Day 4

It was a beautiful morning and the Hostel was great - 3 course meal, 2 pints, breakfast and friendly people, all for £30! My mini keyboard is working now it stopped for a couple of days after I poured some water over it. Jack was an interesting man. He was a sheep farmer and the road past his farm was gated which gives him the ideal opportunity to jump out and tell passers by his philosophy on life which mainly revolves around his discovery that Tony Blair has conspired to put farming in the state it is today. "Why would he do that?" I asked. "You tell me!" He said. But I couldn't. "They tell you to pack and go to Canada, There were folk up by Buxton did that, sold up and everything, flew out to Canada and two days later they were fucking dead. That sheep over there has got maggots, thought I'd got rid of all of it." "How can you tell its got maggots from here?" "You learn these things!" he said but I reckon he was guessing. I asked him what should be done about farming but his solution seemed to involve doing unspeakable things to afore mentioned TB. He seriously said that TB had planned BSE and F&M. "Those that were against him are all dead now - Robin Cooke and them! What's that think on your bike for?" "It's a GPS - satellite ..." "God Tony Blair can't hear me through that can he?" I bet later that night in the pub he told all his cronies that TB is sending spies on bikes now... "Well you prove he isn't" But I felt sorry for someone so trapped and bitter. I asked if I could take his picture to put on my Web site and he agreed. "This dog here, Babe, is killer he said" So if you are going hill walking in the Peaks, Tony better give Jack's farm a miss. I spent about 45 minutes talking conspiracies with Jack but I had decided to have an easy day and not rush through this marvellous countryside. I found a disused railway line which is now part of the National Cycle Network and then had to get back on to the main road to Buxton, then to Chapel en le Frith and towards Glossop (which for years I though was an abbreviation for Gloucestershire). At a nice little town called Hayfield I though I would have a look at the camp site. It was great. So gave up for the day- only 36 km today but quite a bit of it was up. So much so that I pushed my bike up one hill - I had been priding myself that I could cycle up any hill - but I am learning. I ate in a local pub tonight, the Royal, ..one bloke came in and stood next to a local already drinking his pint, "Been anywhere nice?" asks drinker. "No." says the newcomer and they continued their pints in silence. Folks is blunt up here.
Night Night.