I came back last week, a week early from my European holiday. Let's just say that it was cold, I wasn't prepared for the cold (am I ever?) and the time was mostly spent doing chores. Now does that sound like a holiday?
We spent a week in England, taking Alan's parents to the Peak District, which is located in central and northern England.
We rented part of this ex-vicarage, a beautiful stone house. Behind the house is a farm and to the left of the picture, you can just see the roofline of the church.
The village we stayed in was tiny, and took us several attempts and stops to ask directions, before we found it.
The Peak District is a national park, and therefore a protected area. It is a big holiday destination, particularly for hikers. In the morning I would look out the bedroom window, and watch people sit on one of the benches and pull on their hiking boots and waterproofs, ready for a day following the trails.
The Peak District's landscape is rugged, and is suitable for grazing. The landscape here is very distinctive. Gone are those huge, open fields that one usually sees on farmland. Here, the fields are all enclosed with stone walls. This is a typical type of view that you will see; lines of stone walls walls snake across the landscape, looking much like a huge patchwork quilt.
The stone walls in the Peaks and in Yorkshire, are called dry stone walls. They are made up of large stones that have been carefully selected to interlock, without the use of any mortar. 
My father-in-law Harold and I, spent a lot of time arguing over whether he would be able to make a dry stone wall, and whether it would be better than the ones we saw. He said he could, and I said not without years of learning how. Since neither side could prove their point, it kept us amused most days.
The weather was very cold. Whilst we had realised that it wasn't going to be hot, none of us had expected to find snow still on the ground in places. A local man that Alan and I got talking to, told us that the village near us, had been cut off for 18 hours a couple of weeks previously, due to a sudden heavy snowfall.
We arrived in the Peaks, after lambing, so it was a delight to look into the fields and see the little lambs. Some of the lambs wore little plastic jackets, to keep them warm. Believe me, there are a lot of sheep in these parts. 
A lot of the trails you take when hiking, lead you through fields. In the late afternoons, when I went for a walk, it was wonderful to stand and watch the antics of the lambs. Nothing can look funnier or sweeter, than little lambs gambolling in the fields, their little legs full of springs. I tried really hard to get a clear picture, but my hands were gloved and I was cold, so the likelihood was slim, and not even for you, was I going to remove those gloves!
These lambs, part of a little group, kept me amused for ages watching them play. I managed to get quite close on a few occasions, then they would rush off. Eventually they would make their way back, I would edge closer, and off they would run again.
Now, I had been ill-prepared for my trip back to Europe, and hadn't brought a heavy jacket with me. I was therefore like the Michelin Man, as I wrapped up for my forays out, with every bit of clothing I owned. In this picture I have a big extra-thick heavy fleece, which I used to wear in Japan, as well as a shirt and tee-shirt. After my first walk, where I had to resort to putting my lightweight shawl on my head like a scarf, my ears were ringing from the cold. I therefore went to a hiking shop to buy a hat. Alan fell about laughing when he saw what I had purchased. A beanie with a fake fur trim, which would cover my ears. Well, it was terrifically warm and my ears were toasty, so I couldn't care less. Anyway, whilst I was walking around by myself for hours on end, what were the others doing?
It looks rather like a bit of snoozing in the warmth to me!
Kim,
ReplyDeleteSo good to have you back!!!! Loved the photos
of your stay and I, too, liked the hat.
Janice