Sunday (15/7) was forecast to be a fine day at our peak district cottages so we decided to go for a walk.  We said goodbye to one cottage and after picking up a paper in Bakewell drove to the lay by at the Monyash end of Lathkill Dale.  The aim was to walk along the dale to Over Haddon and back home.  We had walked the dale on Boxing Day after a wet spell so it would be interesting to see how much water was coming from the source cave.  The other difference was that the trees were out so I will have to compare the photos.  Starting at the more open end of the dale it soon closed in and we tackled the more rocky bit before it opened up again and we came across the source.  On Boxing Day it was gushing out whereas on Sunday it was flowing nicely.  The level was lower than at Christmas and we knew that because we could cross the river at this point whereas at Christmas we had to retrace our steps to find a place to cross at.  From here we entered the more wooded part and the path was more defined and soon we were in the Nature Reserve with the first of the weirs.  At the point where the old drovers track went up to Haddon Grove Farms we found a sunny spot for lunch, but I had to move quickly when I found I was sitting on an ants nest!  While we were having lunch one of our postmen, who is also a photographer, walked down the track with his new dog so our two said hello.  As he knows more about the wildlife of the dale he told us about slow worms and where they could be found.  After lunch we continued our walk along the dale and as it was so nice we walked all the way to Conksbury Bridge then up to our picnic stop.  We stopped for a few minutes to have a drink of water and let the dogs have a drink but Smudge was more interested in some cream crackers he had found.  There were a number of DofE groups around so I assumed one of them had had lunch there and left them behind.  Needless to say there weren’t any left after Smudge found them.  When we got to Over Haddon we found the village hall was open for tea and cakes as the well dressings were on display.  I usually try to go and help for a few hours but couldn’t this year.  It was a very good one too, one of the better ones I have seen this year.  After tea and cakes sitting outside the village hall in the sun with the view we walked the last part of the journey back home.  Unfortunately in the first field there were some cows so as soon as Blue saw them he jumped over the wall into the next field.  Further along he jumped back and then when he saw there was still cows in the field he jumped backed over and waited for us at the next stile.  Back home we drove back to Monyash to pick up the car and an ice cream from the Smithy (Chris put it in a container for me to enjoy when I got back).  It was St Swithin’s Day and despite the nice weather it wont be like this for the next forty days.  There is a hint of better weather from next weekend? Enjoy the photos