Inspired by Alan Locke's recent account of the Cheshire Ride, plus a good weather forecast, on Friday I took my folding bike on the Transpeak bus to Buxton with the intention of riding home on R68 via Ashbourne. Seats and luggage space on the bus were at a premium due to lots of OAPs with bus passes and rucksacks going for a day's hiking. What a nuisance they are, but at least they didn't have folding bikes!
Fabulous sunshine all the way, but quite a cool headwind blowing which offset the presumed advantage of riding downhill all the way home, Mickleover being several hundred feet closer to sea level than Buxton. Route 68 out of Buxton is not cycle friendly and the recommendation is to alight from the bus at Brierlow Bar and pick up the top end of the High Peak Trail a couple of miles North of Parsley Hay.
It was time for lunch by the time I arrived there and a mug of tea was most welcome to compliment my beef and cucumber sandwiches.
Being a weekday, there were relatively few people cycling or walking on the Tissington Trail. Not recommended however at weekends, half term or other school holidays. Apart from the numbers of people, most of those on hired bikes have minimal cycling skills, not knowing left from right nor how to work the brakes. Beware.
Arriving in Tissington I found this 1932 bus (centre picture) taking guests to to a posh wedding at Tissington Hall. The other two vehicles were a brand new Bentley and a brand new Range Rover. So much for sustainable transport.
Leaving R68 at Tissington I joined R54A to Carsington (pause for delicious ice cream) and thence home to Mickleover on minor roads.
Top picture shows R54A at Tissington Ford with the new path crossing the fields to Bradbourne marked "X". From Bradbourne village R54A follows minor country lanes, those being quite hilly.
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