A slice of Lyme 2 - Doing it in stile

Leaving the canal behind, a series of paths across the fields took us gradually closer to our intended lunchtime destination.

Notice the dog gate to the side of the stile.

I was intrigued by this fancy gate post! Why would someone stick a finial on top of a perfectly ordinary post?

In the distance, tantalising glimpses of the Cage were making my stomach rumble.

Entering into Lyme Park, we climbed yet another stile to amble through the woods (another doggy gate)...

...out the other end onto the drive...

...and straight up the hillside... 

...to the Cage.

A slice of Lyme 1 - Macclesfield canal

Back in early July, I went out for a walk with the Bradford HF Walking Group. A couple of weeks prior to the walk, Sacristan and I scouted out the route (as he was to be the walk leader for the day).

The photos I will be sharing over the next few days are an amalgum of the two times of walking the route.

The first section followed the old railway incline from Poynton out towards the Macclesfield Canal. It was easy walking up a very gentle gradient until a stile brought us out onto the towpath.

A few boats were active on the water.

This old Morris Minor Estate was parked up behind some moorings.

Beyond the bridge, there is a small marina.

But our route took us over the bridge and away to the fields.

St Pancras

A week before we disappeared off on 'holiday', Mark travelled through London and had to wait on St Pancras station for a couple of hours. He spent the time experimenting with my Dad's old camera, trying to find some interesting compositions. He offered them for the blog and I was very happy to dedicate a post to his shots.

The curved sweep of the station frontage. There is so much detail in the architecture of this building!

Since becoming the International terminus for the Channel Tunnel trains, St Pancras has had something of a restoration and revamp. I love the arched roof. It lets in so much light.

The Olympic Rings are here in anticipation of the big event next summer.

Because it is now such a busy terminus, St Pancras has also sprouted a plethora of shops to entice the traveller to part from his hard earned money.



Statues represent the theme of the traveller. One wonders where this smart gentleman may be going...

...or how long it will be before this loving couple are reunited.

The plaque caught Mark's attention because of the named location. Butterley, in our home county of Derbyshire, is now the home to the Midland Railway Centre.

I hope you enjoyed Mark's collection. I must encourage him to offer more photos for future posts.

Quarndon

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.


Look for the letter, to see where I am.

Q is for Quarndon.

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Quarndon is a village to the north of Derby; flowing almost directly out of the city suburb of Allestree. It has a population of around 900 and its name comes from the old English cwoern, meaning quern (a handmill for grinding corn) and dun, meaning a hill.

It has a mix of housing, but most tends to be quite high end and some properties are large!

The main street slopes gently allowing good views south towards Derby.

This terraced house was once the village pub.

Across the road is the Millennium sundial. To tell the time, stand with your heels on the line labelled with the correct month. Your shadow will show the time according to British Summer Time. (Subtract one hour to find Greenwich Mean Time).

The nearby post box is a GR; George VI, 1936 - 1952 (father to our current Queen).

Across the main street is the Parish Church of St Paul, which was built in 1874 at a cost of just over £4,000.

The four gargoyles at the base of the spire represent the four Gospel writers (Matthew - man, Mark - lion, Luke - ox and John - eagle). The skeleton clock was erected in 1897 to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.

I love the weather vane atop the spire.

In front of the church is the village war memorial...

with its beautiful Celtic cross.

The Village Hall, at the top of the main street, has been variously known as the Parish Hall, the Institute and the Church Hall.

While, at the bottom of the hill is the 17th century Joiners Arms pub and, beyond that, a similarly aged drinking place; the village spring well.

Once a famous spa, the wall plaque claims that, in 1727, the Chaleybeate Well was visited by Daniel Defoe.

Staying on the theme of water, just outside the village is this unusual structure...

The Quarndon water tower stores a supply of water at an elevated height. The purpose of this is to increase water pressure in the local system.

When I took this photo, I had to include the speed limit sign. Ooops! :)

Quarndon is a popular place to live, but finding a house here is neither easy, not cheap. With the appropriate planing permission, one can always try constructing a place to live...

or maybe you would prefer to wait until a suitable property came on the market...

From the road, it doesn't look soooooo impressive, but this 5 bedroom, 4 reception room, 3 bathroom freehold property, complete with outbuildings, a coachouse and 1.68 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, is currently for sale and will set you back a mere £1,450,000. Any takers?

Parwich

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.


Look for the letter, to see where I am.

P is for Parwich.

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Parwich is a village of around 500 inhabitants, located approximately 7 miles north of the market town of Ashbourne. There has been a settlement here for some time, the village being listed as Pevrewic in the Domesday Book of 1086.

I'm going to take you for a little stroll. We won't see all of the sights, but I can show you a good selection.

Our journey takes us from the lower green; one of three in the village.

A small stone bridge leads to this footpath, which cuts between the cottages and into the back of the churchyard.

The graves here are neatly tended and the headstones bear some names very familiar to me.

As we walk on through the churchyard, we come to the side of the church building and the main door.

The tympanum in the arch above the church door is thought to date back to pre-Norman England. It shows the lamb of God with a cross, a stag trampling on a serpent, a wolf and a selection of other strange creatures.

Continue through the front of the churchyard and out of the gate into the main street. Here is the church green and from a little way up the street is a good view of the church itself.

There is believed to have been a church on this site for around 800 years. The current church of St Peter, was erected by Sir Thomas William Evans in 1873; a reconstruction of an earlier building. At the time, Evans owned Parwich Hall.

A little further up the main street is the turning for Alsop, just along which is the Royal British Legion building; a social club, established in 1951, for ex-servicemen and their friends and families.

Back on the main street, is the village Memorial Hall; a very modern construction. The original was built in 1962, but was replaced by this new building, opened in September 2010.

Continuing up the main street, this building was once the village shop; now sadly closed.

Just above it, at the head of the village, is the Primary School, built in 1861 (also by Sir Thomas William Evans). The school currently caters for around 50 children aged between 4 and 11.

From the school, we do an about turn and head back down the main street, past the church and round to the other village green.

Here are the swings and see-saw. At the beginning of July each year, Parwich has its 'Wakes' week; a traditional holiday and festival filled with events including the parade, the hill race and the fair. I used to love the fair with its old fashioned penny slot machines, coconut shy and swingboats. I especially loved the swingboats and would pull on the thick rope until the boat was swinging as high as it was possible to go! I used to go round all of the family adults, persuading them to take a ride with me (and pay the fee of course!).

In places like Parwich, housing is always an issue. House prices are sky high and any child who has grown up in the village will struggle to find somewhere affordable to live. That is the reason for this little 'Close' which consists of affordable starter homes for local young people, and also flats for senior citizens.

Across the road from the Close is the Sycamore Pub, which now also houses a small village shop.

...and a stroll along the front of Chestnut Cottages brings us back to our starting point on the lower green. 

Once there was a line of horse chestnut trees here, but most have now had to be felled. When they were planted, they were named after the children in the village. One was called 'Hazel' which always makes me smile; a tree with a confused identity.

PS: I'm away at the moment doing voluntary work. I was hoping to post a photo a day, but it's been so busy, there has been no way :(. I'm also well behind with commenting. I will catch up whan I'm home. Sorry.