25-Mar-2022
We started this walk on Woodpecker Hill, and the very first thing we heard on exiting the car was a woodpecker...
First point of interest:
Dating back to 1788, this is Derbyshire's only surviving "post mill". It's variously known as Dale Windmill, or the Cat and Fiddle Windmill, as it's on the delightfully named Cat and Fiddle Lane
Another fabulous morning... Was ever March so mild? It's not going to last, though...
Our goal was Dale Abbey.
The ridge as you approach the abbey
There's quite a story here. Sometime around 1130, a baker from Derby believed he had been told in a vision to worship God in this place. So he carved a hermitage out of the cliff:
Unfortunately, he wasn't the last one to carve...
Good views, though
About 20 years later, he moved down the hill, and established himself where now stands All Saints Dale Abbey, which -- as a semi-detached church abutting a private dwelling -- is truly "one of England's most idiosyncratic churches":
After the death of said hermit, Dale Abbey itself was founded, in about 1200, by the "White Canons". It lasted until 1538, when the order was dissolved and most of the abbey demolished at -- of course -- the behest of Henry VIII.
The remains of Dale Abbey from afar
Up close you see a pretty spectacular arch
A nice way to round off this experience is to have lunch in the garden at The Bottle Kiln:
Goat's cheese and poached pears. Yum...
The Bottle Kiln's frittata
Meanwhile, some more pics from our village and cottage: