Plod Queen, are you still doing the recce tomorrow? I've looked at the train and bus times and I think I might join you. The earliest possibility is 09:53 train arrival at Buxton and 10:05 departure of 442 bus from outside the station, arriving at Earl Sterndale 10:20. Would that tie in with your plans? I've done this in previous years and it always worked quite well. There are roadworks that are preventing the bus from reaching Earl Sterndale during weekdays but it should be open over the weekend. If it's not it shouldn't be far to walk from the nearest point.