Sunday Morning Walk

Yellow

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
Here are three photos from this mornings walk with the dog. We walked along the old railway line past Birchall Playing Fields in Leek through to and along the Leek Branch of the Caldon Canal and back again. It was a cold but cloudless and pleasant morning.

Sunday Morning Football, Birchall Playing Fields

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)

Brown -leaved Oak  by the Caldon Canal

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
The above photo is a vertical panorama of three photos stitched in the excellent Microsoft Image Composite Editor ("ICE") program.

Wolseley Centre and Doxey Marshes

Autumn colours at The Wolseley Centre

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/250s @ f/5.6)
Today was a beautifully sunny autumn day so Lyn and I went birdwatching to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's Wolseley Centre and their Doxey Marsh reserve near Stafford. There are still magnificent autumn colours on the trees. The photo above shows the vivid orange of a Beech tree and the yellower shades of a Birch (and a few Mallards!)

Speeding male Shoveller at Doxey Marsh

(Canon EOS 60D,Canon EF-S 55-250mm @ 250mm, 1/800s @ f/8.0)

We saw a good selection of birds at Doxey Marsh including Black-headed and Herring Gulls, Lapwings, Mute Swans, Canada and Greylag Geese, Mallard, Teal, Tufted and Shoveller (above) ducks, Coot, Moorhen, Kingfishers, Goosander, Snipe, Blackbirds, Starlings and Crows along with several of the smaller songbirds. A very enjoyable day out.

Sunset over the Peak

Sunset over the Peak District Park

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10, HDR of 3 photos tone mapped in Photomatix))
After several miserable days this afternoon was pleasant but cold. This photo was taken just inside the Peak District National Park near Onecote. The Millstone is the symbol of the Park and is to be found where roads cross the boundary. One of the predominant rocks in the area is Millstone Grit which was used, as the name says, to produce millstones in the past.

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.