Stroll

 

"Seatbelt!" commanded Clint as I lowered my buttocks into his cockpit.

We weren't travelling far. Just fifteen minutes away inside The Peak District National Park. I tucked Clint's wing mirror in when I parked him on Clodhall Lane.

"See you later alligator!" I muttered as I set off towards  Wellington's Monument above Jack Flat and not very far from The Eagle Stone shown in the top picture. The Duke of Wellington commanded Britain's forces at The Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

I didn't need a map because I knew the circle I was going to walk - just a little over two miles. Above I was on Baslow Edge looking towards the village of Curbar. Below - a Highland cow with magnificent horns has taken a break from her endless grazing

Near the end of the walk I noticed this small herd of a deer on raised ground in a large area of moorland that is called simply Big Moor. No fancy names. The deer haven't always grazed Big Moor. They are a fairly recent addition and I noticed that a lot of money must have been spent on high fencing to keep them inside the moorland area. Deer and motor vehicles are quite incompatible.

Below - I suspect that the old gatepost predates the dry stone wall to the right.  The track once ran along Blackstone Edge to a couple of stone quarries - long since disused.

The lone hawthorn tree below appealed to me and I took a few pictures of it but I think that this was the best one. The tenacious tree is to the left of the image simply because I wanted to include all of its three o'clock shadow:-

Out in The Peak District you sometimes come across contemporary carved stones that may be part of some art project. Near Curbar Gap car park I noticed a "companion stone" with these lines carved upon it:-

Before the stone

before the land

the running hare

the pointing hand

the rattled wheel

the bright idea

something else

would lead us here

Rather than trying to photograph the whole thing, I just focused on this one word - "wheel" where after thirteen years moss is establishing itself in the carved letters:-

Onward I walked - perhaps like one of those Christian soldiers in the old hymn and before too long I was approaching sleeping  Clint with my magical key. Press the button and "Abracadabra!" all locks are unlocked. Lord knows how it works.

from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/H3yKRcr