We arrived on the Friday night at Broadhurst farm Cottages in the pretty village of Carlton near Waterhouses. Here we were to stay in three cottages Elm, Cedar and Pine with everything you could need plus hot tub and a beautiful view.
Everyone brought a dish of food and we enjoyed a shared super. A real banquet of eclectic dishes. We also played a game of People Bingo! Everyone had shared a fact about themselves and we then worked in teams to try to work out whose fact belonged to whom. Who knew we had a seriously good golfer amongst us or someone who had cycled next to Olympians Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe.
Saturday
We woke up to a well-cooked breakfast of bacon and sausage butties by a small team of volunteers! Veggie options were available!
We split into two rides. A 3 cake ride which started out in the village on the Manifold trail and headed out on a hilly 40 mile round trip. They manged to take in sections of all three of the popular off-road routes in the area, the Manifold, Tissington and High Peak Trails.
There are four distinct recreational trails, all of which were former railway lines, acquired by the Authority in the late 1970s and 1980s. People saw the potential of these disused railway lines, to provide excellent recreational routes through beautiful countryside, and for these to be suitable for all.
The second 2 cake group drove to Ashbourne, near by, to the start of the Tissington trail. The route is 13 miles in total, a gradual up hill all the way to the top. At the top we had lunch at the Parsley Hay café where we met the other group! A long queue but worth the wait. An easy downhill on the way back, Barbara challenging herself and bike to freewheel as far as possible without pedalling!
Back at the cottages we all enjoyed a sunny afternoon. some enjoying the hot tub.
Then we all headed out to the village pub for a meal. Great food and lots of laughs.
Sunday
We were up and after breakfast, packed and ready to head off. Some went straight home but most of us drove to just outside Bakewell to cycle the Monsal trail. It’s an 8.5 mile route to the top and very different as it climbs up through a valley cutting into the hillside and taking you through a series of tunnels. We ate lunch at the Miller’s Dam café before cycling back to the start and heading off home.
A great trip, lots of laughs, great cycling and memory making.