OK, now this may not look much like bliss to you, but on a cold, very wet day towards the end of December then it’s a case of any port in a storm, really. I took two days to get up to Northumberland (I had the time, so why not?) and stopped overnight on the way up in Derbyshire to do an afternoon’s walking in the Peak District (wearing the same boots the soles of which featured in my previous upload). Although extremely popular with many other people, I chose to do a walk through Dovedale as it was handy for my overnight stop in Ashbourne (Travelodge, £19 for the night; a bargain) and this little serving hatch proved a very welcome sight around 4 miles into the walk; a cup of tea and a piece of cake going down very nicely (there is a very small seating area nearby in the NT shelter with lovely views on to the river bank and the antics of the ducks). This is in Milldale; the river Dove is just a few yards behind me. Dovedale is off to my left and Wolfescote dale is off to the right. The wonderful former railway trackbed of the Tissington Trail lies up high on the hilltops again mainly behind me. A cracking place to visit in any weather conditions, although a little sun would have been very welcome. This was the last rain to be seen until last Saturday.

This is out of sequence from the photos of my trip to Northumberland but hopefully it matters not!