Clouds – Up Hill Down Dale Walks

Creswell Crags to Worksop – A Different Route – October 2024

This was a different walk from Creswell Crags to Worksop and worth trying when the other route (you can find it here) is busy with lots of people.

There was an autumnal feeling about, with drooping leaves just starting to turn but the sky was blue with fluffy white clouds and bright sunshine, which made the trip so pleasurable. I’m a sucker for clouds…

It’s also an enjoyable round-a-bout sort of walk crossing fields, streams, sometimes busy roads, muddy messes and up and over styles. Stout waterproof boots are a must!

Paths weren’t very well signposted but you can usually see the trails people have made for years across what must be private property.

It was at this point the clouds began to darken…

And the rain began to fall, quite heavily but luckily for a short while. Fortunately I’d got a fleece and hat but a proper overcoat would have been welcome!

Rain or not, the skyline looked wonderful and I took far too many pictures of the horizon. Here’s a few:

Then out of the fields and on to what might have been an entrance to one of the estate houses, at a guess? It looked too ornamental to be just a farm track?

Then a crossroads of sorts, where I got slightly lost. Thank goodness for satnav…

Yet more blue skies and clouds:

And finally a familiar rough trail from my previous walk, heading towards Worksop:

Worksop Manor in the distance:

More clouds:

Then it’s over the stile and then over the A57 which was suprisingly quiet for early rush hour and I didn’t have to take my life in my hands to get cross.

There are no pictures of Worksop itself. There are some interesting buildings but they should be captured by a photographer who has more interest in the urban environment than I!

Dragonfire – Sunset Over Derbyshire – December 2024

I was driving south just now and spotted the most spectacular synset and cloud formation, so I had to stop at a lay-by and take some pictures and a video. It looks just like the breath from a dragon…

It was taken using a smartphone, which (as ever) doesn’t do the scene justice. It was still worth doing.

I’m not a great fan of Christmas and the forced gaiety makes me moody, but this cheered me up!

Video at the end.

You may think that I’ve added the same picture over and over , but I thought the changing light from minute to minute was wonderful:

The video!

And a couple of pictures nearer home…

Stanage Edge, Derbyshire – September 2020

This was a walk along Stanage Edge in Derbyshire, one of those gritstone ridges common to the area. It’s a beautiful and wild place!

I parked my car at Upper Burbage Bridge Car Park and then walked across the moors. Be warned it can be a very popular walk and tricky to find a car space, so start early in the day.

Not many pictures and it was done by my phone camera and the quality isn’t so good but it captures something about the place. The views are fabulous!

Spot the hang-glider…

Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby – November 2021

This was a walk in north Yorkshire from Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby via the Cleveland Way on an unusually sunny and warm day in November 2021. It’s got to be one of my favourite walks with blue sky full of many different sorts of clouds and dark seas below. At times, it was very blustery but remained warm.

It’s hard to get very good pictures with the sun so low in the sky and I struggled to take them without my shadow appearing! My camera, an antique Canon 30D takes good pictures but it does benefit from stronger sunlight. I’m still pleased with many of the pictures but it doesn’t quite capture the glory of the day.

It was at this point I did think about turning back. The streams (know locally as becks) means many descents and ascents on the Cleveland Way. There was a bit of a bit of muttering about ‘the joy of becks’ at this stage. The steps can be very slippery, especially the sections that are smoothed stone covered in mud.

I thought I’d walked further but I’d only done less than half way. Fortunately I’m stubborn, so I carried on and hoped for more level walking. Silly me!

God bless Colin Thompson and his bench!

I’m not sure it’s wise to obstruct the first view of Whitby Abbey from the south with a caravan park:

After that, it’s the descent via the 199 Steps to Whitby.

To be honest, I didn’t find Whitby very inspiring, hence no pictures. If you like places full of older, aimless and bored tourists looking in shop windows, it will suit you well. The lack of friendliness and engagement is a complete contrast to that of walkers I met on the way.

The bus back to Robin Hood’s Bay was welcome!

It’s the most wonderful walk along the coast with beautiful views and big skies but it is a challenge if you aren’t very fit (like me). However, I’d do it again like a shot!

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Bamford Edge and Overlooking Ladybower Reservoir, Derbyshire – November 2021

A lovely walk along Bamford Edge, an elevated gritstone ridge looking down on Bamford village and then overlooking Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire.

The wind was howling, the sky was full of changeable clouds, rain, sun and blue skies, depending on the moment.

And lastly, who can resist a picture (or two) of the intrepid explorer posing?

And a video…

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Bamford up to Ladybower Reservoir, Derbyshire – October 2021

A decent walk from Bamford in Derbyshire up to Ladybower Reservoir which supplies drinking water to the East Midlands.

The plan was originally to walk for Bamford up to Bamford Edge, another one of those granite cliffs which dominate the skyline. Unfortunately the road up there (‘The Clough’) is closed off, so we had to settle for walking along the Thornhill Trail heading north.

It’s still a lovely walk…

Were pretty lucky with the weather but the day was quite changeable. Five minutes later, it looked like this…

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Birds on the Feeder – closer to home, Derbyshire – January 2021

Greenfinches, bullfinches and blue tits in the back garden, on the feeder in January 2021. They are territorial little sods!

The pictures aren’t that great at times because the camera was quite new to me and I had to shoot through a double glazed window. It’s impossible to be outside without alerting the birds – even the click of the camera makes them fly away.

I’ve since tried with a tripod and a remote control (me inside and out if direct view) but it takes them about a week to get used to the new ‘thing’ in their environment and the camera clicks still send them scattering.

You’ll also see how fast they can be when they fly…

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

From Etwall (nearly) to Eggington Junction, Derbyshire – February 2021

This is yet another old railway line which would have run from the now defunct Derby Friargate Station to Etwall and then joining the mainline south of Eggington Junction.

It’s not a terribly exciting walk but when we’d been in Lockdown I grabbed the chance for a short walk, despite the cold and the snow flurries! Luckily the sun came out later on the way back.

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Jinney Nature Trail, Staffordshire – March 2021

The Jinney Nature Trail is the remains of old railway line that ran from Tutbury & Hatton via Rolleston-on-Dove to Burton-on-Trent. It closed in the 1960s thanks to the idiotic Lord Beeching and his drive to close many parts of the rail network as possible.

Happily it is now a short walk (about two miles) from Rolleston to the outskirts of Burton. This was my first chance to get out for a walk for ages and to be more than 9.9 miles from home, because of Covid restrictions. Any fitness is hard to acquire, but easy to lose!

Four miles was quite enough…

Spring is a favourite time of year, so there are as many pictures of flowers as possible!

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Rolleston on Dove to Tutbury, Staffordshire – March 2021

This was a walk from Rolleston-on-Dove in Staffordshire, along the River Dove to Tutbury and back by a very quiet road and across country back to Rolleston.

If you’ve got time, Tutbury Castle is worth a look. Be aware that it is privately owned and opening hours are eccentric. At the time of this walk, the castle wasn’t open because of Covid.

There were lots of dramatic and changeable skies where it looks like you need to pack for every sort of weather: sunglasses, sunscreen, raincoat, hat and scarf. Fortunately, despite dark threatening skies, it remained dry with just a light shower for a few minutes.

It’s very English location with pretty villages, old churches, swans and spring flowers just starting to bloom, slightly spoilt by the Nestle factory in Hatton. Even if you ignore it visually, the smell of coffee can be overpowering.

This is the session I discovered that I had dirt on the CMOS sensor of my camera, so you might spot unidentified objects here and there. These are the perils of trying to understood what goes wrong with a ‘proper’ camera after using my phone for so long…