Flowers of the Dales

Leader: Peter
Difficulty: Moderate
Start time: 10:20
End time: 15:30
Start and end point (circular route): SK213654 Youlgrave Football Club (see transport info)
Distance (in miles): 10
Ascent (in meters): 439
Is your walk dog friendly?: No

Full description:
Water is scarce in limestone country, with rivers often flowing underground and people traditionally depending on wells. In the White Peak, villages traditionally celebrate the wells by creating what have now become increasingly elaborate pictures out of flowers and other natural materials. Well Dressings are more popular than ever now, with larger villages making several (and stretching "well" to include fountains, water cisterns, and... anywhere) and people in surrounding towns copying the practice. But the best dressings are still made in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales.

To make things easier for walkers, nearby villages often display their well dressings at the same time, and in this case we'll be visiting Youlgrave and Over Haddon. The loop includes the lovely little Bradford Dale, and the bigger and also beautiful Lathkill Dale, which is famed for its rare flowers that should be out at the same time. If we're lucky there will be chance to buy an ice cream on the way round, and there's a designated (but cold) swimming spot at the end, so bring your kit if the weather is good.

Public transport or car sharing options:
There is no direct bus to Youlgrave, but the 172 runs from Bakewell. The walk leader can't take responsibility if you take the bus.

The football club is usually open as a public car park in well dressing week, but if it isn't the main public car park is on the west side of the village. In that case, we'll meet at All Saints' Church. If you drive, I recommend returning via Tideswell and Litton, which are also hosting well dressings this weekend. Please arrange car shares via the comments on Meetup.

Be prepared:
Please remember to dress appropriately for the time of year. A waterproof is always advised, as well as plenty of food and water. Please bring sun protection if required (sun hat, sunglasses, sun cream etc). Further information on what to bring can be found on our website here: https://www.sheffieldwalkinggroup.org.uk/be-prepared

Sign-up:
Sign-up for this walk opens 5 days before the event. If you sign up and can no longer make it, please be respectful of others and remove yourself from the event so that others can take your place. We request you do this ***NO LATER THAN 6pm*** the night before the walk.

Please note:
Sheffield 20’s and 30’s Walking Group is part of the Ramblers, a registered charity. All of our leaders are volunteers. Everyone is welcome to join us on our walks, there is no need to contact us in advance, and as long as you have a place on our Meetup booking system you can just show up. Non-members can come on up to 3 walks before joining the group. After 3 walks, we require you to sign up as a Ramblers member for insurance purposes. More information about the group can be found at https://www.sheffieldwalkinggroup.org.uk/faqs.