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| Canada geese in Furnace Pond |
Yesterday - the hottest day of the year in northern England - I made a fashion statement. Picture this my friends:-
- Sun-bleached souvenir fishing hat labelled "Malta" on my head
- Azure England rugby T-shirt complete with red rose
- Faded blue shorts kept up with an old leather belt (brown)
- White sports socks
- Comfortable walking boots from Decathlon
- On my back - the blue now sun-faded "Converse" rucksack I bought in Bangkok to replace the one that was stolen in 2013
Surely I should have been swinging down a cat walk at the Paris fashion show but instead I was in the countryside between the city of Derby and the M1 motorway. Somewhere I had never walked before.
To add to my modish appearance, I added sun cream to my exposed flesh. Those muscular tree trunks I call legs had not seen sunlight since Shirley and I were in Croatia last September.
And then I was off, leaving Clint by an old water pump in the village of Stanton-by-Dale. it was eleven thirty when the walk started and five fifteen when it finished.
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| Victorian water pump in Stanton by Dale |
What a beautiful day for walking! I had my camera and more importantly I had my health. A plodding machine, seeing what I could see. Those things included the old hermit cave south of Dale Abbey, Canada geese and goslings in Furnace Pond, the villages of Ockbrook, Dale Abbey and Risley and several farms. Twice I got lost but didn't panic, just kept on plodding.
The soil down there was the colour of rust. I noticed a sign on a farm gate warning "Hare coursers" and "poachers" that if apprehended they would be liable to heavy fines and imprisonment. Fortunately neither activity appeals to me, I'm more of a fashion guru - as explained earlier.
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| Tree surgeon by Moor Lane, Dale Abbey |
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| The Hermitage at Stanton by Dale "The hermit in question was a local baker from Derby named Cornelius, who one day had a dream that the Virgin Mary told him to go to Depedale to live a life of solitary prayer. As the story goes, he obeyed the vision despite not even knowing where Depedale was at the time. Upon his arrival, he found nothing but a marshland in the valley bottom with steep sandstone banks on the southern side. There, he excavated a home in one of these sandstone banks and began his worship in seclusion." |
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| Remains of the Premonstratensian abbey at Dale Abbey (where Alan-a-Dale of Robin Hood fame allegedly hailed from) |
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| St Michael's Church and war memorial - Stanton-by-Dale |
My heart was warmed by you wearing a red rose.
ReplyDeleteAs always I enjoyed your walk/hike/ramble and the pictorial evidence thereof.
Hermits have always fascinated me but this chap definitely sounds rather odd.
Don't let your heart get too warmed up buddy! It was the robust red rose of England not the aphid-infested red rose of Lancashire! Thanks for calling by again Graham - now get back in the garden and work like a Yorkshireman!
DeleteThe robust red rose of England is the Tudor Rose which became thus after the Lancastrians thrashed the Yorkists.
DeleteAs for going out and working like a Yorkshireman, I shall do no such thing. I have a lot to do this afternoon so some Lancastrian effort is needed.
On a less flippant note and in the spirit of compromise I have a feeling that the England Rugby rose is both red and white.
You are right Graham..."This rose was created to symbolise the marriage between Henry VII (House of Lancaster) and Elizabeth (House of York) and the end of the War of the Roses..." Personally, I wasn't aware that that particular war was over!
DeleteAnd there I was trying to be friendly!
DeleteIt was a hot day indeed. Was it you who drank that water pump trough dry?
ReplyDeleteThat water pump was made at Coalbrookdale! I think it has been dry for a long time you young whippersnapper!
DeleteThat's a lovely old water pump. I am glad that it hasn't been demolished or taken away for scrap.
ReplyDeleteI do wish that you hadn't described your outfit in such detail YP. I was just about to eat my lunch.
It is a good way of dieting - not that you need to of course!
DeleteOh to sit in a beer garden and drink some English real ales. Super photos.
ReplyDeleteOh to lie comatose in an English beer garden - sparked out because you just drank eight pints of foaming Tetley's bitter.
DeleteWhat a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI don't think health gurus would applaud it but most pub goers would.
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ReplyDeleteWow. Six hours is some walk. I bet those pasty legs were like a couple of lobsters by the end.
ReplyDeletePS. I love that water pump. Most unusual.
DeleteHello ADDY. Nice to see you again. The water pump was donated by "The Women of Stanton" in celebration Queen Victoria's long reign. More intersting to me - it was made in Coalbrookdale - the birthplace of The Industrial Revolution.
DeleteWhite socks - other than on a tennis court or a ten year old (max) - unforgivable (when on display). I believe you were wearing boots. In which case anything goes.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, when going on your walks, do spare a thought for the likes of poor Cro and his scandalized readers who want the rest of mankind to stay in their castle (home), not set a foot out of door, as not to infect someone in the middle of nowhere in France. How selfish of you, YP. Next I'll stop clearing my throat. Or breathing. God knows how many lives I'll save.
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I forgot to mention that I was ringing a handbell and shouting "Unclean!" whenever I saw other people.
DeleteOnce again, YP, thank you for the little travelogue! Good thing you can handle all the walking ... my feet, legs and knees just won't let me do that any more! Old age and worn out parts totally SUCK! LOL Both knees have been replaced but they still don't hold up for long-distance walking!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that Marcia but do not fret I will give you piggy back rides. I know that I won't always be able to plod the miles so while I can I will do it.
DeleteMy own husband is as fashionable as yourself, except he prefers black socks with his sandals. He doesn't care, he only wants comfort and I support that. My ex-husband used to call my comfortable shoes, my lesbian shoes. I don't know what he thought that was such an insult. I like both lesbians and comfortable shoes:)
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your ramblings and I'm in awe of how far you can walk.
I understand that lesbian shoes come from the island of Lesbos in The Aegean Sea. I guess your ex-husband was a Grecophile. Did he perchance enjoy naked wrestling with other men?
DeleteThank you for making me laugh out loud!
DeleteI am devastated that there are no photos of the stylish gentleman who walks the countryside.
ReplyDeleteYou will just have to use your imagination Red.
DeleteYou must have been the envy of any other fascion-conscious person you met during your walk (dozens, no doubt).
ReplyDeleteLove the Victorian water pump! As for the rest of the pictures, they are of course all beautiful. That empty gate or high window frame has a special appeal - from nowhere to nowhere.
Judging from the open mouths and wide eyes, I think you are right about the envy. Wasn't it one of the seven deadly sins? Mind you, pride was one of them too!
DeleteI agree with Red - such a stylish description deserves a photo! I am glad to see that since your release you have been visiting many new areas for your walks. There were certainly many things to see on this one. The Hermitage is interesting to see as well as the remains of the Abbey. Did Clint make any new friends while waiting for you?
ReplyDeleteA small Italian girl was parked very close to his bumper. I think they had been making whoopee.
DeleteMy goodness! What a wonderful day and beautiful pictures. I have seen over the years that all your pictures of old churches come with the prerequisite necropolis. Over here too, for most old houses of worship. Not so with the new churches anywhere close to cities. Are there also graveyards attached to some of England's newer churches? Lovely, lovely walk!
ReplyDeleteGood observation madame. New churches don't have surrounding graveyards. Nowadays most of the British dead are cremated and if you wish to be buried they tend to dig you a nice you-shaped hole in a municipal cemetery. Has the birthday now happened? I hope that Big Bear got you a diamond-encrusted tiara.
DeleteWe have several caves in the vicinity, one fabled to have been the place a white woman was held captive by Native Americans. Completely untrue, but many make the treck to the caves. I like the looks of your baker's hermitage.
ReplyDeleteWell - I never knew that - caves in Ohio. Are they natural or man-made showing evidence of Native American habitation?
DeleteThat cave looks like it might be a bit drafty in the winter. Do you know how long the hermit lived there?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your style is very much like my husband's. He never looks in a mirror and even if he happened to go past one he wouldn't notice or care. Sometimes he hurts my eyes. (That might sound harsh, so I'll add a 'lol') lol!
I believe he lived there for twenty years or more - that's Cornelius, not your husband. Co-incidentally, your husband may also be called Cornelius. It is a good name because it can be shortened to Neil!
DeleteYou always struck me as a bit of a fashion plate. I love that water pump. And I had to look up "Premonstratensian" -- that is truly a term I have never seen before!
ReplyDeleteAll those monks and religious orders. They were into wealth more than they were into God. No wonder Henry VIII wanted rid of them.
DeleteBeautiful blue skies, we have been so lucky with the weather. The cave reminded me of the Kinver Rock cave/homes, hewn out of sandstone.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Kinver just as I had never heard of the hermitage at Dale Abbey until I prepared to go on that walk - doing a little research beforehand.
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