The Peak District

An Interesting Start to our Holiday

We’d been preparing the motorhome ready for the trip for a few days with no issues. We had one problem to overcome on the day we left home as our 13.5 year old dog, Holly needed acupuncture (which frees up her back and joints) at the vet in Burley, which was in the opposite direction to our route north. So I was going to travel onto the M27 and meet up with Vanessa at the Rownhams services. Meanwhile I finalised a few checks before leaving including a fuel level check – unfortunately I couldn’t start the engine.

I tried to jump start it with Vanessa’s hybrid car (using some dumbbells to keep the accelerator depressed), but this didn’t work so I had to call out the Driver Guardian service. They would get to me by about 11:50 (a 90 minute wait), so I contacted Vanessa to return home.

Well the recovery truck was delayed eventually getting to us at 13:20. He had to use the large set of jump leads from his lorry to get me going. The alternator was working and charging the battery and he was sure it would now be OK with the 4.5 hour journey sufficient to fully charge the battery.

So I set off with Vanessa following, just in case of any issues and the plan to couple up with the car at Rownhams Services. I was still sceptical about the battery health, so left the engine running while we connected up the car. The journey took about 5 hours with 2 short comfort break stops (leaving the engine running each time). We eventually arrived at our campsite around 7pm and reversed the van onto the pitch. I stopped the engine to use the keys to get the levelling ramps out and restarted the engine!!! Oh no it didn’t, the battery was still dead so clearly not holding any charge.

To cut a long story short, I tried to source a battery in Stoke-on-Trent (20 minutes away) but the one they requested for delivery later that day was wrongly listed in stock. My son is travelling up to see us on Tuesday, so I rang Adams Morey in Southampton – yes we have one; great I thought…. They phoned back this morning – sorry their stock listing was wrong, we don’t have that battery! Aaaagggghh. So our search for a battery continues, at least we don’t travel home for another week.

We did finally get out for our first day….

Whilst awaiting news of the battery, we visited an old friend who used to live in Southampton and we went out for the day. First plan was to try and find a water course where 2 streams meet, which is the point where Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire meet. Well in an area of no phone reception I failed to find the correct path to the ‘Three Shires Head’ viewpoint. So we returned to the car and headed off for lunch at the Rudyard Hotel. Afterwards we walked down the the nearby lake and I tried out a few infrared shots with a converted camera that I had borrowed.

A month ago we traded in all of our Canon cameras and lenses as the weight was getting too much for our elderly frames to carry. We have purchased OM-System cameras and lenses (previously Olympus) which have a sensor of half the area, but same pixel resolution. Thus all lenses with a similar focal length to Canon are half the size and weight (and much cheaper). We’ve been trying them out for a few weeks now, but this is the first time using them on a photographic holiday.

Our campsite is quite close to the Roaches, so we tried to find a hilltop location to take a picture of them in the warm evening light.

Tomorrow I’m going to find the Three Shires Head, so watch this space.

Tour around the Peak District

Friday 2nd May – I got up early in search of Three Shires Head, which was very easy once I had the route plotted after accessing the internet last evening. I suppose if I’d had a paper map; which would have been how I found it over 21 years ago, then I wouldn’t have had an issue yesterday.

I parked the car just along small lane a few miles south west of Buxton on the A54 and followed the footpath using my saved route on the Komoot app and had no problem getting to the location, which was about a 3/4 mile walk down into the valley.

I arrived at 7am not knowing when the sun might appear over the hills. Using my ‘Sun Surveyor App‘ (more details in the ‘Planning‘ menu of this site), I confirmed the sun might appear on the bridge at approx. 7:45am. Of course when photographing water you don’t want direct sunlight as exposure becomes an issue, but I was hoping for light on the bridge. Anyway, plenty of time to photograph the area. The lighter sky was still reflecting off the water, so for most shots I fitted my polarizer….

Comparing the images, you should be able to see the benefit of the polarizer.

Unfortunately by 7:45am the sky had started to cloud over, so I took a few last shots of the pool of the 2nd stream before heading back to the car.

I returned to the motorhome for breakfast and continued my search for a replacement battery. One of the potential suppliers confirmed they couldn’t source a replacement and recommended that I try Euro Car Parts. Bingo – they had a suitable replacement in stock, so after lunch we headed down to Newcastle-under-Lyme (adjacent to Stoke) and even better news was that it was £46 cheaper than the one the Fiat dealer was trying to source.

From here we then travelled Northeast for an hour to another viewpoint – Windgather Rocks which I hadn’t seen before. Unfortunately there was a ‘Road Closed’ sign in village just outside Macclesfield with no clue where the closure was – 4 miles later we found out it was on the road we needed to turn down. So a long detour (avoiding a 2nd lane closure) was required.

It was early afternoon and the light wasn’t really favourable for good photos, but wifey did get a few good shots of a climber on the rock face.

I tried the Infrared camera, but I wasn’t happy with the results, so clearly foliage is the preferred subject matter. However, I did grab this shot from the top of the rock (after finding an easier route up).

From here, we headed off to Hope (where we stayed in 2010) for a pub meal before moving onto Stanage Edge in search of millstones. Despite a lengthy search from the road we couldn’t find any. So we moved on to Curbar Edge; but I was sure Stanage was where they should be?

Arriving at Curbar Edge I could see straight away this wasn’t the millstone location, but the sun was getting low in the sky, so we stayed for a few early evening photos.

Headed back to the motorhome when I researched those old photos of Stanage Ledge against Google Earth views of the area. I may have found the right spot, so if we get another good evening, we’ll try again. Tomorrow’s forecast is cloudy, so we’ll not have an early start and I’ll have a go at fitting the new battery.

A Eureka Moment to Start the Day

Saturday 3rd May – Remember the motorhome battery issue; well today was the day I would have a go at replacing it. Not sure if there was any special procedure involved, but as a precaution I removed mains power to the motorhome and turned the fridge and leisure control panel off.

With the power disconnected the motorhome dashboard started to click, click, click…. Well I assumed that the solar panel was still providing the circuit some power? Replacement was quick and easy and then reattached the cables.

Eureka – the engine started first time! That was one worry out the way. So back to enjoying the day – we stayed at the motorhome until after lunch to give our aging dog more time to rest.

We then set off to visit Lud’s Church – No not what you think; it wasn’t a religious site, but a chasm in the rocks behind the Roaches. It was a steady one mile uphill walk from the carpark with Holly getting a carry for any of the steeper sections.

There was a steady stream of people heading through this popular site so taking photos and avoiding people was going to be difficult. Patience was required (yes, even Vanessa had to be tolerant) or in some cases I had to use a new AI removal feature in Lightroom to magically erase them.

The most remarkable point about these photographs was the OM-System cameras we have changed over to from Canon. As you might expect the light level was quite low in the chasm and we had to use them hand held as there were just too many people passing through to consider using tripods.

In the two images below, the camera was set to ISO 1600 with an f10 aperture. The shutter speed was 1/5th second. Look at the blown up section in the 2nd image of the plants growing on the rock face – and these images haven’t been sharpened in Lightroom.

On the return journey to the car we passed a converted watermill and stopped for a well deserved latte and flapjack.

We had a quick reccy of The Roaches on our way back to the motorhome to select a spot for an evening shoot, hoping to get the early evening light. Then enjoyed a nice steak meal before returning.

Despite the sky being clear in front of us, there was a significant cloud covering behind us, which we hoped would still allow a few bursts of sunshine….

After this photo we had to wait about 30-40 minutes for the sun to appear beneath the clouds and hopefully light up the scene with some great warm light…

Unfortunately, the clouds behind us were a fiery red, but that didn’t extend to the clouds in front – a pity as that would have been a great final image. Another evening we may have more luck.

A Poor Start Today, but Finished on a High

Sunday 4th May – With an uncertain forecast, we left it until the morning to decide on today’s itinerary. I woke to a small shower and grey skies, so we left it until 11am to travel out. Our first destination was Cromford Mills which was very disappointing, so we only stayed 30 minutes and moved on to Bakewell. The A6 was like a carpark, so we turned around and took a back road which allowed this view down onto Matlock-Bath.

Bakewell was a pleasant town to wander around, which also allowed me the opportunity to buy another lightweight waterproof jacket which helped keep out the cold as today was really quite cold.

Of course, we had to stop for a coffee to warm us up, but we couldn’t leave the town without purchasing an authentic Bakewell Tart.

With grey skies persisting, we headed away from Bakewell to a waterfall along the River Wye.

We soon spotted a pair of Dippers dashing in and out for the river, so I fitted my 40-150mm f2.8 lens with 2x converter which gives the 35mm equivalent of 600mm at f5.6 for a full frame camera.

Another reason we are pleased to have swapped from Canon to OM-Systems. The equivalent lenses are smaller, lighter and much cheaper. We’ll probably look for more wildlife now.

A Return to the River Wye

Monday 5th May – We are still learning how to make the best use of the features in our new cameras. My bird photos from yesterday were just about OK, but Vanessa was disappointed with all hers. So this morning we watched some OM-System videos as to the best practices to take bird photos. I then let Vanessa use the long lens and left her to try again, whilst I looked around the site for other opportunities. Here’s what I took…

Meanwhile Vanessa managed to take some marvellous images…

---

---

So how did Vanessa get such an improved set of images – so here’s the techy bit…

The OM-1 MK2 camera has a burst shutter mode called ‘ProCAP’ (meaning professional capture) and this is totally configurable but basically when the shutter button is partially pressed (which enables focusing) it also records a stream of images into a preset size of buffer. If the shutter is then fully depressed it saves the pre-buffer images as well as the next set of images until the shutter is released. The camera is capable of 120 frames per second, but we’ve set ours to 20fps. If you fancy understanding more, then open this tutorial link which shows a video from OM SYSTEM Ambassador Jari Peltomaki.

Here’s a few more stills from Vanessa before we headed back to the car.

It was still chilly today and the sky remained mostly cloudy so we headed off to the site of an old mine before searching for another waterfall at Padley Gorge

The Magpie Mine which used to produce Lead.

Padley Gorge wasn’t a straight forward trek. Firstly it was poorly signposted and Google froze completely when we were just a few miles away. We parked up and got our camera gear ready and put Holly’s dog coat on her, but she wasn’t keen on the walk – we think she had reached the ‘knackered’ point and just wanted to rest. Looking at the challenging rocky incline up the gorge, Vanessa agreed to take her back to the car whilst I continued. I wish I hadn’t as there were multiple paths and none were clearly marked. After about 15 minutes I gave up and returned as close to the stream as possible taking a few photos along route.

I couldn’t really recommend this walk to many people, especially those of an elderly age like me. So I returned to the car with one more stop-off planned at the Ladybower Reservoir.

It would be better with some sunlight, but we can’t always have perfect conditions.

A Clear Morning – so an earlier start than planned.

Tuesday 6th May – I woke early to completely clear skies, so time to drag wifey out of bed. Unfortunately we couldn’t leave the campsite before 7am as the gates are closed 11pm – 7am. But that did give us time for a quick cuppa.

We travelled for about 20 minutes to the village of Sterndale where we parked the car. Then another 10 minute walk to the brow of Hitters Hill which overlooks Chrome Hill.

I took the same image in Infrared which looks as though it had snowed.

It was very chilly as the sun hadn’t been up over the hill top for long, so not ideal for Infrared. We were stood amongst the sheep and lambs which of course had to be photographed.

Back to the car to return back to the motorhome for breakfast, but we stopped off for a few more shots on the way.

Our son’s family were at Chester Zoo yesterday and returning home today, so we had pre-arranged to meet up near the M6 for lunch. Afterwards we headed over to the eastern side of the Peak District in search of the millstones where I took that picture of Misty in 2010.

To hone in on the location I compared the background details from the photo to the Google satellite view of Stanage Edge. Eventually I located the approximate area which was where we drove to and parked. We then headed up towards the rock face and soon realised that the ground was scattered with many millstones. Well it took me about 15 minutes to locate the exact spot (15 years later).

The light was too harsh when we first arrived, so I relaxed on the stones with Holly whist Vanessa went off with the long lens in search of some more birds.

Once the sunlight had subdued a little I took a few more shots of the stones.

The sky was becoming more hazy and I suspected any sunset lighting would fade away too early, so we headed back to the motorhome for dinner (and I was right about the light).

Overcast Conditions, so Took it Easy Today

Wednesday 7th May – We can’t really grumble about the weather during the last week as the only shower we had was overnight and most days we have seen the sun shine. But today was forecast to remain overcast and this afternoon we spent with our friend in Stoke-on-Trent which ended up in a nice pub nearby for an evening meal. So we went back to Three Shires Head as Vanessa hadn’t seen it before. For me I took the drone to get a different perspective on the area and then tried my skills at bird photography.

On the way back we picked up 5 poo bags – If they’re not going to dispose of it properly, then at least kick it off the path and leave it for the weather to break it down – sorry, moan over!

While Vanessa was left to photograph the bridge and stream, I got the drone into the air.

I could hear birds all around but useless at spotting them, but on the way back to the car Vanessa spotted them and I photographed them using the camera’s ProCap mode.

A Grey Wagtail.

Eurasian Wren – significant photo crop as these are very small.

European Male Stonechat

Don’t think for a moment that I knew what these birds were – I’d downloaded the Merlin app on my phone, took a picture of my laptop image and hey presto, I appear to be very knowledgeable on the topic.

Unexpectedly, another Grey Day

Thursday 8th May – Some sunshine was expected but I woke up to be disappointed. The weather remained grey all day, so we had a very lazy morning in the motorhome and ventured out in search of a few waterfalls. The first had Park Rangers on the adjacent bridge who confirmed there was no direct access to the waterfall. So we had to respect their advice and moved on to locate the next.

These were not as expected either, as the amount of water over the Winter/Spring period has been very low, so here’s a few images of a trickle.

We attempted one further trek, but the terrain was a little challenging for Holly, so we decided to call it a day, but this was the valley we would have travelled along.

Let’s hope tomorrow’s weather improves as it will be our last day before returning home.

The Sun Shines on our Last Day

Friday 9th May – Up at 6am to crystal clear skies, so we had a cuppa and headed off to a new location. We had a walk planned from Toads Mouth on the A6187 to Carl Wark to take a photo of Higger Tor. But with nowhere close to park we changed the walk from a car park further west and walked past Mother Cap to get a more distant view of Higger Tor.

The temperature when we started was 5C, so Holly had her winter coat on.

This was quite an interesting plateau to settle for a few images. Higger Tor is the flat mound in the distance in the following image.

I then decided to try a few Infrared shots, especially as the sun was so bright.

We then returned to the car as our stomachs were craving a bacon butty, so we headed off towards Bakewell but stopped at Café 19 in the Hope Valley as we knew they were dog friendly. After a quick stop-off in Bakewell for Vanessa to change a T-Shirt, we returned to the Magpie Mine as the sunlight would hopefully improve our previous photos. But with the strong sunlight I thought I’d try Infrared again, quite liking the effect it produced.

With the sun at 12 O’Clock we gave Winatts Pass another try as the photos needed the contrasting shadows to make them interesting.

Infrared wasn’t as successful here, so clearly I’ll have learn more as to when I get a good effect or not. These shots were closely followed by an ice cream as we were hot, especially when carrying the camera bag up the slopes. I wanted one last shot of Hathersage before returning to the motorhome. But before that I had to have a pint.

You can just see the church in the trees, with Hathersage out of shot to the right.

After our evening meal, with the sun still shining we headed back out to the Roaches again, but this time a higher climb to get a sunset on the rocks from above. I also tried out the drone to take pictures in front of the rock face.

The rest of the images were taken during the last 3/4 hour of daylight with the OM camera.

Well, we had a great last day of the holiday and with a new battery in the motorhome, hopefully we’ll have a trouble free journey home tomorrow.