On a warm sunny day, twelve members of the group met at Peak Village, Rowsley, for the six mile circular walk to the Nine Ladies standing stones on Stanton Moor. The nine ladies is a stone circle. Legend has it that the stones are nine ladies who were caught dancing on the Sabbath and turned to stone. The adjacent King Stone is said to be the fiddler who played for them.

The walk took us uphill on lanes and tracks to an elevation of over 1000 feet, passing abandoned quarry workings where early 20th century graffiti could be clearly seen.

Lunch was at the stone circle. One of  our fitter members then ran the short distance to view the Reform Tower which was built around 1833 to commemorate Earl Grey and the 1832 Reform Act. Walkers were happy to see the pictures and hear the history of the Tower but chose not to deviate from the walk to visit it.

The return leg was mostly downhill, stopping off briefly at an enclosed stone seating area giving extensive views over Derbyshire, including Haddon Hall and Bakewell.

Returning to the Peak Village car park we visited the adjacent public house where a sociable and refreshing drink in the sunshine was enjoyed by all.