At 9.30am we arrived in the car park of the Travellers Rest Pub on the A53 Buxton to Leek road.  The 8 mile walk included some rough field paths so we were glad that the weather had been dry over the last 24 hours and was forecast to be cloudy and mainly dry today.   Normally we would try to be back in time for a pub lunch but with rough field tracks, tricky navigation, and lots of hills we had decided to bring sandwiches for lunch and just have a drink at the pub after the walk.  Ten minutes to get ready and we were off.   The first park of the walk was downhill to the River Dove which forms the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire.  Turning right at the Dove we climbed uphill through the fields until we reached Nether Colshaw farm and were met by a pair of very exited dogs in a fenced enclosure.  Down the track we stopped to feed the horses and having no mints we could only offer grass.  Why they seem to enjoy being fed grass when they can just bend down and eat their own is a bit of a puzzle.  We carried on walking along good farm tracks and quiet roads with tremendous views of the Upper Dove and Manifold Valleys and even a sort of junk yard full of old rusty vehicles and bits of equipment could not spoil this beauty.  After passing through Nield Bank Farm we reached the A53 road.  On crossing the road we made our way through rough fields until we reached Wilson Knowl Farm.  At this point the path ran behind a dilapidated barn and then disappeared into a large patch of rocks and nettles.  The guide book had mentioned that some tricky navigation would be required and by climbing on a bank we could just make out a faint path where a previous walker had cut through the nettles and then had crossed a very wet area full of reeds.  The next few hundred yards were full of obstacles as we crossed marshy areas and streams and into fields with long grass and no marked pathway.  Eventually we reached a road which we left after only a few yards as we took the track to Wildstone Farm.  The builders were busy at the farm re-roofing a number of buildings with large and heavy stone slabs.  Once again our path disappeared into a pile of  builders equipment and bushes but luckily the owner was present who led us on an alternative way through the farm and back onto the path on the far side.  After crossing some more fields we reached another road where we turned to the right and made our way to an area called Greens.  Along the road we came across some workmen repairing the stone wall which had collapsed when the road cracked and sunk following heavy rains.  The field on the other side of the wall was about 14 feet below the road surface and piles had to be driven into each side of the road and connected with cross ties to prevent another collapse in the future.  After the work on the road and wall is completed the field will have to be carefully reinstated as it is a SSSI supervised by English Nature.  Wishing the workmen well we carried on down the road and shortly after passing the Greens we left the road as we turned to our right on the path leading to Three Shire Heads.  Within a few yards we reached a strange old deserted building and as we pondered on its previous use we also wondered why the lone sheep in the gateway was not moving away as we slowly approached for a better look.  Only when we arrived at the side of the ewe did we see that it had lassoed itself with the rope hanging from the gate.  Grabbing the ewe tightly we cut the rope with a penknife and away it went looking none the worse though we did wonder what would have happened to it if we had not come by.  It was now 12.30 pm, we had covered over half our route, and mutterings of hungry were coming from certain members of our party, so stopping at a field boundary where fallen stones made good seats, we had our picnic lunch.   Lunch over we carried on slowly walking uphill for a good distance before dropping downhill to the River Dane.  A spot of bird watching here uncovered Pied Flycatcher, Wheatear and Green Woodpecker.  Now walking uphill again we followed the River Dane until we reached the bridge across the River Dane at Three Shire Heads.  Here the three counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire meet.  A lovely spot to rest and take some photographs before setting off again on the last 1½ miles back to the Travellers Rest.  This last stretch of our walk seemed to be all uphill but that was probably due to tired legs and eventually turning a bend we came to the A53 road and our starting point at the Travellers Rest.  It was now 2.30pm and we had taken nearly 5 hours to complete 8 miles.  Luckily the pub was still open and a well deserved pint completed an excellent but tiring day. The Travellers Rest is like a museum inside and prices of food looked very reasonable, a definite lunch stop for us when we are next in the area.

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