Jubilee Boat

Narrow Boat Decorated for the Queen's Jubilee

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 36mm, 1/60s @ f/7.1)
This narrow boat, moored at Froghall Wharf, is decorated for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Cheddleton Station

Class N7 0-6-2T at Cheddleton

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
I had a turn as Crossing Keeper on the Churnet Valley Railway on Jubilee Saturday. Here we see our new guest locomotive, a class N7 0-6-2T on loan from the East Anglian Railway Museum, complete with Jubilee bunting, taking the visitors up to Cauldon Low.

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 70mm, 1/500s @ f/10)
The photo, taken from near New Piece Wood, shows Chatsworth in all its glory. In Stand Wood above the house to the right is the Hunting Tower, one of two remaining Elizabethan features (the other is "Queen Mary's Bower" near the house). To the left of the photo can be seen the Emperor Fountain. This was built in 1843 for a visit by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and was, at the time, the greatest gravity fed fountain in the world reaching as high as 300 feet. It is rarely if ever run at full power now but is still an impressive sight for the hour of two it is run every day. By the way, the Tsar never came!

Closer view of the house with the Cascade Fountain behind

The house and the River Derwent

Edensor

Edensor Village

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 44mm, 1/400s @ f/10, 3 images HDR tonemapped in Photomatix)
Edensor (pronounced Enzor) is the estate village of Chatsworth Park. Much of the village is owned by the Duke of Devonshire. Joseph Paxton, who designed the Crystal Palace, was involved in the layout and design of the many individually styled houses in the village in the early 19th century. The church is dedicated to St Peter.

Hay Meadow

Hay Meadow near Beeley

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/200s @ f/10, HDR Tonemapped in Photomatix)
Today my brother-in-law and I went for a delightful walk from Beeley village via Carlton Lees and Edensor to Chatsworth. Near the end of the walk we dropped down towards Beeley through some flower rich hay meadows. Beeley village is visible in the middle distance with Stanton Moor the hill behind.

Looking towards Hell Bank and East Moor

White-faced Darter

White-faced Darter

(Canon EOS 60D, Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS @ 250mm, 1/320s @ f/8.0)
Today, in beautiful sunshine, I was able to attend a BDS visit to Chartley Moss between Stafford and Uttoxeter. This is the Southernmost location for the rare White-faced Darter dragonfly. Chartley Moss is a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) looked after by English Nature. Access to the site is by guided permission only as it is a dangerous "Quaking Bog" or Schwingmoor; a mat of sphagnum moss and partially decomposed vegetation overlying an underground lake, in places 30 meters deep. In places, the vegetation mat is too thin to bear a human's weight. The White-faced Darter is now found in only a handful of sites in England but is more widespread in Scandinavia and Northern Europe. The individual in the photo is quite newly emerged and hasn't yet got its full adult colouration. The pale, yellowish-green "face" will soon turn pure white.

Bluebells

Bluebell detail

(Canon EOS 60D, Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS @ 220mm, 1/160s @ f/8.0)
Another beautiful day tempted us out to Consall Nature Park for an impromptu picnic. I was looking for Dragonflies and Damselflies while there and did see a solitary male Large Red Damselfly, but, naturally, by the time I had the camera ready it had gone! So I took some photos of the spring flowers instead and was really pleased with this one.