Sunday 15th May - Eyam, Derbyshire

This month our walks are based at Eyam in Derbyshire. Eyam is known as the Plague Village. This follows its decision to implement total isolation on the arrival of the bubonic plague in 1665. The result was the death of 260 residents out of 800. Information boards and a museum provide more details of this brave decision.

The coach will leave school as usual at 8.00 am prompt. As there are toilets at the start of the walks, we will not be stopping on the journey. Both walks finish in Eyam Village where refreshments can be taken in one of several tea shops or in The Miners Arms. The coach will leave Eyam at 5.00pm to arrive back in Formby around 7.00pm. Boots are essential on both walks; also please take notice, when walking, of the advice on likely ground conditions from the leaders.

The cost of travel will be £16.00 for members, £18.00 for non-members, £7.00 for Leaders, £7.00 for children and students in full time education. Please make your cheque payable to Range Walking Club and ensure it is signed as it is inconvenient for the Treasurer to chase up such omissions. Those who booked for the cancelled walk in February do not need to pay again.

Please book by email and pay online or send in your return to the Treasurer Monica Sealey before 5th May; places will be booked on the coach by the treasurer on a first come first served basis.

Cancellations: if you need to cancel or make a late booking, please contact the Treasurer on 0781 2423307 (preferably by text) or by email monicatuk@yahoo.co.uk who will endeavour to substitute your booking from the waiting list.  If you cancel after 5th May and it is not possible to fill your place on the coach, regrettably, we will not be able to give you a refund as coaches will have been booked on initial returns.

‘B’ Walk Distance: 9.5 miles Ascent: 1900 ft Leaders: Trevor Ludlow Ray Webb	We will climb out of Eyam and head in a north-westerly direction, crossing Eyam Edge and Breton Clough to reach Abney. From Abney we cross moorland to Offerton Edge before descending to Highlow Hall and on to Stoke Ford. Another climb will take us over Gotherage Plantation and the western end of Eyam Moor. Dropping south we will cross Sir William Hill Road and wind our way back to Eyam village. Comprising at least four ascents and a like number of descents, we consider this walk to be at the top-end of the B+ category. With at least one descent being quite tricky, we recommend the use of a walking pole. Weather permitting there should be some excellent views, particularly from the top of Offerton Moor across the Derwent Valley towards Ladybower Reservoir and Stanage Edge.
‘C’ Walk Distance: 8 miles Ascent: 1000 ft Leaders: Liz Belman Louise Pimm	Please join us for THE most interesting and varied walk filled with nature & history. We will see the Hall Hill troughs of 1558 and the Plague Cottages where families perished. There are too many points of interest to mention here. Suffice to say that we leave the coach park and walk through the top end of Eyam to Housley taking in the most panoramic scenery of Curbar & White Edge. We walk along a walled track with numerous dry walled fields as far as the eye can see. The landscape changes becoming industrial as we walk through Cavendish Mill which is owned by British Fluraspar Limited. We turn left towards Black Harry Lane. We will tell you all about Black Harry who was an 18th Century highway man. This lane was the main route to Eyam hundreds of years ago. We enter Coombs Dale where we will have lunch. We then ascend a narrow path to exit the Dale following a path through fields until we reach High Street, which is the steepest high street in Britain. Luckily for us we are going down it into Stoney Middleton. We cross over to Cliff Bottom and return to Eyam via Mill Lane. The fun and excitement doesn't stop there as we walk past graves of plague victims to The Square.