28 October 2017

Alsop-en-le-Dale

The weather forecast for Friday was so positive that I had to get out into The Peak District - aiming to make good use of the sunshine. I had parked up near Newhaven by eleven thirty bound for Aleck Low. It's a wooded hilltop I have often seen from afar but until yesterday I had never been up there. 

There's an ancient "bowl barrow" burial mound on Aleck Low and other evidence of our distant forebears' presence. The bowl barrow dates to the Late Neolithic era - over four thousand years ago.
Afterwards, I got back in the car and headed for Alsop-en-le-Dale. It is a tiny Derbyshire village with an ancient church. It is dedicated to St Michael and All Saints. It was so nice to find the church open to visitors. I left my usual comment - "Thank you for leaving the church unlocked for passing visitors like me to appreciate". All the pictures that accompany this blogpost were taken there - including the impressive "millennium window" which was installed as recently as 2001.
After Alsop I went on to Tissington and a path that leads northwards from that delightful village. I needed to bag a particular photo square I had missed for the "geograph" website.
How lovely it was to be out and about in late October sunshine. I saw some wonderful things - including a giant flock of gulls miles from the sea and a weasel that clambered out of a drystone wall before scurrying across the path in front of me. I was home by four thirty with signs of evening already appearing.

21 comments:

  1. You had a pleasant walk that many more people should experience. Take the good weather while you can.

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    1. When you walk in places like that you forget the stuff that the media churns out each day.

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  2. Ideal weather for walking; it's always a bonus when you spot some wildlife.

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    1. Unfortunately I didn't spot a rhinoceros or even a dog pretending to be a bear!

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  3. Looks and sounds like exactly the kind of walk in exactly the kind of weather I like. Isn't it a wonderful time of year, with the light having a special quality it only has in autumn?

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    1. I think you are right. There's a rich quality about autumn light when the sun is shining and of course the colours of turning leaves can add to that richness.

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  4. I haven't seen a hymn board like that in years.
    It's a lovely church.

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    1. And in spite of the tininess of the community, it still appears to be living, breathing and cared for.

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  5. It looks like you had a very pleasant afternoon out and about in pleasant surroundings.

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    1. Pleasant and I even saw a pheasant.

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    2. And it didn't make you hesitant...

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  6. I love the stained glass window in that last photo. How lovely!

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    1. And in a remote country church serving a very small community, it was surprising to find such a beautiful new window.

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  7. Friday was an amazing day here, too! (At least, from what I could see of it from the library windows!) I love the modern stained glass -- there must still be a pretty active congregation there to fund that, don't you think?

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    1. I would estimate that no more than thirty people live in that village though it will draw others from outlying farms etcetera. Somebody is doing something good to keep it trucking.

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  8. The great outdoors is a fine antidote to all the negativity fed us by the media.
    Smashing post, as usual.

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    1. Walking in the countryside fills one's thoughts with better things than the tittle tattle of TV and radio. Thanks for dropping by again Christina.

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    2. Thank you Mr pudding. The pleasure is all mine.

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  9. A beautiful spot. I hoped to find time to go for a fall walk before the actual fall weather set in (i.e., grey and wet) but didn't. Thanks for posting about yours.

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  10. Looking forward to some Yorkshire walks next year.

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  11. it's always a bonus when you spot some wildlife.


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