A Southern City Girl, spending a first friendship date in the Northern Rural Peaks

It had been a year since I moved to Sheffield. By now, everyone I knew had visited the Peak District -everyone except us, the Southern City Girls.

So there both of us sat researching ‘beginner friendly hikes in the Peak District‘, where up came the mighty Thor’s Cave, a beautiful and accessible beginner hike, perfect for the likes of Inaya and me.

Preparation

Armed with Trainline tickets, kebab pittas and KitKats, we set off. Our plan: Sheffield to Buxton, then a bus to Hulme End to walk the rest of the way. The reality: poor planning, a regretful go-with-the-flow mindset, and one very last minute Uber ride.

The Hike

Once we arrived in Wetton, the hike was brilliant. The perfect temperature, cool enough not to freeze and warm enough not to overheat in our thermals. Thor’s Cave was super impressive, but really it was the endless fields and cows from the view point that made the two hour hike worthwhile for me.

Surprisingly, the area was not as busy as I had envisioned, maybe due to the forecasted showers. Inside the cave was beautiful, not just the natural formation of the rocks that looked like liquid droplets falling from the ceiling, but the kids treating the eroded rock like a slide, and the sweetest young couple climbing to the highest rock in the cave just to sit and take in the views.

The breath of fresh grass with a hint of manure, the taste of wet plants and the sound of the breeze running free around me made me feel like I was on another planet. So removed from the rat race of the city, as if it was a past life.

Reality Check

Well fed from our picnic at the peak, giddy from the cows we’d just talked to, and refreshed from our hike, we came back to Wetton ready to call back the Uber. This is where our City Girl habits caught up with us: the privilege of never having to worry about getting about, since we always had a phone and hundreds of Uber drivers ready to pick us up at the click of a button.

Wetton: no service, no Wi-Fi, miles from civilisation. Even when we connected to the food stall’s Wi-Fi, Uber refused to load. The stall owner hadn’t even heard of Uber. Inaya tried calling her mum by waving her phone at the sky for signal, but really, which driver was going to come 40 minutes out?

We were stuck.

Plan B

Hitchhike.

Of course, two girls from around London taught never to trust strangers. But it was either that or walk until half way through the night five hours into the oblivion of the countryside.

Remember the sweet young couple I mentioned earlier? It took as much courage as a natural introvert could muster, but I had to try my luck.

‘Assalamu alaykum’, I said as I approached them. Never could I have asked for a sweeter outcome.

Eagerly and willingly, they invited us into the back of their convertible.

Saved!

We talked to the couple whilst in the car, pharmacists in a city close to ours, met at university, but never really started talking until they started working together. I asked to be dropped somewhere, anywhere closer to civilisation, so as not to take them out of their way.

But bless him, he chose to drop us all the way back to Buxton station. When I told him he shouldn’t have, he responded simply: ‘It’s because you greeted me with Assalam alaykum’.

Reflection

The hike was a great choice; not too physically demanding, perfect weather, beautiful scenery. But it was also a lesson to always prepare a way home, especially in rural areas.

The simple greeting ‘Assalamu alaykum’ connects billions worldwide regardless of race, language, or culture. And that day, I formed an unlikely connection in an unlikely scenario.

For two Southern City Girls in the Northern Peaks, this was more than a hike; it was a lesson in faith, humanity, and the importance of being prepared. But most of all, it was proof that goodness finds you in unexpected places.

With love and becoming,