Diary Walk               Wednesday              1 February 2012    Weather, 3⁰ C. Fresh.

Alstonefield              Depart 10 am        7 miles          Leader: Geoff Thrupp

Fifteen of us made the most of this excellent day; the sun shone brightly and a slight fresh breeze brought a good bit of colour to the cheeks. It was wonderful, the ground underfoot was frosted and firm in most parts, thus avoiding the need to clean our boots on our arrival home; the one exception being the person who decided to see how thick the ice was on a series of muddy puddles, suffice to say it was not thick enough.

A blistering pace to start as we walked downhill, out of Alstonefield village, making our way towards Wetton, with the towering Wetton Hill dominating the skyline ahead of us. We made our way into the village where a cat came out to meet us and,  once receiving the necessary attention, we were allowed to pass by and made our way out of the top road and across some wonderful meadows, each having its own boundary wall. The walls in this part of Staffordshire always look good and are well maintained when viewed from some height and distance, portraying the ideal limestone landscape, destined for some artist's canvass. On leaving the village, we came across three teams of National Park Rangers, working hard to repair and restore the squeeze stiles and adjacent walling. The skill, knowledge and energy they have is very important in preserving not only the footpath network but the  dry stone walls alluded to earlier in this piece.

It was just opposite Under Wetton, that we stopped for our first break, seated on mossy mounds, with backs against a limestone wall, sheltered from the crisp breeze that been in our faces, enjoying the little warmth that the sun had to offer - a very pleasant way to spend a morning. All too soon we were on our way again, taking the road past Gateham Grange and picking up the Sabrina Long Distance path just north of Narrowdale Farm. Had the ground not been frozen, this track down to Beresford Dale would have been very muddy, as it was, we arrived at the junction of Beresford and Wolfscote Dales, in a respectable condition. Here we stopped for lunch on the sunlit slopes, just below the caves and enjoyed an extended leisurely break, watching other walkers pass along the trail below us.

Lunch over, we joined the riverside path and for the next two miles we would follow the course of the River Dove downstream, listening to its constant gurgling and murmurings as the water flowed forcefully over the many small weirs along this stretch. We kept a look out, as usually there are some interesting birds to be seen, but all we saw on the water today was two ducks and one drake of the Mallard variety. Our pleasant flat walk along this limestone path came to an abrupt halt when, as we rounded a corner, we found our leader already on Coldeaton footbridge, crossing the river to make a very, very steep climb up and over Gypsy Bank. Those who only join the ramblers so that they may hear heavy breathing once again, would not have been disappointed, as we all tried to fill our lungs with much needed air, just to keep us standing upright. Even when reaching the wall at the top and resting awhile to take in the magnificent all- round views, the path for us to follow was still in the upward direction but this, after the former, was as they say a piece of cake. I had never been on this path before and was surprised when we passed the youth hostel and entered Alstonefield once more, the walk had ended and I think we all had a mild sense of achievement, let alone some very rosy cheeks. Another excellent day out.