The Limestone Way is not an ancient footpath like, say, the Ridgeway or Peddars Way. It was created by the Derbyshire county council, I suppose to promote tourism. Originally it ran from Castleton to Matlock and this is the route, about twenty-eight miles, we are taking. Nobody can accuse us of being over ambitious. (Subsequently it has been extended south into Staffordshire.)
A few pictures will give you the lie of the land. First where we stayed in Tideswell with the parish church in the background. It is known as the Cathedral of the Peaks because of its size but its real interest lies in being built between 1340 and 1400, replacing a smaller Norman church. It took some sixty years because of a pause for the Black Death. It has some beautiful carving on the choir stalls and tombs dating back to the 14th century. Worth a detour, as Michelin say in their guides.
As you can see, the rain had not completely cleared but it was April showers rather than yesterday morning’s punishing tempest. One of the pleasures of walking is the inconsequential chatter. Have you heard of Globe-Trotter? I suspect you have and it’s just me that had never heard of this high-end manufacturer of bags and suitcases. They have been on the go since 1897 and are the sort of cases you see in an Agatha Christie film. If you fancy investing and that is the mot juste, in a small wheelie bag there will be consequences. First you may be mistaken for cabin crew, secondly and more importantly you will have parted with about £900; strictly for Netjets customers.
Now we are in Matthew Parris country so we’ll be on the lookout for llamas tomorrow.
I had quite a lot of Globe-Trotter luggage in the 80s, well before their acquaintance with wheels and before the marketing team added a zero to their price. In those days of porters, the stacked blue cases with leather corners followed us from country to country. My late husband liked the far reaches of the earth and the bashing of buses, trains and small planes reduced the stack to just the hatbox. It is fitting that the hatbox now resides in the Lake District with Stephen’s father, filled with the letters we had written from our travels.
I have six GlobeTrotter suitcases of different sizes, all bought before they were turned into something fashionable. They are all about 30years old and are going well. Their virtues are lightness, the fact they can be repaired easily and you can sit on the end. I have had two repaired. Whether or not this service is still available, I don’t know. The biggest does have wheels.
In the 80s I thought of trying to ‘buy the company’. The product was excellent but the marketing was poor. Whoever did buy it has missed an opportunity.
They still repair their cases. One of the Limestone Way walkers recently used this service and another walker mentioned your GT collection.