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These woods above the village of Hathersage in the Peak District are a family favourite of mine - easily accessible and with an abundance of trees to climb, rocks to scramble over and secret glades to explore. The spaces between the trees allow the sunlight to filter through, and in the Spring it looks wonderful as the light hits the bluebells and creates shadows on the little grassy paths.
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This wonderful little path on the edge of the Peak District village of Pilsley is a hidden gem, especially in summer, when it's so crowded with cow parsley that it feels like you're fighting your way through a very English country jungle. It's a feast for the senses to walk here; it looks so beautiful but it smells divine too, and the sound of the birds singing their little hearts out is incredible.
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Pilsley
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Poppies are such poignant flowers, with their delicate, paper-thin petals. To see so many in this beautiful field in the Peak District village of Hassop was an incredible privilege, and the storm clouds above just added to the drama and colour of the scene.
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Poppies
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This beautiful, quiet lane between the villages of Grindleford and Eyam is a wonderful place to wander in every season and at every time of day, but I felt so incredibly lucky to chance upon it in the summer mist, with the sun shining through those magnificent beech trees beside the gate. Everything had a slightly ethereal, magical glow.
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Trees
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This is a little gated lane just outside the Peak District village of Hathersage, and it was a perfect early summer day when I chanced upon this view, with the road winding through the bright gorse ahead and into the trees. What I couldn't capture was the scent of the blossom in the tree above ... and the incredible noise of the thousands of bees enjoying the flowers!
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Country Lanes | Hathersage
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This lovely lane is in Staffordshire, not far from the little Peak District village of Wetton. The setting sun was turning the sky a beautiful pinky purple, which matched the colours of the wild scabious flowers in the verges. It was a warm, quiet evening and just a very pretty scene that I felt privileged to be able to capture.
Peak District Images | Peak District Lane | Summer
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The summer heather in the Peak District is a truly awe-inspiring sight, with the hills and moors turned briefly into a palette of vibrant pinks and purples. This shot was taken on a perfect summer evening at Millstone Edge, when the dusky colours in the sky matched those on the ground. The bright green of the grasses and those lichen-covered rocks in the foreground just completed the scene for me.
Peak District Images | Peak District Heather | Millstone Edge | Hathersage
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Poppies are such beautiful flowers, with their poignant symbolism and their fragile, delicate, tissue-paper petals. They're also very fickle about when and where they grow. The seeds can lay dormant in soil for up to 100 years and need light to flourish, so you'll only find poppies in ground that has been disturbed. This might explain why this Peak District field in Bubnell was an absolute sea of poppies one year, yet had not a single bloom in it the following year. It made me feel even more privileged to have seen it, and to have been able to watch the sun set over these crimson petals.
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Poppies
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Padley Gorge in the Peak District is a wonderful place to visit in the autumn. The foliage is a fantastic spectrum of colours above you, and the ground under your feet is littered with red among the tree roots. This beech tree is a particular favourite of mine and it looked so beautiful decked out in its autumn finery.
Peak District Images | Peak District Autumn | Padley Gorge
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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.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter | Hathersage
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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.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter | Hathersage
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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.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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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. I love that suggestion of the seasons changing, the turn from autumn to winter.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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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.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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This beautiful little wooden footbridge in Padley Gorge spans the crystal-clear Burbage Brook, captured here in midwinter with the snow gently drifting down and melting in the water.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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Flash is the highest village in England, and this old postbox must have seen some windy days by its wonky angle. It looked so perfect against the lovely old church in the falling snow - a timeless English country scene.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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This entirely natural heart-shaped hole lies at the very bottom of a beautiful old beech tree in Padley Gorge, where the tree has weathered centuries of winters and seen generations come and go. I love to visit the 'heart tree' in all seasons, and it looked perfect in the falling snow.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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This wonderful lone tree is at Sheldon in the White Peak of Derbyshire, an area famed for its rolling country hills criss-crossed with limestone walls. Its arching shape made a perfect silhouette curling around the setting sun, which lit up the slopes and hollows of the land.
Peak District Images | Peak District Winter
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This beautiful Highland Cow lives with her little 'fold' (the name for a herd of Highland Cattle) on Baslow Edge in Derbyshire. Despite their formidable horns they're gentle giants and this lady was quite curious about me as she relaxed in the heather and posed for her photograph.
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Highland Cow
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This beautiful girl is one of the Highland Cows that live on Baslow Edge in Derbyshire. They're perfectly suited to grazing the rough ground and heather on the moor and are very well equipped against the harsh winds with those wonderfully thick coats. I love the flash of sunshine that picks out her highlights!
Peak District Images | Peak District Summer | Highland Cow
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This beautiful little footbridge in Padley Gorge looks wonderful in every season, but with the bright jewels of autumn leaves strewn across the tree roots and moss-covered rocks, well, you can see why I've called this image 'Riches'. Material wealth has nothing on sights like these!
Peak District Images | Peak District Autumn
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This entirely natural heart-shaped hole is in the bottom of a beautiful old beech tree in Padley Gorge. You have to crawl about in the leaves to see it, but it's well worth the effort and dirty knees. The area looks beautiful in every season, but in Autumn, when the floor is strewn with the bright jewels of fallen leaves, it's probably at its most inspiring.
Peak District Images | Peak District Autumn
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The hardy sheep on Stanage Edge really do seem to love their time on the moor, bounding around from rock to rock, grazing among the heather, and always enjoying those incredible views! This little crew were exploring together on a summer evening but they were very happy to pause and stand, posing perfectly for me against the sunset sky.
Peak District Images | Peak District Sheep | Stanage Edge
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The rocky outcrop of Higger Tor, high above the village of Hathersage, is one of my favourite places in the Hope Valley to watch the sun set. With the right conditions the whole valley floods with a golden light, and the surrounding fields and farms are beautifully lit, with trees casting long shadows over the landscape. On this particularly evening the light was just glorious, and I knelt down on the slightly damp heather to line up a shot of the golden fields beyond these gritstone rocks. Then, as I did so, this curious little woolly face peeped around the edge of the rock as if to say "what the ...?!" I'm amazed I managed to fire off a shot in focus because I was giggling so much. This is one of my own personal favourite ever photographs, as much for the reminder of the laugh as for the image itself. Peak District Images | Curious Sheep | Hathersage | Higger Tor
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The ancient forest of Padley Gorge is a truly magical place in all seasons and weathers; it's one of my favourite spots in the Peak District. On this particular winter afternoon the light among the twisted old oaks was incredible, a milky sunlight that drifted through the branches, picking out the vibrant moss on the rocks and the little patches of frost still clinging to the fallen leaves. Peak District Images | Woodland | Padley Gorge
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It's always an uplifting sight to see the first bluebells of the year, a return to colour and light, a sure sign that the grey, dark days of Winter are behind us. This little patch of bluebells were very early, and I chanced upon them while walking along the lanes near the pretty village of Fenny Bentley on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border. They were among trees on a hillside, and must have been perfectly positioned to catch that early Spring sunshine to allow them to bloom almost a month before the flowers closer to my home. I spent ages in that wood, missed an appointment and ended up with a wet bum, but it was all worth it!
Peak District Images | Bluebells | Spring Flowers
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Sometimes trees are just as magical when fallen as when standing proud. This wonderful beech tree in my favourite wood, Hay Wood near the Peak District village of Grindleford, has obviously lain among the bracken and grasses for years, yet still bursts valiantly into leaf every Spring. When the conditions are right, its broad, moss-covered trunk is surrounded not by sky but by bluebells, and there are few more inspirational sights. I waited patiently for more than a year to get this shot from exactly this angle in exactly this light, and I hope you think it was worth the wait. Peak District Images | Bluebell Wood
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Sometimes you don't need wide views or iconic landmarks; the prettiest sights are often the simple ones that just evoke good memories. Like this one, bringing to mind that feeling of resting in a summer meadow, surrounded by clover, looking up at the blue sky with buttercups waving above your head, the bees buzzing all around. This image makes me feel happy and I hope it makes you feel happy too. Peak District Images | Summer Meadow | Buttercups
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The sight of wild poppies growing amid ripening corn is becoming a common sight again in countryside fields, which I'm very glad to see. I'm sure it's more inconvenient for the farmers but it's so good for the bees, and the sight of those bright scarlet blooms instantly makes you feel summery! This lovely countryside scene was captured just outside the Peak District town of Bakewell. Peak District Images | Summer Fields | Poppies
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I was so happy to see this great procession of vintage David Brown tractors chugging along the Peak District country lanes one summer evening - and even happier to see them drive into the lovely village of Hartington and park up in a very convenient row, while the owners nipped into the local pub! I couldn't resist capturing the scene, and I love the wonderfully warm evening light that shows off their gleaming paintwork! Peak District Photographs | Vintage Tractors
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You know those bumper stickers that say "I brake for horses!"? I seriously think I need one that says "I brake for barns!" I can never resist that combination of limestone walls and crumbling barns, and I'm apt to stop suddenly and without warning if I see a particularly lovely example that I just can't pass by. This barn in the gently rolling fields on the edge of the Peak District village of Sheldon is one of my favourites, and it looked especially beautiful in the first rays of the early sun on this perfect summer morning. Peak District Images | Stone Barn | Sheldon
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The vivid pink of the heather on the Peak District moors looks wonderful every summer, bringing brightness and fabulous scents to the hills. I love the way the colours of the ground match the colours of the sky in this image, the early evening sunset turning the whole landscape a candy pink. Peak District Photographs | Heather Moors
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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! Peak District Photographs | Snow
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This little lane between Hathersage and Grindleford in the Peak District is absolutely stunning in Autumn, and I mean stop-the-car-and-just-look! stunning, with so many bright colours of different hues that it sends your eyes a bit crazy to take them all in. On days like this Autumn feels like Nature's grand finale, that last huge firework, before we all troop home and snuggle down for the night of Winter. Peak District Images | Autumn
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Snowdrops make me smile. You can't fail to feel a little brighter and happier when you see those first delicate heads stretching up out of the winter earth, pushing through the dead leaves and damp undergrowth to reach the pale sun. Peak District Images | Snowdrops
