Walking

Looking into the Monsal Head Tunnel from the viaduct

We, especially Shiona, continue to do a lot of walking, sometimes with, and sometimes without, the Wolverhampton branch of the Ramblers Association.   The best walk of the year, however, was with Shirley & Paul's Chesterfield group along The Monsal Trail in Derbyshire.  You may have seen the Julia Bradbury TV programme 'Railway Walks' a month or 6 ago, where this walk was featured.  The railway line in that neck of the woods, passing over the Monsal Viaduct and through 4 tunnels, had been closed since Beeching, but was re-opened as a walking & cycling trail a year or so ago.  It benefits from a smooth new surface and even lighting in the tunnels (perhaps to prevent accidents involving cyclists unable to see walkers in the dark) which enables you to see the detail of the very impressive brickwork.  Although there was a nationally important cycling hill-climb ending at Monsal Head going on very close by, Alan was very well behaved and didn't dash off to watch that instead.