(missed a day because of lack of sufficient internet) Today's plan was to get into some of the UK nature I have heard so much about. It was way easier than I thought and have been encountering it far more often than other places. Before I go off on a tangent, let me just tell you how today went. I left Sheffield rather early knowing I had to drive through part of the city, (went way further in than I had intended) and then through the hills of the Peak District with potential for bad weather. Everything went swimmingly and I stopped for breakfast in a small town called Glossop. I went and had another fry up, because I knew I would be walking it off later.
After a few cups of coffee I went to the next town over called New Mills. These were both unplanned stops. The breakfast place was highly rated and I was also needing to find something to do until my campsite accepted check-ins at 1pm. New Mills was that place. They had a beautiful nature path along the river that bares the purpose for the name of the place. The river supplied the power for the various mills they had there. The bones of the old mills are still in place as well as very recent additions to keep the place nice.
After about 2 hrs of exploring this area I went over to the campsite. I checked in and the timing was perfect to get in a daytime 2hr hike and a light pub dinner before relaxing at the campsite. Well… sometimes you should do a little more research. I think I took the hard route. About 2.5 hrs into the hike I reached a landmark I hadn't planned on hiking because of the distance. Over 4 hrs later I was making my way back into the campsite ready to go grab food. However, the hike and the views were amazing.
Needless to say, my light dinner plans needed to change so I could consume some protein to heal up from this longer and harder than expected journey. I went to the nearest pub. Closed on Monday. I went to the next one. Kitchen closed due to staffing issues. The next one was open but I think I walked another half hour to get there. A steak with all the trimmings a two pints of ale later I felt pretty sore, but good.
Day 5 was all about nature, and England delivered splendidly. I think stone mountain would be the closest place I could go from my home to get a similar hiking experience, without the sheep though, and that is about a 6 he drive from home. You can make it across the entire country here in 6 hrs.