We're not exactly ones for planning, especially with what the weather's been like in 2018 so far, but an early wake up on the weekend allows for a short amount of time to google. The Walking Englishman is our go to for any walks. It's a brilliant site and has all the information you'll need for each walk, so it suits us perfectly, especially when we don't have the time to plan things in advance. 

A recent walk we went for was in the Peak District, for us it was about an hour and a half drive so we set off as early as possible. Michael picked this walk as it's got a fair few archaeological sites,  though some are more interesting than others. The weather wasn't looking perfect and there was even some snow still settled in the fields, but it turned out to be quite a pleasant walk even warming up along the way.

We started off in Youlgreave, parking alongside a row of houses in the rather quaint village opposite the footpath where our walk started. Our walk began through fields, but having not done much exercise in recent weeks I found it tougher than I expected. The initial fields were uphill which made for some beautiful views looking over Youlgreave.

After a while we came to the first point of interest, Robin Hoods Stride - there was also two sites recommend to visit on the Walking Englishman but we passed these by as they were in the opposite direction through what was becoming an increasingly muddy, sodden field. We spent a bit of time here as it was beautiful and there wasn't a single person around. 

Next we followed the path around to Cratcliffe Rocks and the Hermits Cave - the route to which wasn't the easiest, though looking back I think Michael took a short cut just to force me into a difficult situation clambering down rocks for his own amusement. Fortunately, I'm the type for adventure and took this in my stride! We passed lots of rock climbers along here too, well kitted out with padded mats, ropes and other safety equipment. 

The second half of the walk was a bit dull - I wouldn't say it was a disappointment but it was rather underwhelming when compared with the first part of the walk. We were now onto roads with some hair raising bends that made moving out of the way of cars sometimes a little difficult. But after walking on tarmac for a while we came back to nature and made our way through the rather peaceful Barton Hill Wood and later came to the Cork Stone, which whilst made available for climbing with metal hand grips wasn't, as Michael discovered, an easy feat, especially with a mammoth puddle directly beneath it waiting to swallow him up. 

Passing through the woods and walking over Stanton Moor, my interest in the walk had returned and it was a much easier area to walk through, being relatively open and flat, though muddy of course. We came down to another road which fortunately was only for crossing, not for walking along, and crossed over through fields again before following the road to Alport. The rest of the walk allowed us to continue trekking alongside nature, with a few caravan parks thrown in. 

All in all it was a pleasant walk, I found Harthill was the more impressive moor and there were very few people enjoying that half of it, instead heading to the more easily accessible Stanton Moor where car parks were near by. Robin Hoods Stride was by far my favourite part of the walk as it invited in the explorer, allowed for climbing and for a great spot up top to have a sip of coffee and enjoy the view.