Deep in the Peak District lies an enchanting area known as Luds Church. A mossy covered chasm, that transports you from reality to a world of wonder.

Through the Fairy Portal we go.

Though muddy in places the cold, damp walls are whimsical and invoke childlike wonder when walking through. Can you imagine the history this place has??

Lud’s Church has a renowned place in history and legend. It starts in the early 1400s and the chasm is said to have been used as a secret place of worship for Lollards, (unsure if this is actually true or not), reforming Christians who were opposed to many practices of the Roman Catholic church and who were persecuted for their beliefs. It is assumed that the ‘Lud’ of the title came from Walter de Lud Auk, who was captured at Lud’s Church during one of their meetings.

For at least a century a wooden ship’s figurehead stood in a high niche within Lud’s Church. I would of loved to have seen that. It was placed there by the previous landowner in the mid 1800s, it was known as ‘Lady Lud’ and was reportedly placed there in memory of Alice, the daughter of Walter de Lud Auk. Tales say her ghost still haunts the ravine, and to be honest it’s certainly not hard to conjure up images of apparitions here.

Long before the arrival of the Lollards, it is likely that Lud’s Church would have been a place of pagan worship. Sunlight really only penetrates to the depths of the chasm during the height of summer, and it is quite possible that it was the site of Midsummer ceremonies. Indeed, it is still possible to see occasional offerings hidden on the natural shelves and within the dark, overgrown crevices.

Lud’s Church is one of the most likely contenders for the location of the Green Chapel, a key setting in the medieval poem and well known Arthurian story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Over the centuries it has also been associated with tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, possibly as a place of refuge and hiding from his enemies.

Whatever your beliefs, it remains that Lud’s Church is a fascinating place to explore, well worth the trip into the woods.

Little did I know stanage edge is popular due to Kiera knightly and pride and prejudice, I just knew it as a place I’d hankered to visit but questioned my ability to get there.

However Mr Moon was fabulous in his research, and stopped somewhere to sleep over and a place to cut out a massively climb too. Which was a godsend.

We had moody skies and howling biting winds, but we didn’t care, up we went to soak up the views and explore the edge. We didn’t do the whole edge as that is miles. But a nice walk to the Kiera Knightly rock and Robin Hood’s Cave was enough for us. Mr Moon got some dramatic drone footage too.

As you can see I got a Trig. I often can’t get them as they are too high, but we did due to the genius parking. It still felt like a win for me! Still using the 1cm insoles as I find them the most comfortable, although I do think I can soon graduate to 1.5cm. We sat around a fair bit not only for drone footage but also for some recovery, as the thigh pain is still present as I lift the leg to step. And the horrendous back pain is present. Thankfully views and personal grit get me to do things, knowing I can rest and not move afterwards. While I’m resting writing this, I’m still so pleased I managed this walk.

Loved watching the Kestrels flying, and one landed. I had to zoom in, but what a glorious sight.

Millstones are heavily featured in the Peak District, and they are massive. So we love hunting them in each walk.

Fresh air and river energies needed, we headed off to an old favourite of ours, Milldale, one of the prettiest villages in the Peak District. The weather was cooler than when we did Wolfscote, but honestly better for me walking.

We find caves to explore, some we’ve done (I say we like I’ve ever climbed in!!🤣🤣🤣) But we also found one we had never seen before. Watched the fish, felt the streams flow, had a lovely sit down and watched the world go by. You won’t believe how many times I needed to sit!!

Enjoyed the scenery, and flew the drone for a bit. Feet felt better this time, but I was still only using 1cm insole as it doesn’t hurt. We ended in a lot of aches and so shattered. But mentally feeling so much better for the forest, nature and river grounding.

Haven’t done a successful wild camp since last year, so we decided to have a go again, and not too far from home. Our old favourite walks around the Roaches.

It wasn’t the best weather as we stepped out of the car, it had started a light rain, the one that soaks you through lol but onwards and upwards, I had forgotten how hard this walk was.

Mist rolled in and made the place look more bleak and atmospheric, like a scene from the Hound of the Baskerville’s. But within 10 minutes of finding a spot, the tent was up. Pitched not where we had originally wanted too, but the fading light and mist, forced us to pitch earlier than planned.

After a much needed Sweet Chilli Noodle pot and mars bars (aldis version Titan) we snuggled down to sleep, podcasts ready in the earphones (morbid and all killa no filla) let’s hope we can sleep?

Well sleep didn’t really happen, it was super windy and very rainy. So that made it hard to sleep, and we were on a slope too. Managed a maybe a couple of broken hours. But we were rewarded with the most beautiful morning!

We had a lovely coffee and sat around for a while, Mr Moon had a play on the drone and collected some stunning shots. At 10am we were all packed up and ready to collect a Trig. Didn’t think I was really up to walking, but the aches I had at night, had eased a bit and the walking was more flat than hilly. So we did that, and I was so proud of myself for doing it and digging deep for that trig.

We walked back the way we came, rather than doing a loop as usual. We were exhausted, and it felt good to do what we did without pushing it too far. Home for 2.30pm and I had a much needed brew and promptly fell asleep, must of needed that.

The weather is unpredictable, so we kinda packed for it all, and packed up a drone just in case we had a chance to fly. So we choose the most magickal looking area to walk.

Moody clouds and icy winds we knew it was going to be touch and go if we could do any activities we’d planned for. However the walk was pleasant and we met some friendly folk along the way and guided them to the right paths, or better paths to take.

We arrived at the main point of the walk, the stunning waterfalls where the Three Shires of Derbyshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire meet. A popular place for wild swimming and glorious to stop off for a sandwich and well earned beer.

The sunshine and blue skies are highly deceptive, as the wind was biting and soon got into our bones. But when it dropped for a minute or two it was glorious.

We ummed and arhhhed for a long time about getting into the water, but we ultimately chose not too.

Met a lovely but tired and hungry butterfly, so we had to help shelter and feed her up so she was strong enough to fly again. Made my day, saving the world one bug at a time.