Photo Blog Weeks 82 - Wed 07 & Fri 09 October 2015
A combination of two days in the Park again this week. Wednesday was drystone walling day and I was in again Friday patrolling and photographing.
I have been very touched by several people telling me that they were going to miss the blog if it ceased so I'll be doing my best to deliver on a fairly frequent if irregular basis. Continue to Watch this Space.
Wednesday 7th October
A very misty start to a very wet morning to my third walling week.
The North Face at about 08:45
Green Drive more grey than green this morning
Drystone Walling
Third week on the job and this week I was helping with a take down on Four Winds. Well soaked in the morning but it mercifully dried up in time for dinner.
The wall along here is about 6'6" to 7 feet high and we took down about 3.5 metres length. Using an approximation of 1 ton per metre squared of wall, that equates to 4 of us shifting 7 - 8 tons of stone by hand.
This large farm trailer arrived empty but was overloaded with scrap stone not fit to go into the new wall.
'A' frames lined up along the rebuild
Top of old wall full of dust and grit.
Lower down the wall the poor stone is found split and falling apart under 200 years of load.
Careful take down from the top following a slope is the only way to keep the wall stable as it comes down. I was warned not to work with my back to the old wall as you need to see and hear any movement and get the heck out of there if it starts to move.
Work site. Note the metre wide walk way kept clear along each side.*
The bare ground awaiting new footings is the section removed on Wednesday. *
Note how long a slope is needed in such a high wall to retain stability.
*
These 2 photos actually taken Friday
Our workplace view is across meadows and wood to the Moor
Friday 9th October
A lovely morning and a few hours spare so I nipped into the Park for a few hours patrolling and some photos. Crazy day for October, The sun was actually hot rather than warm; a definite shirt sleeves day even this far North and at this altitude.
Inner Courtyard of the House
Blue skies over the cool house by the Orangery
A reminder that bed rock is only just beneath these rolling hills
err? No, the Cage isn't sinking. Must hold the camera straight.
Sun streaming towards us creating shadows of the trees
From Cage Hill across the Red Deer Sanctuary out to Kinder Scout at the back
Gaggle of Geese navigating over the Cage, needs sound really to get the impact
A solitary Stag in the Red Deer Sanctuary mulling over the next few weeks (long lens)
Fungi Fest'
Urban sprawl into the distance and the cloud
Always fond of the stunning greens in a sunlit Beech Wood
Fungi Fest'
The Lantern and Distant Drumbeat
This art installation has lights installed on the Lantern responding to drum panels in a pergola in the Garden
The LED spotlights and Point-Point wireless Ethernet antenna
The pergola in the Garden housing the drums and the other end of the wireless bridge.
Lit up blue at the moment and no one playing so static
A novelty Feature: Names of Places
A bit like I use 'Nature's Artwork' and 'Fungi Fest'', look out for
'Names of Places' for obscurely named locations.
Names of Places: "The Wild Beast Yard"
This area off the corner of Turfhouse Meadow adjoining Lantern Wood and a corner in Caters Slack is the site of an old building and is sometimes used as a coral when loading the cattle into trailers for their return to the farm in winter.
The Wild Beast Yard
Owl box in Turfhouse Meadow
Foxgloves stems gone to seed snaking up above the grasses
Fungi Fest'
Butterfly with sun shining through its wings
Proud of this photo :)
The highland cattle taking up residence on the footpath.
So chilled out in the warm sun they barely even bother looking at you as you pass by their noses.
Path continues along the bottom of the Moor with gorgeous blue sky above
Looking up toward the summit of the high Moor
Fungi Fest'
Straight path along wall between Kightslow Wood and the Fallow Deer Sanctuary
Is it a bird? No, I always notice this piece of wood lodged on the top wire.
Fallow Deer
Hello ladies, look at me, aren't I fine?
This Buck is full of muscle ready for the rut
Shame about the tuft of long grass
Same angle as above shot of the Buck but higher.
Fungi Fest'
Fungi Fest' - strange little strands pointing upwards
Beech leaves in the sun
Nature's Artwork: Moss and Ferns
Sun dappled track through Knightslow Wood
House and Cage from Drinkwater Meadow
Far side of Cluse Hey, the moor is a patchwork of textures and colours
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
No, Actually, the sheep have finally gone from Drinkwater Meadow for the winter
Fungi Fest'
The sheep did a good job helping maintain the lovely green path across the meadow
Names of Places: "Black Gate Corner"
Entry to Pursefield wood adjacent to Drinkwater Meadow from the meadow opposite the Knott.
These grass seed heads looked like sparks cascading from a firework in the sun
Over the stone step stile above the Knott Car Park into a different world of undergrowth and colour
Rosebay Willowherb seeds are drifting off bright pink stems
Names of Places: "John Brown's Corner"
The corner of Hazebank Wood at the summit above the Knott Car Park.
Nope, I've no idea who John Brown was.
Wide view across farmland to Cage Hill and the Pennine Moors beyond
Steep descent toward Green Farm
Halfway down to Green Farm, the original road entrance to the Lyme estate comes in.
The farmland beyond the gate was formally part of the estate and this track which pre-dates the A6 entrance continues to Westpark Lodge
Looking into the Park from the gate, the track is a well constructed carriageway.
Names of Places: "Turtle Brew"
The mound to left as you descend to the main car park
Spikey Sweet Chestnut fruits
Autumn colours starting to appear in the canopy above the car park.
end
Track and Profile for Friday
Total: 6.2 miles (9.96 km) 3 hr 30 min
duration includes stops for chats, inspections, photo's and snacks
This Time Last Year
