Family Walk: Father's Day at Dove Dale

After going out of town in early May when we travelled to Wales, there's been enough going on near home (various birthday parties for the girls, a band concert for me) that we largely stayed around Melbourne since then.  That, plus the unpredictable weather with a string of rainy weekends didn't really incentivize us to do a ton of outdoor activity.  All of which was starting to leave my feet feeling a bit itchy.  Fortunately, two things happened at the same time that let me scratch the itch.  First, Kristine offered to let me set the family agenda for Father's Day (I asked for an afternoon hike).  Second, the weather mostly cooperated (more on that later).

Here's our driving route.  We've found that activities in north Derbyshire work well on Sundays after church.  The girls get some snacks at church and run around with their friends for a while.  This makes them more amenable to a 30 or 45 minute car ride.  The extra distance somehow isn't as noticeable on the way home as it is on the way out.  The glitch we didn't factor in on this trip was a small voice piping up from the carseat, "I need to use the toilet," just as we came into Ashbourne.  Rather than spend time trying to find a public toilet, we told Clare we were almost there and asked her to wait.  Fortunately the gamble paid off.  It didn't take us long to get through Ashbourne to Dove Dale, and Clare was fine waiting.

I didn't turn RunKeeper on before we lost mobile phone reception, so had to construct the route afterwards.  Here's a reasonable approximation of what we did.  Just under 2 miles.

I mentioned that the weather mostly cooperated.  The drive from St. Giles to Dove Dale involved reasonable levels of mist and the windshield wipers operating.  That meant everybody had raincoats on when we started the hike (unlike our Tissington hike, this excursion included both raincoats and boots all around).

The directions from Derbyshire Walks with Children (DWWC) had us going on the side of the stream that is not paved or level.  This is the closest that my girls have ever come to off-road walking.  It was fun, but it also meant we went pretty slow while Clare and Charis found their way over the uneven terrain.

It didn't take Elise long to decide that if the path was uneven, then maybe walking off the path would be even more fun.  She spent a good bit of this hike on the hillside.

Once she found her footing, Charis was off and running.

Clare, on the other hand, was pretty tough to keep focused on the walk.  She thought it was much more fun to pick up stones and throw them into the water.

Once we were off the "rugged" part of the path, both Elise and Charis spent most of their time running.  During our house-hunting trip last December, Kristine and I wondered if the girls might need some help adjusting to the 3/4 mile walk each way to school.  We thought maybe she could start by driving part way and then walking the rest of the way.  Clare's still growing into these long walks, but I shake my head and laugh at the memory of that discussion as I watch Elise and Charis now.

Clare was ready for a rest by the time we got to these steps at about the 1 mile mark.  That meant Kristine had extra work to do climbing the steps.

This rocky area had a quasi-summit where Kristine and the girls got this hero shot in.  The path led downhill both ways from this area so we decided to turn around and head back.  We were about an hour out from the car, and there were enough people on the trail that Kristine and I were both feeling a bit claustrophobic.

The trail was crowded, but the river that we walked beside was truly beautiful.

I mentioned Elise's commitment on this hike to not walking on the primary path if she could avoid it?  By this point Charis was following her example.

This point in the trail is well off the route charted in DWWC.  That's my excuse for not knowing the story behind the log with coins stuck into its cracks.  I'm guessing it's something like a wishing well.  The girls were fascinated.

And, despite my attempt at stern instructions, managed to pull several of the coins out of their cracks.

If you squint at the photo below, you'll see the crowds of people on the trail.  That was the only downside of this particular hike.  Kristine and I both have strong mental models that hiking involves a decent amount of solitude.  You don't get that at Dove Dale.  That said, we never had to throw elbows to get through.

The only place the crowds presented a logistical challenge was at the stepping stones.  We had to cross these stones because we wanted to walk back to the car on the paved track.  Considering how many people were waiting to cross the stones, folks did a decent job of being polite and taking turns while groups of four or five families crossed each direction.  Neither Elise or Charis fell in, although Charis did need a little help getting across a couple of the larger gaps between stones.

Clare needed quite a bit of help.  She had the time of her life being swung from stone to stone.  The fellow behind Kristine had to cross three times.  He carried his toddler over to his wife (who had crossed in front of us with another child), then went back and returned with a stroller.  I'm thankful for Kristine's willingness to carry Clare on her back.

Elise, realizing we were at the end of her chances to walk off the beaten path, asked if she could take one more climb up the rocks.  Charis was hot on her trail, and Clare insisted on going along.

Here's the hero shot.

That's Dove Dale.  Lovely walk, but way too many people.