This was one of our favourite walks from last year. I don’t like being asked which is my favourite walk in the Peak District, because I don’t think that we have done one yet that we have been disappointed by. But this particular walk had a bit of everything: wide open vistas, peaceful woodland, flowing streams, and a beautiful sunset to end the day with.
Continue reading “Higgar Tor – Bolehill Wood, Peak District”
We picked up Rosie from Crewe railway station and then hurtled over to walk one of our favourite hikes in the Peak District.
As always, we start at the chimney stack overlooking the valley with the River Dane running through it. The sheep was curious and patient, but not too bothered by our presence.
Follow the river along the valley, taking care not to get stuck in the mud along the way, and eventually you arrive at one of our favourite picnic spots in the Peak District.
Back to my one-one-one project for this post. Macclesfield is the nearest big-ish town near us, and we often find ourselves there for one reason or another. On this occassion, we were there for the Treacle Market, on the last Sunday of every month. Traders are out selling their wares and the people are out to buy, but also to get in touch with their community. And this was a first real outing for my new X-Pro2.
Buskers and a town crier are as you’d expect in a market town.
Continue reading “One town, One mile, One camera – Macclesfield”
Driving through the county of Lincolnshire it is tempting to think of it as one of the flatest counties in the UK. There are flatter counties and those in the East Anglia region are the flattest of all, according to Wikipedia. But you are easily misled into thinking this when driving into Lincoln. And then you park (if you can find a spot!) and decide to walk to the Cathedral quarter. The gentle ache you feel in your thighs and calfs as you do so tell you a different story.
I took my trusty Fujifilm X100S on this walk, from the University campus, on the banks of the River Witham, up to the Cathedral.
To get to the Cathedral, you walk along an aptly named street – Steep Hill.
After taking images of the Jewish House I was later surprised to learn of the Jewish Heritage that is present in the city, especially in relation with the Cathedral. When reviewing my images, I was struck by the triptich that I put together. Nothing to do with Jewish heritage, but more to do with the symbolic ascent of young man through life who then returns back down from the summit, well…. changed, and with a new perspective on life.
We walked past The Pot Shop. As we were not in Amsterdam, all we found inside was a man making and selling pots.
You are thankful when you reach the top. We will return to Lincoln soon. I shall have to bring my wider lens.
Boy, I have been falling behind on my blogging! There are a few reasons but I won’t go into them here. Needless to say, and not just on my walks, I have to pick up the pace.
This was a walk in the Autumn when Adeline and Jason came to visit. We decided to follow the Monsal Trail and the track of our 10.6 mile walk can be seen on my ViewRanger page.
Not sure whether this fisherman was having a good time with the fish, but I managed to catch him just about right!
The Monsal Trail was once part of a railway that connected Manchester to London, finally closed in 1968 and restored with a public path in 2011. The tunnels along the trail are a testament to its railway past.
The Litton Cotton Mill (above to the right) was barely profitable during its time and perhaps due to its struggles became “notorious during the Industrial Revolution due to its unsavoury employment practices“, for which we read child labour.
(click on images in grids for larger versions)
We had seen Mam Tor from some our previous walks in the Peak District, most noticeably from the summit and slopes of Win Hill.
The GPS route of our walk can be seen on our ViewRanger page.
We’ve yet to summit a hill or peak in the Peak District and be disappointed by the views. The anticipation of those views is always palpable as you start the climb. I didn’t expect Mam Tor to be as busy with people as it was on this day. There were dog walkers, strollers, hikers, paragliders and hangliders. Yes, I got those last two right. This peak is especially popular with hang- and paragliders, mostly launching themselves into the air from Lords Seat, a hill just along the east from Mam Tor.
(click on images in grids for larger versions)
It was later than usual for us when we decided to go for a walk, so we decided to go for one that was relatively short, but also to go into a region of the Peak District that we hadn’t gone to before. So a quick hunt around using ViewRanger and we came across this walk just south of Buxton, starting from the village of Hollinsclough. We didn’t know it at the time, but Chrome Hill and its neighbour, Parkhouse Hill, are quite iconic amongst walkers of the Peak District.
The GPS route of our 4-mile walk can be seen on our ViewRanger page.
Our walk started in the village of Hollinsclough and headed straight into muddy fields before finding a track. Impressive views of Chrome Hill from the start. Apt that it also known as The Dragon’s Back.
You first come up to Hollins Hill and it tried to tempt us to climb it. It did look like a gentle climb! But we ignored that temptation and kept on our track.
There was another couple that clearly could not ignore that temptation. The views from the top of Hollins Hill must be spectacular, and feeling only a little bit envious of them, we vowed that we would return and do that climb. This would not be the last vow we would make that day.
(click on images in grids for larger versions)
Is Bakewell a town or a village? Nestled in the heart of the Peak District it is certainly a very idyllic and picturesque place. We visited during the busy summer season because, well, Bakewell is a very idyllic and pictureque village nestled in the heart of the Peak District.
Whenever I go into towns with the intention of doing some street photography, I always look at the people around, the situations they find themselves in and the interactions between them. That’s what gets me into the right frame of mind for street photography, which is different to the landscape photography frame of mind I need to be in when we are hiking the hills and valleys.
Luckily, there were many characters on the streets of Bakewell that day.
Continue reading “One town, One mile, One camera – Bakewell”
(click on images in grids for larger versions)
This describes the second of two walks we went on when Mike and Karen came to visit this August. The first was in the Yorkshire Dales and this second one we arranged for in the Peak District. We would drive to Fairholmes, where the Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs meet and a car park is conveniently placed. This hike is characterised by long steady climbs and quick windy descents, beautful scenery, sheep, landslips, bulls and river crossings.
A circular walk as usual for us, the GPS track of our 8.3 mile hike can be seen on my ViewRanger page.
From the car park we climb through the Lockerbrook Coppice and then head up for Bellhag Tor.
The views are amazing and it takes a bit of time to do the climb towards Alport Castles, not because the track is arduous, but because we cannot help but stop and look about us. Sometimes, the spectacular view is behind.
This was our first adventure into the Yorkshire Dales. On this hike we would see sculpture, lunch by a waterfall, follow rivers, walk past barns in fields and, of course, be studied by sheep.
The GPS track of our (almost) 6.5 mile walk can be found on my ViewRanger account. We were meeting up with Mike and Karen just south of Outhgill to start our walk along a section of Lady Anne’s Way, following the Penine Bridleway.
We start on a gentle incline. The weather was wet – not because it was raining, no – I insisted, it’s just that the clouds happened to be laying quite low on this day.
At the top we reach the Water Cut sculpture, by Mary Bourne, one of the 10 Eden Benchmarks located along the length of the River Eden. Mike and I try to take pictures while keeping our camera equipment dry.
adventures in a lightroom 