The sheep of the Peak District are a hardy lot, well suited to winter life on the hills when the snows blow in across the dry stone walls, but this little group looked seriously unimpressed as their fleeces gathered flakes.
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My beautiful home village of Hathersage in the snow - the High Street quiet, the street lamps glowing and the shops shuttered, awaiting the thaw. Beyond, the fields and hills of the Hope Valley shine, ready for the children to wake up and grab their sledges.
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The rocky heights of Higger Tor provide a wonderful spot from which to watch the sun go down. The whole of the Hope Valley stretches before you and fills with light, and you can pick out the slopes of first Win Hill and then Lose Hill, right over to the bulk of Kinder Scout and Mam Tor herself at the head of the valley. There were no spectacular colours during this sunset, but actually I think the dark, brooding light on the receding hills made for a more atmospheric image, especially with that lone figure, just sitting, watching.
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I was driving home one autumn evening along the stunning lanes of the White Peak, when the clouds suddenly turned a very ominous grey, despite the low sun still lighting up the surrounding fields. I just love these conditions, that contrast of the dark sky and the bright land. Very luckily, I was driving along the prettiest little lane that runs through the rolling hills between Alsop en le Dale and Thorpe, and the view ahead of me was just too good not to stop and capture.
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Although not quite in the Peak District National Park, this fantastic avenue of trees on the edge of the Peak District at Upper Moor near Matlock is just too wonderful not to visit and photograph. The tall beech trees on the right arch beautifully over the little path, shaped by decades of wind blowing at them over the surrounding moors, and they contrast perfectly with the poker-straight pines on the left. I had an inkling that a little snow would show them at their best and this day didn't disappoint, the clinging snow picking out every contour and shape on the boughs.
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These beautiful woods are above the pretty Peak District village of Hathersage, approached by a narrow path up a hill. Walking through that little gate is like entering a different world. In Spring they're full of bluebells, in Summer the birds sing crazily in the beech trees, in Autumn they're a riot of colour ... and in Winter, well, they're magical. The snow falls so softly amid the ancient trees and the whole place is silent and sparkling.
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I stumbled across this beautiful winter scene during a walk in some very pretty woods above the little Peak District village of Grindleford, just after a fresh snow fall. Early in winter, the last of the beech leaves were still clinging to the branches, covered in a light dusting of snowflakes. I love the little 'ping' of colour that they add to an otherwise almost black and white view, and that suggestion of the seasons changing, the turn from autumn to winter.
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A beautiful moment on the edge of the Peak District village of Abney. The soft, low-lying mists and the movement of the birds contrasted with the solidity of the twisted old hawthorn tree, its branches curved by decades of moorland winds. I love the colour of nature and very rarely edit in black and white, but it seems to suit this very simple, structural image.
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Deep in the quiet pine woods covered in snow, standing alone and almost hidden among its lofty proud neighbours, I spotted this perfect little Christmas tree, its branches dusted with snowflakes like icing sugar.
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"When snow falls ... nature listens." There's something so perfect about winter trees. Stripped of leaves, with every twig exposed, you can really see their intricate beauty. For an extra dose of magic, add in gently falling snow, silently piling up along the branches.
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This is one of my favourite spots in the Peak District, a quiet, tree-lined lane above the villages of Hathersage and Grindleford. After a fresh fall of snow it looked wonderful with its parade of small bright beech trees adding colour to the winter whiteness.
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I spotted this little rural scene in the hills above Eyam in the Peak District. The sheep were very happily munching on their hay and were beautifully lit by the low winter sun as it streamed across the snow-covered fields. I love looking at all the different characters of the sheep - the two on the right standing aloof and evidently not feeling very hungry, and the one laying down just below them, who I swear has a smile on her face. Obviously she'd managed to get in there first and had maybe had more than her fair share!
