Lavender Cake at The Village Hall

 May Day Bank Holiday and still the incredible sunshine continues.  We decided to combine a walk with some rustic festivities and dropped in to Elton, a pretty village in the limestone area beyond Stanton Moor.  The village hall was serving refreshments and it was hard to decide which of the yummy homebaked cakes to plump for (a few of those and plump could be the operative word!) In the end it was a toss up between carrot and banana muffins and lavender fairy cakes, but the lavender won the day.  Out the front an elderly lady in a pink Easter bonnet was doing a brisk trade on the plant stall.



Stop waving that cake!

 Down the village street, with its attractive old stone cottages another villager ("Sue") had left a plant sales display out on the verge, with handwritten instructions to help yourself and post the money through the letterbox of the house opposite.  We made a note to return for a yellow margerite later.

Our walk started down a deep sided lane which descended the valley to a gate by the road where the path led up to Robin Hood's  or "Mock Beggars' Hall", so called because the striking grit stone outcrop has two pinnacles which at a distance slightly resemble the chimneys of some fantastical manor house.  Some say that they were used as alignment points by the ancient people who erected Nine Stones Close, a short distance away down the hillside.  The whole Stanton Moor area is certainly a fascinating one for anyone interested in stone circles and ancient remains.

After a quick photostop at Nine Stones Close, where sadly only four tall standing stones still remain from a vanished ring, we headed down the road and turned left on a sandy path through some woodlands of mixed conifers and broadleaf trees, where bluebells were still flowering.  This led into an open field with a steep hill on the left which on the map was labelled "Castle Ring". 

Castle Ring is situated on Harthill Moor in the eastern gritstone moorlands of Derbyshire. The monument is a sub-circular enclosure comprising a bank, external ditch and counterscarp bank surrounding an area of about a hectare. The internal bank or rampart appears to be of simple dump construction and varies between one metre and two metres high, while the counterscarp bank is between metre and one metre high. The ditch is c. metre wide and is less distinct on the south side where there is no rampart visible. This is an indication that the original entrance lay in this region. The monument has not been excavated but it forms part of a rich Bronze Age landscape on Harthill Moor which also includes burial mounds, a second enclosure and Nine Stones Close stone circle (Derbyshire HER ref. scheduling report 1994)

 

Circling round behind Robin Hood's Stride we skirted some woodland and whilst crossing a stile saw a photocopied notice for "Serenity Cafe" at nearby Cliffe Farm.  Evidently some enterprising farmer's wife is "diversifying", as the farm also ran a self catering cottage, and several other walkers were taking advantage of the sunshine on the couple of tables outside.  We availed ourselves of a coffee (one has to patronise local businesses) and then carried on our way.  The walk up the hillside back to Elton village was a pretty one, with lush spring grass and the hawthorn coming into blossom.  Its an odd geological mix for the white stone walls tell you that you are in limestone country, whilst  and there the softly rounded landscape is peppered with small gritstone crags. 

 

Back in Elton we simply had to pop into the village hall again for more tea (well, the loos were very handy) and nip down the road to pick up the yellow margerite (£1.40 - a bargain! Thanks Sue).  Later, when I got home, a cheerful lady rang me to say that I had won a toolbox in the village hall raffle.  Unfortunately I am back at work tomorrow and can't collect my booty, but hopefully it will help to raise funds at the next raffle.



Oh the joy of sun on one's face!