Fourteen of us kicked off our ramble from the Timber Lane car park on the Five Pits Trail near Pilsley, despite the damp, drizzly morning. Luckily, the drizzle took a break as we made our way south along the trail towards Pilsley. We had a little pause at the Tom Hulatt mile marker, which honours the local hero who came fourth in Roger Bannister’s famous four-minute mile race. From there, we took a scenic detour through the fields around Cocktop Farm and climbed up to Tibshelf. On our way back down the Five Pits Trail towards Pilsley, we took a coffee break in the drizzle and enjoyed what we could see of the view towards Crich. After pausing at the source of the River Rother, we headed down Dark Lane, wound through more fields and had a lovely woodland walk along the brook, eventually making it back to the cars.
To wrap up our walk, we enjoyed some well-deserved refreshments at the Hardwick Inn, where the friendly staff opened up the Stables Bar area just for us.
