Category Archives: Uncategorized

I really just fancied a spin up to the peak District today, but with the forecast being a little uncertain I popped into Belper. It sits on the river Derwent in the Amber Valley just north of Derby. The town … Continue reading →

This is the Air Navigational Aid, Hognaston Winn, Derbyshire. It’s a well-known and enigmatic landmark at the top of the peak as you travel along the B5035 towards Carsington Reservoir. It has such an unearthly appearance that you may be … Continue reading →

Hidden away on the grounds of the historic St Edward’s Church Stow-on-the-Wold is a mystical doorway on its north porch that looks like a portal that could transport you to another realm. I’m not going to do the “it inspired … Continue reading →

I find slit windows in stair towers built into old building a strong magnet. The same goes for small arched doorways with locked doors. This one is in St Laurence’s Church, Ludlow, I just had to find a way in. … Continue reading →

This is one of those old trees in Mosley Bog that looks like it has a story to tell. It on my list of trees to measure to have a guess at its age, it is most likely to be … Continue reading →

Who on earth photographs a pile of shale, me. Shale mining and quarrying shaped the North Yorkshire coast. Not for gas, but for alum. In the 16th-century alum was essential in the textile industry as a fixative for dyes. Initially … Continue reading →

Depending on what part of the country you’re in, these ancient rights of way have names that vary by region. They are defined as…. …a narrow place to walk along, leading from somewhere to somewhere else, usually in a town … Continue reading →

We all know and love acorns or as some say the oaknut. They seem to capture the imagination and run with it.  In fact, tiny acorns have been capturing the human imagination for so long, appearing in artwork, woodcarving, and … Continue reading →

A visit to Warstone Cemetery today I came across these to set of interesting grave markers. The first is a highly symbolic marker of possibly a middle-class professional individual The urn was used by Pagans and Romans to store cremated … Continue reading →

Winged skull gravestone symbols were common in 18th-century cemeteries. While they may look strange to us today – even morbid or creepy – they held important meaning for our ancestors. Death became frequent in the 1700s, in a world of … Continue reading →