Roll On To 1972

A Memory of Ashover.

My memory of the Grange dates to when it was being used as a youth hostel in the Seventies and my primary school in Hounslow used to take 3rd and 4th year pupils away for a week so we experienced something more than Tridents and VC10s buzzing us every three minutes.

My main memory is the first evening of the 1972 visit, when I must have been nine years old; we took an evening walk to Ashover Rock which was spectacular, however on the trek down the hill to the Grange I lost my footing on the damp ground and couldn't find any purchase to stop.

Within seconds, I - as a slightly hefty child - was hurtling down the slope and I finally went over committing more involuntary gymnastic moves in 30 seconds than in the rest of my life.

I finally came to rest where the slope flattened out, my hands and face covered in scratches and a single gash to my knee. The great thing is that - when my teachers finally caught up me - I was given a piggy-back all the way back to the hostel (thanks, Mr. Johnstone) and then the two female teachers (one of whom was a major crush) spent the next hour patching up my various wounds.

Sadly, all my photos from those two visits have been lost to damage. But I still have really fond memories of those journeys and the excursions to Chrich (?), Crompton, Chesterfield and the old BR works at Derby.

Several years ago, I decided to take a detour on the way back from a meeting in Cheshire and finally visited the village pub; I was delighted to see that the village still seemed to retain the charm I remembered.