I rambled around Darley Dale earlier this week in gorgeous autumnal sunshine. It lies just a couple of miles south of Chatsworth House - probably England's finest stately home - which is itself some ten miles south of Sheffield. Although a delightful area for walking, Darley Dale is not actually in the Peak District National Park. This section of the Derwent valley once bustled with industry all the way down to Matlock and Cromford and that industrial heritage is probably what prevented the Peak Park mappers from including it.
Being terribly honest, I rather like the fact that visitors from other lands arrive at this humble blog and find pictures of England they perhaps hadn't expected. No changing the guards at Buckingham Palace, no bankers in bowler hats, no Wimbledon or Epsom, no toffs on horseback or Elton John in outrageous spectacles. This, I contend, is closer to the real Inghilterra:-
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| An autumn scene in Sitch plantation |
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| Hart's Tongue Fern seen on Foggs Hill |
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| Eccentric elephant topiary on Whitworth Road |
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| A traditional butcher's shop in Darley Dale |
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| Looking to Cock's Head from Two Dales |
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| Friendly cat on a wall in Two Dales |
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| Autumn view of The Derwent Valley from Back Lane |
Oh, joy oh bliss, for the eyes at least. Lovely warm tones, but I can feel that nip in the air.
ReplyDeleteIt's been too hot here, hard to do anything in the middle of the day outside. Is it silly to say I've been wishing for the cool of autumn already!? And it's not even December yet!
I like stroking cats on walks too.
So it does get hot in Tauranga? When we went on our royal visit to NZ we were a little surprised about how English the weather seemed. Nice but not baking.
DeleteDown to a pleasant 25 today. It's been up in the early 30's for the last four.
DeleteStill no bridges YP :) or stately homes ~ you never disappoint YP. Like you say we can find popular Brit culture (food, fashion etc) on other blogs. Glad you did make time for a walk this week.
ReplyDeleteGrrrrr! You are making me feel like blogging about bridges!
DeleteFabulous! And so many Italian restaurants all within walking distance of each other!
ReplyDeleteI loved walking through the gardens of Chatsworth. Imagine, someone had thought the whole thing out and then invested in it knowing he would die before his garden bloomed. He would never see it but think how many people have enjoyed the fruit of his imagination since.
The Chatsworth Estate is much bigger than most visitors appreciate. But you're right about the idea of people instigating things that will come to fruition long after they have gone. A very admirable human urge.
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ReplyDeleteThis is the England I love too YP. Give me the countryside any day and the Peaks and Yorkshire Dales are my two favourite areas. I keep telling my friends to get off those tourist buses and stop a while in one place and use those wonderful public footpaths but everyone seems to want to cover the whole country in 2 weeks !!!
ReplyDeleteKeep the photos coming, you know I love them.
Your attitude to travel - not just in England - is the right one. I share it. I am an Americophile and the places I have enjoyed most in The USA are not on the normal tourist routes - Appalachicola (FL), Chagrin Falls (OH), Rainy Lake (MN), Bloomington (IN), Exeter (NH) etc..Such places are engraved more deeply in my memory than the better known places.
DeleteI enjoy your wanderings through familiar places as they are places I wouldn't consider for a walk.
ReplyDeleteAdrian - It pleases me to think that I have sometimes aroused your curiosity and given you ideas for some photo trips of your own
DeleteDoes your heart good to see such beauty doesn't it......really lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does Libby. It's exactly why Wordsworth wrote - "And then my heart with pleasure fills/ And dances with the daffodils" - communing with Nature.
DeleteGorgeous. It's hard to beat England (or Wales!) in the autumn when it's not raining.
ReplyDeleteYes. I must visit Wales again before too long. I'd love to see the Faery (or Fairy) Glen. We have two paintings of it. Have you been there Jenny?
ReplyDeleteAnd I wandered around with you, too....thanks for the stroll. :)
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