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WOLFSCOTE DALE / BIGGIN DALE - 17/02/08

Photographs from a walk through the picturesque Wolfscote Dale and Biggin Dale near Hartington in the Peak District are included in this latest update to Boots and Paws.

Wolfscote Dale is part of the River Dove Valley and is located between Beresford Dale and the more popular and well known Dovedale to the south. The walk through the valley is mostly flat walking although it was muddy in parts especially in the fields at the northern end of the Dale where Beresford Dale finishes. As well as a great place for walking the River Dove is a popular fishing destination for both locals, (right photo) and humans, (centre photo).
There are a number of caves cut into the limestone rock of the steep slopes to the valley by water erosion, the caves in the Dove Valley are thought to have been used as shelters by humans as far back as the last ice age about 14,000 years ago. There is a legend that the last wolf to roam in the area was killed near a ford in the Dale.
As warm as it felt in the sun the temperatures quickly dropped in the shade with the remains of a sharp overnight frost on the ground. Walks through Wolfscote Dale can be combined with Beresford Dale, with Hartington Village a good starting point and the walk back through Biggin Dale making it into a circular route of about 6 miles. If you carry on walking south following the river it will take you to Milldale and Dovedale.
A last view of the River Dove before heading north east through Biggin Dale (right photo), the walking is not quite as easy through Biggin Dale as it is through Wolfscote Dale, good boots are needed at this time of year as it is very wet and uneven in parts.