The ramble from the old settlement of Hartington follows the hills enclosing upper Dovedale with a height gain of 830 feet and a gentle distance of 6 miles. We started to clmb soon after leaving the village and traversed gorse covered banks and a conifer plantation breaking out to a superb view into the higher reaches of the valley. Stile upon stile, many with treacherously slippery stones set not the walls and only one with a dog pass, Flora coped with several indignities of being carried, pushed, pulled and lugged over the numerous stiles.
The tracks often contained walls of different materials, limestone on one side and sandstone on the other, the river flowing between the two types of rock. We continued up the valley to Pilsbury Castle, an English Heritage site, representing a picture of what must have been a formidable defence in this remote kingdom.
This was the point of turning on the walk and we retraced our steps slightly to rise above the site. Looking back you could really appreciate the castle's location as guardian of the valley.
After several more stiles and indistinct trods and walking downhill all the time, we descended back into the village of Hartington, the pub in sight with a much needed drink and snack.
