Peak District - Cromford Circular

Date: Bank Holiday Monday, 27th May
Route: Cromford Circular via the High Peak Way and the Cromford Canal
Distance: 5 miles

Our last walk in the Peak District - and after two strenuous walks in two days, we decided on an easier route for our final day, so that we still had plenty of time to get home afterwards.

We chose a 5 mile walk from the village of Cromford, only 3 miles from Matlock, from the AA's 1001 Walks, a key location from the area's industrial past. The walk begins by passing an inviting bookshop and skirting the large mill pond before climbing up past ancient almshouses (or bedeshouses, as they are known) and heading in the direction of the imposing though not very imaginatively named Black Rocks. The walk descriptions are frankly pretty confusing at this point, and bear little resemblance to the signage en route, however it is pretty easy to find the High Peak Way, which offers views down to Cromford and Arkwright's Mill, across the hillsides, including a large quarry, Riber Castle on the hillside above Matlock and the Derwent Valley.

The walk continues through bluebell-strewn woodlands, alongside a campsite, then descends though the wood, crossing the A6 and the Cromford Canal, before returning to Cromford on a flat and pleasant towpath along the canal.

Even though this was an easier walk than those of the past two days, it still includes a tough climb near the start so I would take the "easy" label with a pinch of salt. However, I would still recommend this walk, as a less strenuous option, with interesting insights into the industrial past of the area.

Peak District - Cave Dale and the Great Ridge

Date: Sunday 26th May
Route: Hope circular via Castleton, Mam Tor and Lose Hill
Distance: 9.5 miles

The second walk that we tried over the weekend from the "Day Walks in the Peak District" book was a varied and popular circular walk from the village of Hope, immortalised in song by the legendary John Shuttleworth ("she lives in Hope..."), and taking in a riverside path, a steep and narrow gorge, open countryside and a ridge crossing three summits with fantastic views.

The walk starts off in green meadows along the river, arriving shortly in the village of Castleton, the home of the Blue John mines and the imposing Peveril Castle, which looms over Cave Dale, a punishing gorge, which ascends slowly but surely until you glance backwards and realise how much you have climbed. Once out of the gorge you follow a well-trodden and busy path across the hillside and alongside fields to cross two roads and climb up to Mam Tor, the site of an Iron Age hill fort and a great viewpoint (you can also drive to the car park, if you would prefer to be what one of our fellow walkers referred to disparagingly as the "high heels and handbag brigade").

Once at the top of the hill, a clear and mainly paved path descends and climbs again to the summits of Hollins Cross, the ultra-steep Back Tor and the rounder Lose Hill, with different wide-reaching views revealing themselves at each stage of the ridge. Finally, the path heads back downhill, through multiple fields, stiles and meadows and back into the village of Hope.

This walk is deservedly popular and highly recommended - the occasional steep climbs are more than compensated for by the great countryside.

Peak District - Bamford Edge and Stanage High Neb

Date: Saturday 25th May
Route: Hollin Bank circular via Bamford Edge and Stanage Edge
Distance: 10.4 miles

After visiting the Peak District last year, I was keen to go back and try out some walks in the area - since all of my previous visits had been very short-lived school trips, I wasn't really as familiar with the UK's most-visited National Park as I probably ought to be, even though it's not really that far from the area that I grew up in.

I'm glad to report that the weekend massively over-delivered vs expectations, thanks to a fantastic combination of challenging (but not impossible) walks in breathtakingly impressive countryside, aided and abetted by bright sunshine.

Our first walk came from a guidebook by Norman Taylor and Barry Pope, the straightforwardly titled "Day Walks in the Peak District", which contains details of 20 circular walks of between 8 and 12 miles and is highly recommended.

The drive up to the car park at Hollin Bank, just north of Hathersage, gives a hint of what is to come, as the skyline is dominated by the imposing crags of Stanage Edge, popular not just with walkers but with climbers and families on a day out.

However, the walk begins by heading away from Stanage Edge, passing through woodland to emerge  in a lush green valley, before crossing a stream and heading up again. The views here are spectacular, across rolling hills dotted with sheep and farmland. After a short stretch of uphill walking on the road, the path skirts a large disused quarry, then hugs the top of Bamford Edge, with a steep slope down to the left.

The views here continue to impress, then go back into spectacular territory, as the Ladybower Reservoir comes into view. As the crags come to an end, the path descends via heather and rounds the hillside. The next section of the walk struggles to compare with the beauty of the first section, however on any other walk it would be a fantastic stretch.

After another steady climb, the reward is the view from the first crags of Stanage Edge, a great place to stop for lunch. The path continues along to the top of the crags, passing a triangulation pillar at High Neb and multiple climbers before joining an old packhorse route to descend to the car park.

At more than 10 miles and with some strength-sapping climbs, this is not an easy walk but it is a great introduction to the Peak District, combining dramatic views and contrasting scenery.

Last day in Ecuador - wandering around Quito

Quito, Ecuador - Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th May 2013

Although there is a walking tour route for Quito in the Lonely Planet Guide, we spent the evening of the Wednesday night walking around the city centre in the company of our guide, Xavier, before returning to explore on our own the following day.

The picturesque city centre is dominated by Spanish colonial architecture and surrounded by hillsides where the greenery is giving way to precariously perched housing. The whole town is surmounted by a gigantic winged statue of the Virgin Mary, which disappears into the cloud cover every now and again, then suddenly looms large as the mists clear.

There are also a number of beautiful churches in the centre, including the gold-bedecked Church of the Company of Jesus, where we encountered a French orchestra practising Beethoven and a graphic painting of the torments that sinners can expect in Hell (much fire breathing on the genitals, apparently).

More down-to-earth were the many shoe-shiners doing steady business around the sides of the Grande Plaza and the irresistible sweet shops, with tinselled pinatas hanging from the ceiling and baskets of sweets and toys promising the best childrens' birthday parties ever.

All too soon it was time to leave Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands behind us. Whilst this wasn't a walking holiday in the true sense, we walked along interesting trails amongst unique wildlife and comfortable streets in a friendly and bustling capital city - a trip that got better and better as the days progressed and which will stay in the mind for years to come. 

Galapablog Day 6: Santa Cruz

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Santa Cruz, Tuesday May 14th and morning of Wednesday May 15th

Santa Cruz is our fourth and final Galapagos Island (assuming you don't count the airport island of Baltra, which is just a short ferry ride away). This is the real heart of the Galapagos, with the largest population, the busiest harbour and a great mural depicting the history of the islands, incorporating pirates, Charles Darwin (and a Darwin finch), the Bishop of Panama (who discovered the islands) and modern-day tourists.

Whilst we have seen occasional giant tortoises by the roadside in Isabela, Santa Cruz gives us many more opportunities to see them roaming around in the wild, wandering through the woods and beside a lake bursting with pink algae.

We leave the tortoises behind for more kayakking from Garrapaterro beach, during the course of which we see turtles and their nests on the beach, a solitary marine iguana crossing another deserted beach, various turtles poking their heads above the waves and a variety of birds soaring overhead and alongside the kayak, including some very pterodactyl-esque pelicans. Our barbecue lunch at the Garrapaterro campsite also attracts a few Galapagos gulls, eager for scraps - the only grey gulls in the world.

Our final hours on Santa Cruz are spent walking around the Charles Darwin Research Centre - a sprawling research centre, which incorporates another giant tortoise breeding programme and marine iguana pens, as well as the former corral of celebrity tortoise/ conservation symbol Lonesome George, who has been usurped post-mortem by a more virile male tortoise called Diego, apparently on a one-tortoise crusade to maintain the species by energetically mating with as many females as possible. The frenzy of feeding giant tortoises clambering over each other (complete with loud clacking noises) to reach the tastiest food has to be seen and heard to be believed. 

Galapablog Day 5: Isabela

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Isabela, Monday May 13th

The longest walk of the trip sees us walking along a pleasant grassy track in the atmospheric early morning mist on the side of the Sierra Negra volcano, passing rare vermillion fly-catchers, accompanied by the sound of chirruping insects and a local guide with a large machete. Although we're walking alongside (allegedly) the second largest volcanic crater in the world (after the Ngorongoro Crater in Africa), we don't really see it until suddenly the mist clears and we spot the other side 10km away in the distance, across a black lava-strewn floor speckled with yellow sulphur patches.

Once back down the hill, the heat builds as we spy on flamingoes in a shallow lagoon, take a wooden path through the wetlands past noisy black and white stilt birds and Galapagos ducks and head on to a Tortoise Breeding Centre, where we see giant tortoises of all ages, from very small babies to 120 year old behemoths, all of whom are protected to help re-grow the population across the islands.

As if that weren't enough for one day, two more side-trips take us to see the lava tunnels that run into the sea, a relic of a past volcanic eruption and the Wall of Tears, a back-breaking and soul-destroying monument to countless resilient Ecuadorian prisoners sentenced to hard labour in the searing heat of the islands in the 40s and 50s.

Galapablog Day 4: Isabela

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Isabela, Sunday 12th May 2013

Another day, another speedboat - and, thanks to the miracle of motion sickness tablets, we arrive safe and sound on the third island of our Galapagos trip, Isabela (the big island that looks like a seahorse, due to its spine of five volcanoes).

The afternoon sees us back in another boat, visiting the mangrove swamps that are home to penguins, annis (big black birds), boobies and sea-lions, before landing on the Tintoreras Islands, the home of many marine iguanas, who seem to like nothing better than lolling around on the black volcanic lava and white south-facing algae, spitting salt. As well as the well-camouflaged iguanas, we pass a trench filled with white-tipped sharks, who swim to and fro (though don't make great photos), stand on a coral beach guarded by a solitary male sea-lion and I go snorkelling from the boat, seeing yet more tropical fish and an impressively large ray basking on the sea-bed before I chicken out and climb back into the boat.

Exhausting, but mind-blowing, stuff!

Galapablog Day 3: Floreana

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Floreana, Saturday May 11th 2013

An unexpected treat - due to problems with the inter-island flight service, our itinerary changes to include a day on the less-visited island of Floreana (population: 150). Even a frankly nauseating speedboat ride doesn't diminish the appeal of this friendly island, where the Cruz family do everything to make our stay as memorable as possible, from the wooden huts on the beach to a fascinating tour of the island from Claudio (driven by his brother Walter in his wood-panelled open-sided bus) to a delicious barbecue lunch (including veggie soya kebabs!) and an evening meal in the restaurant run by Claudio's sister.

The experiences of one colonist - the formidable Marget Wittner - are detailed in the book Floreana - which is a very subjective account of how a German family settled on the largely unoccupied island in the 1930's. As well as seeing the pirate caves where the Wittmer family originally settled and the rock they carved that fooled archaeologists into thinking there might be an Easter Island era settlement on the island, Claudio told us stories about his family's experiences of growing up on the island and showed us his father's grave, complete with trees planted for each of the 12 Cruz children.

As the sun set we saw sea lions basking on the shore and a beautiful beach where we dipped our toes in the Pacific as crabs jumped over the surrounding rocks; in the morning we rose to see turtles sticking their heads above the waves. A very special place that we were privileged to see - even a sick-bag on the boat ride over could not diminish the charms of this remote and fascinating island.