Earlier today I went in search of winter and found it in The High Peak south of Sparrowpit. I parked on an unnamed lane that leads to the rim of a huge limestone quarry and to remote Lodes Barn Farm.
There was a bitter arctic wind when I raised Clint's boot (American: trunk) seeking my trusty boots, warm coat, gloves and headgear. It was a relief when I finally donned my woolly Hull City hat and set off on a chilly ramble to a hill named Bee Low.
 |
| My bootsteps - heading to Bee Low |
I wasn't out there long - little more than an hour. A circular walk would have been close to impossible.
Back in the Clintmobile I read for a while before heading back towards the hamlet of Wardlow Mires. There's a great cafe there called The Yonderman. I was dreaming of a bacon and egg sandwich and a mug of tea but in the event all they could offer me was a tuna mayo sandwich with salad. The grills had been switched off ready for cleaning at two thirty. Ah well - you can't have everything you want.
 |
| Dove Holes Limestone Quarry |
And so I left winter in those chilly uplands and returned to the eastern edge of The High Peak hills where Sheffield looks out towards the plains of Lincolnshire. Lincoln green as if springtime was about to join us.
 |
| Lodes Barn Farm |
YP meets Ice Road Truckers. Holy Mackerel!
ReplyDelete"YP to base! YP to base! Come in Tasker! Aiming to be with you by 2300 hours. Over!"
DeleteYou don't watch it.
DeleteAin't got no time to watch it buddy when I'm a-drivin' my ice truck on the ice road all the way to Fort Chipewyan, Alberta.
DeleteQuarry photo is amazing old friend
ReplyDeleteGlad you like that one John. There's such a lot going on it.
DeleteStunning photos you gift us. What a wonderful world...beauty in every season for those who have time to stand and stare. Love those skeletal trees. The rhythms of the seasons continue their steady march. Down here in NZ we're scurrying to harvest the summer bounty in the sticky heat as the days begin to shorten and the mornings drip with dew. The preserving pan is centre stage in the kitchen and another giant zucchini emerges from it's hiding place to be chopped into pickles for a winter platter. Breakfast is a fresh ripe peach from Central Otago, hay is being cut in the paddock next door.
ReplyDeleteThen the mailbox brings a Spring bulb catalogue and my mobile an image of my friend's first grandchild. I am filled with joy and just a little envy.
This is Life in all its marvellous glory. Ours to enjoy and give thanks for.
Thanks for sharing your walks with us. Time to stir another pot...
What a lovely comment Peng. Like a fragment of Literature. Here in February, I had almost forgotten what summer can be like.
DeleteWhat amazing photos you have taken. I especially like the first two. The tree and horizon are just gorgeous and the footsteps have a very special look with the clouds and sun in the background. You are such a talented photographer.
ReplyDeleteYour comment has caused my head to inflate like a balloon Bonnie! Thanks.
DeleteDid the snow crunch as you walked on it?
ReplyDeleteI bet it was quiet all around you.
It wasn't crunchy snow Mary but yes, there was a quietness all around.
DeleteLovely photos. It's nice that you drive away from the snow.
ReplyDeleteI guess in many Alberta winters you would have to drive a long way to leave the snow behind.
DeleteI like that last shot - it shows the boundaries of the fields in a completely different way than a summer shot would. The quarry picture has lovely muted browns and grays from bottom to top.
ReplyDeleteExperiencing winter snow for at least four months of the year as we do, I have to wonder why anyone would go in search of it, though! ha ha
Only mad men actively go in search of snow... and skiers of course.
DeleteKeep on challenging winter. we have be out thee and be used to some tough weather.
ReplyDeleteWe English guys are not as tough as you hardy Canadians when it comes to winter conditions.
DeleteThere were sandstone quarries here in the valley, back in the day. Rail lines loaded the sandstone out of the quarries. I don't know if the main transport happened by rail or canal. A citizens' league operates one of the quarries now for swimming in the summer. It's a very interesting place, the left over swimming holes.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that Dove Holes Limestone Quarry will ever be re-developed as a leisure location.
DeleteA winter walk, even if not very long, can be really refreshing. Even better if a bacon and egg sandwich is waiting for us at the end - that's a pity the grill was already turned off, but at least you got some sustenance.
ReplyDeleteI don't need to tell you that all your pictures are beautiful. Maybe the first one is my favourite, but I also like the footprints in the snow.
Looking for winter, I didn't have to look far yesterday - for the first time this season, it snowed in my area. Actually, it was a blizzard that lasted about half an hour before it turned to rain, and by the time I left work, there was hardly any snow left on the ground. Tomorrow, 14C is forecast for my area. A veritable rollercoaster.
As I look out of our front window right now it is snowing but not settling.
DeleteThat looks like a really bracing walk. The dusting of snow on the limestone quarry really gives it depth and character. I've said it before about winter trees in the snow like your first photo but that photo reminds me of a Caspar David Friedrich painting.
ReplyDeleteI was especially pleased with that simple top picture. Thank you Graham. I will seek out Caspar David Friedrich.
DeleteWonderful snowy photos ! I'm heading to the Northern Hemisphere next January, it's too hot here.
ReplyDeleteNobody is going anywhere while this coronavirus is sweeping across the planet. Thanks for calling by again Helen.
DeleteIn the bleak midwinter... Super photos Mr Pudding.
ReplyDeleteCheers Cider!
DeleteThey are beautiful photos. I would usually stay indoors by the fire rather than actively go in search of snow. But then I am but a weak and feeble woman.
ReplyDeleteAnd you have got your needlework to do.
DeleteGrand photos, YP. You set a high bar for your photos and you always meet it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary. I try hard to capture images that are pleasing to the eye. I guess that I am always on the look out for special pictures that make me nod with satisfaction - such as the top picture in this blogpost.
DeleteI can feel the cold and the sun from your photos. The quarry is really scary but beautiful. Good camera, excellent photographer!
ReplyDeleteFrustratingly, there are very few places where you can look into that giant hole in the planet. It is just outside the boundaries of The Peak District.
DeleteAwesome photos Mr Pudding. I've been hoping for some snow in deepest, darkest Lincolnshire but nothing so far.
ReplyDeleteYou will have to invest in a snow machine.
DeleteGood to see some snow. Grew up with the stuff. My grandfather would shovel us out of the house in the morning. Two meters/six foot of snow either side of the tunnel. My early childhood's snowmen built, with his help, were magnificent. My grief on their melting was mega. Left with a carrot and pieces of coal. Still, it heralded snowdrops, the first flowers of spring. He also did build me an igloo once. And yes, see above, it was magnificent, and yes, see above, it melted. Cue snowdrops. Closely followed by daffodils.
ReplyDeleteHere at England's South Coast? A washout if ever there was one. Too close to the Golf Stream so I am told. Still, took the Angel when he was little back to the motherland during winter so he didn't miss out on the delights of proper knee deep and deeper snow, sledging. And snow ball fights.
U
According to our friend in Ludwigsburg (The Librarian - Meike) even German winters do not attract the kind of snow they used to. Sounds like your grandfather was a lovely man who liked children and could relate to them.
DeleteThat's definitely much more wintry than we're getting down here. Great photos as usual!
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful photos. I would usually stay indoors by the fire rather than actively go in search of snow. But then I am but a weak and feeble woman.thanks
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete