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Northern Light: Ladybower
Northern Light creates difficulties for a cameraman who wants to shoot colour. All too often it means iron grey skies for a month at a time.

Sunsets can seem strange, because the horizon is nearly as high as the clouds. Sometimes you can view lightning from the side, an orange shaft fired from clouds almost overhead to a valley hundreds of feet below. Hail may briefly fall from a clear sky, and sports have been cancelled due to snow in mid-June.

But on those few rare days when the clouds depart, the northern sky can be a deep rich shimmering blue, where unpolluted air sings of summer … for an hour or two.

I both love, and am exasperated by, Northern Light. I always wanted Derbyshire to look like Florida. But now I am in Florida, I know it will never, ever look like Derbyshire.

My shots from Derbyshire begin with Ladybower Reservoir, trapped between a 1300 foot climb eastward to Sheffield, and Kinder Scout, the 2000 foot brute of the Peak District, to the west.

@ Northern Light: Ladybower
Granny Violet McKillop begins her photographic tour of Northern Light: Derbyshire.

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The Long and Winding Roads
‘Dry’ stone walls are so called because no cement is used in their construction. They dominate the fields of North Derbyshire, delineating ancient boundaries. There is no shortage of stones up there to make them from … but the skill to make these well is fast being lost.

These fields are on the high plateau above Bradwell, an area of marginal farming land where sheep are commoner than cows, and sun less common than lashing rain.

@ The Long and Winding Roads

Blue And Copper Egg
The first painted eggs came from Mesopotamia, and because eggs were forbidden food during Lent, people painted eggs while Lent was being observed—after Lent, they would eat the eggs on Easter Day.

Beautifully decorated eggs “pysanka” are associated with Ukraine, and the oldest painted egg that was unearthed in northern Ukraine is dated to the end of the 17th century.

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Fleeting Sunshine
As grey clouds scud across the sky, shafts of sunlight illuminate one field, then another in turn. One moment sunshine, another drizzle, but always wind. Tideswell is about a thousand feet up on the north west Derbyshire plateau, and there are far more sheep than people in the area.

@ Fleeting Sunshine
Peveril Castle in Castleton was built in 1086 by the Norman Knight William Peveril.

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The Pennine Way
The first long distance trail in Britain was the Pennine Way, beginning in the heart of Derbyshire and ending in the borders of Scotland. Here we are close to the start, on the vast morass of Bleaklow, having just climbed “Jacob’s Ladder“ and crossed Featherbed Moss, where one foot in the wrong place is a leg lost in mud up to the thigh. Bleaklow (pronounced ‘Blake Low’) is even bleaker, but mercifully less damp, than Kinder Scout to the south.

@ The Pennine Way
John Flamsteed, born in Denby in 1646, had a humble education at the free school of Derby yet later catalogued more than 3000 stars. In 1675, Flamsteed was appointed the King’s Astronomical Observator—the first English Astronomer Royal, with an allowance of £100 a year. The warrant stated his task as “... to find out the so much desired Longitude of places for Perfecting the Art of Navigation”. Flamsteed calculated the solar eclipses of 1666 and 1668 and was responsible for the earliest recorded sightings of the planet Uranus in December 1690.

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Bleaklow
High on my list of regrets is never having stepped beyond this point on the moors. Beyond lies a Roman road known as “Doctor’s Gate”, having been improved by a Doctor Talbot in the middle ages. In those days, ‘gate’ meant ‘road’. So I have never taken the Doctor’s road, and probably never will.

A bleak place indeed. One can only marvel at the determination of the Romans to dominate northern England, making roads in the pitiless wilderness where snow can fall deep enough to cover the tops of telegraph poles.

@ Bleaklow
The country’s first Wireless Club was formed in Derbyshire.
In 1911, the Derby Wireless Club was formed by a group of Derby engineers and experimenters. It was to be the first wireless – or radio – club in the country.

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On the “Monk’s Way”
Small reminders of departed powers litter the landscape of North Derbyshire. This post lies by the “Monk’s Way”, which led tens of miles from the Peak to a priory in far off Nottinghamshire. Where is the other post to form a gate? Where is the wall it might have opened a way through? Or is this a way marker for the weary traveler in high places?

In a lonely place like this, it is quite likely nobody knows any longer. The priory is long gone, as is the power of the Norman knight who founded it and gave it lands (stolen from the Saxons) almost a thousand years ago. Only the stones know why they are there.

@ On the “Monk’s Way”
Derbyshire was at the very forefront of England's Industrial Revolution. In 1759 cotton spinner Jedediah Strutt patented and built a machine which revolutionised the manufacture of ribbed hose stockings. In 1771, Richard Arkwright, Samuel Need and Strutt built the world’s first commercially successful water-powered cotton spinning mill, developing a form of power that was to be a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. Later in his life Arkwright was known as “the Father of the Industrial Revolution”.

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Cromford
Cromford is a pleasant village set among steep slopes just to the south of Matlock. You would not guess from this picture that the Industrial Revolution began here!

Richard Arkwright made the worlds first water powered cotton spinning mill and sited it here in 1771, because of the fast flowing River Derwent. Later the Cromford Canal was built to take woollen goods to the river Trent, and thus to the world.

Before Arkwright, there was only cottage industry. His was the first factory anywhere. What he did in rural Derbyshire rapidly changed the world.

@ Cromford
John Flamsteed, born in Denby in 1646, had a humble education at the free school of Derby yet later catalogued more than 3000 stars. In 1675, Flamsteed was appointed the King’s Astronomical Observator—the first English Astronomer Royal, with an allowance of £100 a year. The warrant stated his task as “... to find out the so much desired Longitude of places for Perfecting the Art of Navigation”. Flamsteed calculated the solar eclipses of 1666 and 1668 and was responsible for the earliest recorded sightings of the planet Uranus in December 1690.

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Lathkill Waterfall
The River Lathkill has many weirs and human works along its length, but only one natural waterfall. Often enough there is no water to fall over it, as the river disappears underground and gurgles its way through mines and tunnels instead of following the river bed.

There’s no way to reach this spot without walking several miles or making a long climb down a steep trail that makes you think what it will take to get back up it; and thus, you are guaranteed a nice peaceful rest at this spot.

Too busy to take notice of you are the white throated dipper, which makes its nest in the face of the waterfall, and numerous yellow wagtails, all of them hungry for insects, of which there are plenty. The waterfall is only four feet high; but it forms a welcome break on the trail by the river’s side.

@ Lathkill Waterfall
Blue John stone is found in Treak Cliff hillside at Castleton. It is the only place in the world it is found. The pretty purple/blue stone is made into jewellery and small ornaments.

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Limestone Gorge
The River Lathkill runs through a limestone gorge, sometimes towering high on both sides, sometimes widening, lowering or fading away as one travels down its length. There is one rough path over stones worn slippery-smooth by the feet of countless years.

@ Limestone Gorge
Blue John stone is found in Treak Cliff hillside at Castleton. It is the only place in the world it is found. The pretty purple/blue stone is made into jewellery and small ornaments.

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Head of the Ancient River
The River Lathkill emerges from the rocks just a little way from here. The valley was gouged by meltwater from glaciers, not the current river, which now follows the route they once carved … as have countless walkers who love the river.

@ Head of the Ancient River
Swarfega, a gloopy, dark green, industrial-strength hand cleaner, was invented in 1947 by Audley Bowdler Williamson, an industrial chemist from Heanor, Derbyshire.

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Mandale Mine
Lead mining began in the Lathkill Valley no later than 1495. Remains of later workings include an aqueduct and buildings where the ore was processed. But all these exist because of the mines.

Here’s a shot looking out from Mandale Mine with my camera bag in the entrance to give some scale. I wasn’t going any further in!

@ Mandale Mine
Were holidays invented in Derbyshire? Thomas Cook, from Melbourne, Derbyshire, created the forerunner of modern package holidays when he devised the first paid excursion in 1841, an 11-mile train journey from Leicester to Loughborough via the Midland Railway. It was such a success that Cook began to pioneer his concept through rail excursions and, today, the Thomas Cook brand still honours his name.

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Dovedale
Dovedale is one of the best known walks in Derbyshire, though the average tourist gets no further than this. Three miles further the walk ends at Milldale, after passing a rare rock arch and 'Doveholes', a series of natural caves.

Here, the east side has no footpath and blends into the river. I shot from there because I could be well away from other people. There are a few in this shot, but they are small stick figures, insignificant in the towering landscape.

@ Dovedale
Swarfega, a gloopy, dark green, industrial-strength hand cleaner, was invented in 1947 by Audley Bowdler Williamson, an industrial chemist from Heanor, Derbyshire.

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Lush Moorland
Although moors are by definition uncultivated, they are often thick with undergrowth. Ferns and bracken predominate, along with scrub trees. Underneath there is a variety of wildlife, which may include three different kinds of snake. I have found snake casts on this moor, but have never seen a snake there myself.

@ Lush Moorland
An industrial boom began in Derby when Rolls-Royce opened a car and aircraft factory in the town in 1907.

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Jousting at Bolsover Castle
Bolsover is a mining district, as is most of north-east Derbyshire, a plateau where crops are grown. But the mines came a long time after the castle.

There is a lot to do at Bolsover Castle, but jousting is a rare bonus.

@ Jousting at Bolsover Castle
The country’s first Wireless Club was formed in Derbyshire.
In 1911, the Derby Wireless Club was formed by a group of Derby engineers and experimenters. It was to be the first wireless – or radio – club in the country.

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Peak Forest
If you look for a forest at Peak Forest, it was felled long ago. Some say the last wolf in England was killed in that forest in the 15th century, at nearby Wormhill. Thus sheep may safely graze; but without huge subsidies, they are uneconomic here.

Northern Light at sunset on the high plateau is an eerie thing. 1100 feet up, light is subtly different. The distance from cloud to ground is small, and night steals up on you.

@ Peak Forest
Oh look ... you won a little pet!

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Where the Fields Have No Name
Much of North Derbyshire is too rugged and barren even for sheep. When people earned a living from the earth, they thought of these places as a wasteland. Those of us who make our living in the town think of them as ruggedly beautiful. The emptier they are, the more we love them. But they’re empty for a reason; dead lands no-one could scratch a living from in times gone by. Majestic in their emptiness, but a shapeless brown desert for those who lose their way.

@ Where the Fields Have No Name
An industrial boom began in Derby when Rolls-Royce opened a car and aircraft factory in the town in 1907.

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The Paths Which Time Forgot
In the heart of the Derbyshire hills lie trails once made for light railways, carrying stone to build dams. Had the reservoirs not been built, the only roads would be sheep tracks. There are not even villages here, just a very few scattered farm houses miles apart. These are some of the longest dead-end roads you can find in Britain … and some of the loveliest, especially in autumn.

@ The Paths Which Time Forgot
The Peak District does not have many peaks or mountains. The name comes from the ancient Saxon tribe, the Pecsaetans, that lived in the area.

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Silent Woods
Once there were settlements such as ‘Tin Town’ in these woods, where workmen lived a few years whilst the dams were built, only to move on when the job was done.

Some people, like me, are driven to explore dead ends and find life in them. Everyone else stops at the picnic area, then turns round and goes back to the aimless roads connecting yesterday to long ago. But some of the best sights in the Peak District are down dead ends.

@ Silent Woods
Lara Croft, the fictional beautiful, intelligent English archaeologist and adventurer (1996-present) was the creation of Derby game company Core Design. She has been the heroine of several video game sequels, short films and Hollywood blockbusters and is now owned by Square Enix, previously Eidos Interactive.

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The Princess Bride
I first saw “The Princess Bride” with Lisa in 2013. The more I watched it, the more I felt I was looking at familiar places, though I was now an ocean away. It was in a scene set here, around Owler Tor, that I realised most of the film had been shot in Derbyshire. If you look hard enough you may recognise other locations from the film in this set of photos!

@ The Princess Bride
John Flamsteed, born in Denby in 1646, had a humble education at the free school of Derby yet later catalogued more than 3000 stars. In 1675, Flamsteed was appointed the King’s Astronomical Observator—the first English Astronomer Royal, with an allowance of £100 a year. The warrant stated his task as “... to find out the so much desired Longitude of places for Perfecting the Art of Navigation”. Flamsteed calculated the solar eclipses of 1666 and 1668 and was responsible for the earliest recorded sightings of the planet Uranus in December 1690.

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Winnat's Pass
Winnat's Pass rises 900 feet from bottom to top at one-in-five (20%). It is the only major hill in Debyshire I have never been up on a bicycle. One wobble and you could be under a car. The road is too narrow for a centre line, and if you try walking up it, your heels will not touch the ground.

This ought to be a lonely spot, but it is now the only route west out of Castleton. The main road between Sheffield and Manchester used to run up the face of the 'Shivering Mountain', Mam Tor, a hundred yards away. But Mam Tor has shivered too often. Half a century ago the main road was closed forever, utterly ruined. So incredible as it sounds, this is the most direct route between two major English cities.

@ Winnat's Pass
Were holidays invented in Derbyshire? Thomas Cook, from Melbourne, Derbyshire, created the forerunner of modern package holidays when he devised the first paid excursion in 1841, an 11-mile train journey from Leicester to Loughborough via the Midland Railway. It was such a success that Cook began to pioneer his concept through rail excursions and, today, the Thomas Cook brand still honours his name.

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Autumn Hillside
When the summer draws to an end, Derbyshire hillsides are awash with purple heather, and as autumn continues, brown with bracken.

@ Autumn Hillside
Derbyshire is rich in natural mineral resources such as lead, iron, coal and limestone, which have been exploited over a long period. Lead, for example, has been mined since Roman times.

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River of Mist
Looking at a temperature inversion from above, one can see the fog flowing between the hills as if it were a river. Underneath it lies the real river, the Derwent, which carved the hills through which the misty river flows. Also beneath the misty river is the village of Calver, which has completely disappeared beneath it.

@ River of Mist
Peveril Castle in Castleton was built in 1086 by the Norman Knight William Peveril.

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Storm Chaser
Just for once I decided to be a storm chaser. My take on that was to get up where the clouds were and see the storm point blank. The high plateau of North West Derbyshire was the best place to be.

1700 feet up, the storm was finally passing. Light was chasing the gloom away. I wound down the car window, took the picture, lowered the camera and got a faceful of hail.

Later, when I had written 'Aurorielle', I was searching for an image to express the content. The character for which the book was named was an angel who took care of the fertility of the land, bringing sunshine and rain as she was commanded. She stood between the darkness and the light. If one ever caught her flying by on a camera, she would have been on the edge of this storm, ushering it where it was supposed to go, with the light of heaven behind her. In fact I think that is her, shining bright near the top right of the picture ....

@ Storm Chaser
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Derbyshire. Its limited overs team is called the Derbyshire Falcons in reference to the famous peregrine falcon which nests on Derby Cathedral.

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Northern Half-light
I do not retouch colours in landscapes, ever. These were the real colours at sunset high in the hills early in March 2011. Deliberately underexposing the shot deepens the colours and encourages detail to morph into areas of solid colour. That's using the camera to show what my mind's eye perceived, rather than what my eyes saw; the difference between what my friend Sarah calls 'art photography' and taking out your iPhone. Art is a matter of taste. This is how I remember the Northern Light, but not exactly how it appeared.

@ Northern Half-light
Blue John stone is found in Treak Cliff hillside at Castleton. It is the only place in the world it is found. The pretty purple/blue stone is made into jewellery and small ornaments.

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Ladybower by Night
I started at Ladybower and I will finish there, too. That lens flare was caused by the moon. You can see the lower half of Orion in the top left of the picture. There are few lights out here; the tourist cottage on the hill opposite shines like a beacon. So here, the moon seems very bright.

I stood and watched as a river of clouds poured down the Ashop Valley from the top of Kinder Scout, 2000 feet up. Soon the last of the Northern Light was extinguished by the clouds which so often suffocate it.

@ Ladybower by Night
Granny Violet McKillop has now completed her viewing of Northern Light: Derbyshire. As she prepares to go home, she receives a wonderful gift!

Granny Violet McKillop has enjoyed her photographic tour of Northern Light: Derbyshire, but it is time to go home now! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can also enjoy a photographic tour of "Northern Light!"