May Blog

It has to have been one of the coldest but one of the driest May months that I can remember. Odd spells of warm sunny weather were surrounded by longer spells of duller, colder weather. Irene has been in a continuous cycle of bringing seedlings out in the day and back at night; regularly asking me to find out what the overnight temperature would be. One day the temperature was predicted to be greater than 10⁰ and the plants were left out.

Our first visit was to Paul and Mary to admire the new drive and garden work.

On the Friday night it was the VE day celebration, which we shared with our friends in the community centre. This was a ‘Red, White and Blue’ night, dancing to music from the forties.

 The next occasion to be celebrated was Joni’s 27^th birthday. We gave him a power drill as he seems to be getting heavily into DIY.

For some unaccountable reason the sun shone on the 13^th. We needed to make a trip to McArthur Glenn for shopping. Therefore we chose to walk around the village of Ashover in East Derbyshire. This was after a trip to B & Q. The last time we walked around Ashover Tim was 5 years old and mum was in terror as he peered down a hole.

Ashover is a quiet, out of the way place. There were no coffee shops, but there was a brilliant public loo. The walk we chose was said to be short and fairly easy. It took us through paths surrounded by wild garlic. The quarry pond was interesting and I discovered that my polarising filter was set to reduce reflections. I carried my tripod and this enabled me to photograph a waterfall having a milky effect. It also enabled me to takes pictures with a great depth of field.

Eventually the walk became less easy as we made the trek up a muddy path to the top of ‘Cocking Tor’. Here there were good views across the countryside and a pleasant spot for a picnic. The journey down was easier as we followed an old mule trail which was made of slabs of gritstone. We passed a hill side where bluebells grew in large patches. Normally they grow in the woods. The steps out of the meadow were special. The image has already been framed and put up on a wall. It has also been used as a birthday card.

Since there was no café in the village we were obliged to travel to McArthur Glenn and indulge in coffee and cake at ‘Thorntons’. Mum found her shoes and I bought three novels for £5.

One of the jobs that I did in May was to glue the head back on ‘David the Gnome’ and repaint him.

Just to prove that May was exceptionally bad we set off for Stanton Moor. This time we were to find the ‘Cork Stone’. We did not think that it was as impressive as our own ‘Hemlock Stone’. Despite the damp we did make a circuit of the moor. One of the images shows the bleakness of the place.

From the moor we went down to Bonsall and started with coffee/tea and cake at one of our favourite cafés. And then we drove down to ‘Cascade Gardens’. This is a long garden with the cliffs along one side and a river on the other. Water supposedly cascaded down from the river into water features below before finding is way back to the river. They even had their own lead mine.

On the penultimate Saturday of the month we made our first walk of exploration into our own local area. After a brief walk to the edge of town we dropped down a path off the road and found ourselves walking through fields of buttercups, surrounded by white blossomed hedges. The path took us under the M1 and along the River Erewash. At times it was easy to forget that the motorway and houses were around us.

The River Erewash

The river under the M1

This Tuesday Tim, Isla and girls arrived to stay for a day or two.They wanted to climb a hill so we decided to climb the highest hill in the Peak District. It is known as Kinder Scout. For information see (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Scout)

We met up in the Edale car park and after the usual rituals we all set off up the hill. The walk starts easily, over a paved section. Then, once through a stile and over a water fall it becomes much more rugged. Irene and I walked for just over an hour and got to a pile of stones which was handy for a picnic stop.

What to do with old boots

Strange Things to Knit

After the picnic Tim and family went on and we made the journey back down. Tim told us that just around the bend from where we had sat the path became a rocky scramble.

As we went down they went up and when we met them later they reported reaching the top.

In the village we stopped for coffee and I had the best piece of ‘Rocky Road’ ever.

Back home, we were joined by Joni and Fiona for tea and a chat.

On Thursday I left at 6.45 am to take Tim to a 'brewing experience' at a place in Colwick. http://www.flipsidebrewery.co.uk/ It seems to have been hard work for him, but he said that he enjoyed it.

I got home from that trip to say goodbye to Mum, Isla and Izzy. They set off to visit the Emma Bridgewater pottery in Stoke. They also visited Sudbury Hall. Iona stayed behind to revise. I did some work in the community centre and sorted out the play list for the dance on Friday night.

My job was then to collect Tim from the brewery. We got back just after the girls to have a final meal together before Tim and family set off home.

The month was not quite at an end. Another photographic opportunity awaited. Someone guessed that the next photograph was taken in Dovedale.

It was actually taken in the meadows between Stapleford and the M1. The whole area around the River Erewash is quite lovely.

Today, Sunday 31^st, the month ends pretty much as it started and finished; un-seasonally cold. We are promised that it will be more summery by the end of next week.

September and a New Challenge

Some time ago we walked with members of Pioneer Church from Cromford along the High Peak Trail. Last year we inadvertently climbed up the Middleton Incline to Middleton Top. Having completed the Monsall Trail this became our new challenge.

Our refreshment stop was the cafe in Bonsall. The three mile walk took us through Hopton tunnel and on up the Hopton Incline. This was not as steep as the Middleton one but engines struggled to get up it. 

It was one of our noisier walks as we passed by noisy and dirty cement works. There was more industrial archaeology in the form of what were, most likely, lime kilns. They did very much look like Aztec temples.

 Ten days later after a pot of tea and delicious cakes (£3.50 in total) at our favourite tea shop in Wirksworth we set off to park where we had left off the walk last time.

We left the car all alone in a lay-by and walked over a field on to the track. The walk started past a group of rose bay willow herb which was changing from purple to the snowy colour of the seed heads.

A little way on was an unusual piece of industrial archaeology. Because we were on top of limestone there was no water. The solution was that an engine pulled tanks of water from Cromford up to a special platform and engines filled up from them.

The panoramas along the route were some of the most spectacular that we have seen.

On this walk we were to see ancient archaeology in the form of a tumulus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumulus); now known as Minning Low Hill.

At this point we began to see an even more impressive stone build. This time it was a huge embankment crossing over the valley.

At the other end of the embankment was Minning Low car park where we sat for our picnic. From there we returned carrying with us a great respect for the builders of the now abandoned railways.

There was then an urgent need to drive back to Middleton Top and the relief that was on offer there.

The following day I just had to take my camera up to the allotment. The profuse growth and colour was stunning.

Two days later it was Irene's mum's funeral. Nan had lived a long life and after a well fought battle against death she quietly succumbed at the age of 94.

The funeral was a good opportunity to spend time with our three boys and partners. In the morning we gathered together at the Peace Pagoda in Milton Keynes and went on to have refreshments at Campbell Community. This is a campus for special needs people where they grow their own food and serve in a cafe.

It was a dignified event at the crematorium with many people attending. Martin and Irene spoke well about their mother. Seeds were given out as a reminder for each generation to sow good things into next.

There was an old fashioned tea party in a nearby church hall. This was a good opportunity for the wider family to catch up with each other.

Then Irene and I gathered a wreath from the crematorium collection to put by the headstone and bunches of flowers to give to the staff and residents of High Clere Nursing Home.

Finally the Norwoods gathered in the garden of the local pub to spend more time with each other before sharing meal to end the day.

On the following Wednesday there was only time for an afternoon walk. This we did at Calke Abbey, resulting in a lot of bright, colourful images.

 The first Saturday that we were not obliged to go to Milton Keynes was not entirely free as the Haven Church had Vision Weekend in the afternoon and evening. But in the morning I took the opportunity to set up a photographic lamp and take photos of the layout. All of the photos were put on to Facebook but I include a couple here.

 Our Wednesday walk took us to the next part of the High Peak Trail. This time we had to start at Minning Low car park. The nearest refreshments and toilets were back in Wirksworth.

The sky was quite blue but we walked into a cold breeze. For the first time this year warm clothing was needed. The walk took us to a car park at Friden. We then went passed a factory producing special refractory bricks and then a little further to get to a recognisable place to turn round. Back at the Friden car park we sat down for lunch and I found a toilet stop. The nettles stung. Irene had to grin and bear it until she found a suitable wall to duck behind. Hopefully this will be the last time without there being any convenient conveniences. 

The last Saturday of the month was the celebration of our friend Mary at her house in Burrowash.