Edale's reward

As Ann said, we were grateful for the ride Mark Fenner offered us to Edale. We were just lucky that his car could fit both of our bikes and all of our gear. Thanks Mark!



We settled in here at the hostel and enjoyed a late dinner of the left-over picnic food Mark had encouraged us to take. We used the self-catering kitchen that most hostels offer. We also did a huge load of laundry. Chores out of the way, we toddled off to bed and woke up reasonably refreshed. We are both noticing a smaller reserve of energy each day. We mustered enough energy after breakfast to head off on a hike. We had both been looking forward to a hike as the walks we took in the towns we stayed in weren't very satisfying for people who love hiking. Ann had borrowed a map from the hostel receptionist and we headed out. First we walked into Edale which is a very small village and had a "look round" as the English say. The visitor center for the Peak District National Park is small and very modern with a waterfall coming over the roof entryway. Surrounding the building are tents of campers. Nothing like it in any US state or national park I've ever seen as usually camp sites are separate designated areas far from any visitor centers. Ann set us off towards a ridge that was supposed to be a nice hike with a view. We ended up heading for a peak known as Mam Tor and saw many other day walkers. We also encountered a good number of mountain bike riders on certain trails. After we climbed up to Mam Tor we walked for a while along the ridge overlooking the small villages and fields. We saw the trains passing through the bottom of the valley again and again. We have never seen so many sheep up so close as we did today. The fields we passed through are all privately owned and the footpaths are there to make the peaks accessible to the public. The weather got better and better as the day went on until it was positively bright, sunny and warm. We walked back down from the ridge and worked our way back towards Edale. We were hungry by this time so we stopped at a pub and had a big late lunch of pasta. A good meal. We were pretty happy with our day and headed back through the fields on a slightly different route to the hostel. Ann did a splendid job getting us around. We are finishing chores tonight and updating the blog for the last time. We can't upload any pictures here because the computer doesn't have the software. We'll add these later. Tomorrow we ride our bikes to the Edale train station, then take the train to Gatwick and have to find our way by bike back to the same B&B where we stayed the first night. We'll pack the bikes up once again and pack all of our belongings for the early Monday am flight. See you all very soon!



We logged just around 600 miles on this trip with an average of 45-50 miles per day when we were riding. Next tour? Who knows....but I'm sure we'll do one.