Staying at the very well appointed and situated Woodlands Hut, the Monsal Trail – a former railway – was within 100m of the hut door. On day one, Saturday, most of the group of eight dealt with the windy and wet weather by walking the trail through the 1km rail tunnel – missing from my 20 year old map – under Monsal Head and into the adjoining river valleys. We were rewarded with views and no tourists, but still had access to pubs and coffee shops along the way. There were excellent home-cooked meals, drying facilities and showers at the hut.
Turning east on day two – having chalked up nearly 20km on Saturday – we walked to Bakewell along the same trail encountering both nature and post-industrial district heritage. Some Bakewell eponymous treats and we again chalked up a respectable 15km before setting off on our various journeys home.
