With a fine day forecast we decided we ought to go out.  We could have done our tax returns but why stay inside when summer has arrived even though it is now officially autumn!  We thought of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and National Coal Mining Museum which is supposed to be good, but having done the Chatsworth Sculptures last week I thought it would be nice to do something else.  Chris suggested Biddulph Gardens but I pointed out as a National Trust garden dogs weren’t allowed which was also the case of the National Arboretum.  So I suggested a walk in Dove Dale which we initially agreed on then I decided it might be too long for me so Chris suggested Chee Dale and I agreed.  So eventually we set off to Millers Dale car park noting we haven’t started a walk from there for ages and although we have walked in Chee Dale before we couldn’t remember when.  Initially we started on the Monsal Trail heading towards Buxton and passing some old lime kilns before dropping down into Chee Dale.  Immediately I noticed that it was quite slippery on any rocky parts and this was the easier part of the dale.  It is quite open at this stage but then it narrows down and becomes quite rough and slippery underfoot.  There was one part where we let a group overtake us as we knew the next part was quite tricky and we had to wait ages for them to negotiate it and when I saw how steep it was I went down on my backside as it was the quickest and easiest way!  We then had to negotiate a set of stepping stones which can be underwater if the river Wye is high.  It was at this point we bumped into a couple who we had met yesterday on the tour at Buxton.  They were doing the same walk in the reverse direction.  Small world!  After the stepping stones we could have gone back onto the Monsal Trail which crosses the dale a couple of times but we decided to carry on along the river.  This part of the walk was much easier and out of the gorge the strength of the sun could be felt.  After a while we arrived where the river meets the end of the Monsal Trail and since the tunnel has opened there is now a tuck shop and cycle hire at this point too.  We had a chat with the owners and collected some leaflets and bought an ice cream.  We then picked up the Pennine Bridleway heading towards Blackwell and found a nice spot just off the path to eat lunch.  Nice views over the local countryside with the Tunstead quarry in the background!  The walk to Blackwell across open fields was quite pleasant and after Blackwell we started to drop back down to Chee Dale again.  Just before dropping into the dale we picked up another path that took us back to the Monsal Trail for the last stretch back to the car.  The trouble is Chee Dale is a nice dale it is just that it can be a tricky to negotiate at times (and in all honesty books do say this, but having been so dry I was not expecting it to be so slippery).  Back home to our peak district cottages and time to check on things before heading off to Buxton.. We had tickets for a piano recital at the recently opened Pavilion Arts Centre near the Opera House
which was very relaxing.
 see my pictures of Chee Dale