This area around Buxton is known as the White Peak region because of the lightly coloured limestone. The Dark Peak area is renowned for it’s dark granite stone.

Thursday morning and we headed over to Macclesfield and the National Trust Gardens at Hare Hill. Not a great amount to see – the Lakes in need of some algae removal but there is a nice walled garden. According to the National Trust literature, those who visit Hare Hill “gain aesthetic and spiritual” refreshment. Never did find the bar…

In the afternoon we headed back to Fernilee reservoir and walked some distance along another section of the High Peak railway. This was an industrial railway, constructed with the standard gauge connecting the canal at Cromford Wharfe with the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. The railway, which was completed in 1831, was built to carry minerals and goods through the hilly terrain of the Peak District. It was closed in 1967 and has been converted into a multi-use trail between Dowlow and Cromford.

The section we walked ends with a closed off tunnel nearby the reservoir.

Saturday and the weather was a little better than the previous day which had been pretty much a washout.

An early start for us and we loaded the bikes up and headed off to Parsley Hay car park on the High Peak Trail. Parking was plentiful here today, in contrast to our trip along the Monsal Trail earlier in the week. Whilst we started on the High Peak Trail, we took the branch trail to Ashbourne – the Tissington Trail.

We cycled around 30 miles, from Parsley Hay to Ashbourne, enjoyed a picnic and then we retraced our tracks. By mid-afternoon some of the gloom had lifted and we enjoyed a pint or two in the sunshine at The Waterloo Inn, Biggin, Hartington. Moe was not impressed with the route we took from Hartington which was steep and around 3 miles in duration. In reality, The Waterloo Inn lies a mere 300m from the trail.

There is also a nice looking campsite at the pub which would be a great location with virtually direct access to the Tissington trail.

The ride was actually just over 30 miles but Joe forgot to stop the GPS tracking at the end of the trail.