Eyam

 

3rd August

On my way back from Scotland earlier this year I stopped overnight in Stoney Middleton in the Derbyshire Dales. At the time I decided it would be good to come back with some more time to explore and since I was going to Market Harborough to the tank show and would therefore be half way there anyway I booked a holiday cottage for a few days in nearby Eyam.

Eyam’s main claim to fame is the story of how the village chose to go into isolation so as to prevent infection spreading after bubonic plague was discovered there in 1665. Following the decline of the local mining and associated industries the main local economical activity is tourism with Eyam being promoted as “the plague village”. The story may well have been embellished by various writers since the early 19th century but it’s a good one to bring in the punters. I have visited Eyam before as a day tripper but as for staying there, well it’s been 370 years since the last case of bubonic plague so I reckon it should be safe enough 😏

My accommodation was just off the main street so couldn’t have been more conveniently located for exploring the village with its church, village green complete with stocks, and signs outside the houses listing the names of the 17th century plague victims and other historical notes. Most of the buildings are picturesque and built of local stone, save for one large house built in red brick near the village green, appropriately named The Brick House.

Being Sunday it was quite busy but having settled in I waited until early evening to go for a wander round, by which time it was much quieter. The Miners Arms owes it’s name to the former source of the villager’s income and is a decent local pub, good beer from local breweries too.

Monday morning was remarkably wet, very much not walking weather, more reading a book weather. Around three in the afternoon though it brightened up considerably so I took a walk over to Stoney Middleton. It might have been sunny but it was also very windy on the top of the hill, with strong enough gusts to make holding a camera steady difficult. The tail end of Storm Floris which was giving Scotland a good seeing to I suppose. Some great views up there though and a steep climb back up “Jacob’s Ladder” to Pretty Wood and back to Eyam via the Riley Graves, a small plague graveyard now looked after by the National Trust but open to all to visit and admire the views to the south. In a bit of poor timing I arrived back in Eyam before opening time and couldn’t be bothered to hang about for half an hour so went back to the cottage via the village shop to buy something for tea.

Tuesday promised changeable weather with scattered showers all day. I didn’t fancy my planned walk so postponed it and got a bus to Bakewell about 20 minutes away. Bakewell it turns out has an excellent local museum in The Old House. Of course if you are visiting Bakewell you have to get a Bakewell Tart or a Bakewell Pudding. Or er, one of each 😋 Having explored the town I took advantage of being a buswanker for the day and stopped off for a pint in the Red Lion in the town centre, which either hadn’t taken down all the Xmas decorations or had started putting them up early. Then dodged the rain showers at the bus stop before riding back to Eyam.

Wednesday was much improved weather wise so I put on my boots and backpack and headed north out of the village up a steep path past the site of an old mine and up onto the ridge of Eyam Edge where I turned West and followed the lane to Bretton with long scenic views to the north and south. There was a nice cool dry breeze up there and it was a pleasant walk with hardly any traffic. Beyond Bretton the track ahead was subject to a long term temporary closure but I was heading downhill to the village of Foolow anyway. I arrived in Foolow near the simple church and village green with its very circular pond.

I sat on a bench for a while in the shade watching two MAMILs comparing bicycles. The sort of bicycles that cost the sort of money that would get you a fairly good second hand car. The breeze had gone and the sun was now quite hot. Also it was midday and my holiday let host had recommended the Bulls Head Inn so… I sat outside in the sunshine with a pint, watching the world go by and fending off the occasional jasper. Very pleasant it was too. Like being on holiday.

Suitably re-hydrated I carried on on a footpath across the fields - and several drystone walls with a variety of stiles - to get back to Eyam. It had been a rather nice hike, only about four and a half miles albeit gaining nearly 700 feet in altitude in the first six tenths of a mile, and warranted a lazy afternoon to follow.

On Thursday it was time to go home. For a change I plotted a route avoiding motorways and therefore also avoiding the M42 around Birmingham and the M25 around London. Surprisingly this added only about 20 minutes to the journey time, being a more direct route. More pleasant too.

Yes, there’s a Flickr Album with lots more photos 😀