Wolfscote Dale

Wolfscote Dale

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/160s (middle image)  @ f/8.0, 3 images HDR in DDP)
Today I went for a walk through Wolfscote Dale, Biggin Dale, Hartington and Beresford Dale in the Derbyshire Peak District, 10 Kms. A pleasant walk with the autumn colours beginning to show. The River Dove was flowing well but seems to have stayed within its banks despite the large amount of rain we have had lately. Some of the fields I crossed were quite waterlogged though. I just managed to keep my feet dry!

Alton Castle

Alton Castle

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10, 3 images tonemapped in Photomatix)
Alton Castle stands high on the hill on the opposite side of the Churnet Valley to the more famous Alton Towers. The original castle dates from the 12th century but the Gothic building visible here was built in 1847 to the design of the Victorian architect Augustus Pugin for the Earl of Shrewsbury, The building is now used as a Catholic Youth Retreat Centre.

View from The Cloud

View from The Cloud

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 36mm, 1/2000s @ f/7.1)
The Cloud is a gritstone hill between Congleton and Macclesfield in Cheshire. The view above is from the summit trig point looking towards Bosley and Shutlingsloe. It was a lovely day for a walk today cool enough for the 200 mtr climb from the car up to the top of the hill to be quite pleasant! The views from The Cloud are extensive in all directions taking in the Cheshire Plain as far as the hills of the Welsh border, the City of Manchester and the hills of the western Peak District, The name "Cloud" is a corruption of the Old English work Clud which just means hill!

Lyme Park

The House, Lyme Park

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/400s @ f/8.0)
Lyme Park, a National Trust property, is the largest house in Cheshire. Those that saw the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice may recognise it as Pemberley, the home of Mr. Darcy. The house is surrounded by attractive and well-maintained gardens and a 1,300 acre Deer Park.

Solomon's Temple

Solomon's Temple, Buxton

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 22mm,  f/6.3, 3 images HDR tone mapped in Photomatix)
Solomon's Temple (or Grin Low Tower) is located on a hill to the south of Buxton. It isn't really much of a temple being simply a tower, 20 feet tall, with nothing inside but a staircase leading to the viewing platform on top. No altar, no stained glass windows, no virgins being sacrificed (possibly happens after dark!). The weather today wasn't particularly inspiring but at least the rain stayed off while I was there.

The tower was built in 1896 on the instructions of a local publican named Solomon Mycock

Buxton Billerettes

The Buxton Billerettes at Cheddleton Carnival

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
Not the run of the mill majorette troupe, the Buxton Billerettes have been providing hilarious entertainment at local carnivals in and around the Peak District for 36 years!

Here's what is says on their website:

"The Billerettes are a majorette troupe with a difference, apart from the occasional girl the rest of the team may dress like girl majorettes, may even look like girl majorettes, but they are most definitely men.

The guys have been proving for years that when it comes to majoretting the guys can show the girls how to give it that special ZING, well at least they hope to bring a smile to the faces of the onlooker and preferably a good old belly laugh."

Plague Cottages, Eyam

Plague Cottages, Eyam Village

(Canon EOS 60D, Tamron 10-24mm @ 16mm, 1/800s @ f/6.3)
Eyam village in the Peak District National Park has an amazing but sad history. In 1665 one of the residents of this row of cottages, George Viccars a tailor, sent for some cloth from London. The cloth arrived somewhat damp and was hung in front of the fire to dry out. The heat activated the fleas carrying the plague virus from London, in the grip of the Bubonic Plague at the time. Within days the man that had sent for the clothes was dead. Over the next days several more succumbed and it became obvious that this wasn't just a normal disease epidemic. The Rector of the village, Rev. William Mompesson, persuaded the villagers to put themselves into a form of quarantine from the surrounding area to avoid the spread of the plague. Over the following months 260 of the 350 residents of the village died from the plague, including Mompesson's wife, Katherine.

Today the village is a thriving and attractive place but its dark history is still remembered.