26 May 2019

Youlgreave

 Yesterday I headed off to the Derbyshire village of Youlgreave under an early summer sky. There I parked up ahead of a pleasant country walk. No more than two hours long.

It took me out of the village along an old track that led to green meadows where sheep and cows grazed. The grass was lush and sweet. 

A pair of women with a dog had just passed through the field I was approaching and the young cows within it had become skittish. I arced  around them but as I headed for a squeeze stile through the boundary wall, they moved towards me as one. I turned to yell at them, waving my arms about like a windmill and that made them visibly hesitate but it was only a brief delay.

I guess they thought I was a farmer with salt or food supplements to dish out. It was  a relief to get into the next field where another herd was waiting.
After passing through a large  eighteenth century farm complex called Meadow Place Grange, I descended to Lathkill Dale - a beautiful valley that bisects the landscape and contains the very lucid River Lathkill. I walked beside it for half a mile before climbing up the opposite side of the valley.
Later, back in Youlgreave, I entered All Saints - the parish church. I photographed the stone carving of a pilgrim set in the north wall. It was created in the middle of the twelfth century - around 1150. Approaching the altar and between the choir stalls there is the alabaster tomb of a local landowner who was killed during an argument in 1488. He was Thomas Cockayne. I would suggest that his tomb must  get in the way of many church activities. It is very unusual to find a chancel obstructed in this way.

22 comments:

  1. Lovely photos, Yorkie...great! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  2. the cows are thinking, "Who is this funny guy? He seems to want to play with us!". Cows can be very curious.

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    1. They know I can talk bull so maybe they thought I was a bull.

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  3. Your Yorkshire countryside is truly beautiful. As far as the cows go, I think they all have a thing for you as they always seem quite interested in you on your walks.

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    1. I hate to correct you Bonnie but Youlgreave is over the border in Derbyshire.

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  4. Uh-oh... those cows would have certainly made me look for another path, I definitely would not have crossed the fields with herds on them. The women with the dog should not have been there, either; only the other day I heard an interview with a farmer who explained what damage dogs can do to livestock, even if their owners think they are the best behaved dogs in the world and were only gone for 5 minutes.
    The pictures are all beautiful!

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    1. The woman had her dog on a lead but even so dogs can make cows panic slightly.

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  5. Do you often attract the attention of mad cows? On the subject of dogs and livestock, there is quite a big problem over here with sheep attacks by dogs. Many have been killed but depsite repeated pleas from farmers and police, people still let their dogs off the lead in fields full of animals.

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    1. We have plenty of stupid people here too JayCee. I think the cows must be attracted by my aftershave aroma - "Bull" - "for men who like cows..."

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  6. I think I'd rather face off with the cows than stare at Thomas the Tomb for any length of time. :)

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  7. I love that photo of the cows looking over the stone fence at you.

    Nice to know that people died for stupid reasons 500+ years ago. Humanity doesn't seem to evolve sadly.

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    1. Sometimes we think we are better, wiser, more far-seeing than our forebears but they were very much like us.

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  8. Just breathtakingly beautiful, Mr. P! Those cows are gorgeous animals. And the photo of the mama swan and her babies is truly delightful.
    The carving of the pilgrim reminds me a tiny bit of Mayan carvings.
    I suppose that the people who go to that church are used to working around the alabaster tomb by now. Aren't we humans funny, the way we deal with our dead?
    The name "Youlgreave" sounds like a curse or a warning to me. We'll grieve, for certain.

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    1. Etymologists believe that Youlgreave means "Yellow grove" but its origins are uncertain. It is a very nice village with two pubs, three shops, a school, beautiful views and many substantial stone buildings. Thank you for your kind photo remarks.

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  9. Killed during an argument? Do you have any idea what it was about? I agree it's odd to see a church with a tomb in such a prominent position. Usually they're off to the side somewhere. Those are very intimidating cows!

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    1. The deadly argument happened in Warwickshire - far from Thomas Cockayne's mansion - Harthill Hall near Youlgreave. I imagine that the argument was about Brexit.

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  10. The photo with the cow is beautiful and I love the swan with her babies. England is so pretty. I wish you all could take us back....my ancestors were foolish to leave.

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    1. I also love that picture of the brown cow. It is one of the best I have taken this year. I had to move along the wall to get the village church in the right position. Perhaps your ancestors were driven out by herds of frisky cows.

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  11. Wonderful photos. Do you use a telephoto lens for the closeups of animals? Or a digital camera with a built in zoom, I suppose?

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    1. I have a Sony bridge camera and usually I just leave it on the "automatic" setting. However, I was pretty close to the brown cow. I didn't require much zoom at all.

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