looking around, 2 people were just turning up to climb down it, They had all of the equipment and knowledge. Unless you know what you are doing, I would not recommend doing it without professionals.
We started to get cold and decided it was time to head back. We took the same route about 90% of the way, which I am glad we did, as the 10% was grass with pot holes hidden away. We very quickly ended up back on the same path at the bottom of the scramble and made our way back to the car, walking past the creepy banging box again! We were glad to get back to the car as we were cold and wet and tired! It was one worth doing though, I would recommend in better weather, when the trees and flowers are starting to bloom again!
Overall, A lovely hike! If you wish to see more about the caves and Gaping Gill, check out our YouTube video!
You will find many more of our interesting hikes on here, on our socials and on our YouTube! You can find everything on this link: https://linktr.ee/Acasualhikersguide Come and join us and see where we head off to next!
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