I hope you can FEEL the sunshine oozing out from this beautiful Peak District lane in Hulme End?! I'm always slightly in mourning when May has gone - as usual it seems to zoom past way too quickly in a sweet blur of hawthorn blossom and cow parsley. Before you know it, the baby birds have fledged, the lambs are mini sheep, and June is swaying in with her arms full of foxgloves and poppies.
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Is there a better way to spend a sunny day than wandering along an English country lane, grass growing in the middle, sheep baaa-ing over the stone walls on all sides, and endless blue skies above?! This is one of my very favourite lanes in the Peak District, although admittedly I do have many. It offers the most beautiful White Peak views, it's a little haven away from the hustle and bustle - and it ends at a pub.
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This is Moat Low, a Bronze Age bowl barrow and Scheduled Monument near Tissington in the Peak District, visible for miles around and easily recognisable because of its distinctive trees. Excavations here in 1845 revealed a grave with two skeletons and further cremation remains, as well as a bronze axe. It's fascinating to think of the history of these places and our ancestors who perhaps walked the same paths we still walk now. I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with this as my final resting place.
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In Autumn the ancient woodland of Padley Gorge is filled with soft, muted colours in the trees and underfoot. There's always such a quiet hush here when the air is misty and still; even the birds seem to hold their breath. The only sound is the busy rush and froth of Burbage Brook as it winds around the moss-covered rocks and under the pretty bridges.
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Sometimes everything you need is right there in front of you. Nothing more complicated than an old stone barn in a summer field, surrounded by trees as the evening light falls golden on the grasses. I stayed here until the sunlight faded, the air chilled and the owls began hooting.
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In the quiet fields on the edge of the pretty village of Hathersage, I chanced upon this beautiful young roe deer. He stood completely still for a few moments, his eyes shining and his ears quivering, watching me, listening, waiting for the click and the whispered 'Thank You'.
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On Sycamore Hill grows this absolute giant of a tree, perfectly formed, the sort of tree a child would draw if asked to draw a tree. Of course it helps that he stands on his own podium and is approached via a rustic gate in a meadow of wildflowers. He deserves nothing less.
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Every time I walk in Padley Gorge, even though I tell myself sternly, "Stay away from the bridge, walk past the bridge, do NOT photograph the bridge" - I just can't resist it. And on this misty, shining morning, with the early light glowing on the midsummer green, it looked pretty darned perfect.
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'The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.' - Robert FrostIn these most perfect, dark, deep woods, the snow fell so silently on the branches and the soft earth beneath my feet. The swirl of fog and flakes lit the space ahead, making the distance glow with a half-suggested light that was impossible to resist, drawing me further and further in.
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I don't think I'll ever lose that thrill of watching a cloud inversion, a phenomenon that occurs when temperatures at ground level are lower than those up in the air. It feels like watching a magician's trick as the mist coils and swirls through the valleys - revealing, then hiding, then revealing again the farms and trees and villages. This is one of my favourite views of the Hope Valley, with Mitchell Field Farm nestled in a hollow of trees. On this particular morning the farm stood bathed in early sunshine, but its view across the hills was utterly hidden as the mist danced around its footings.
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Sometimes you don't need grand vistas to feel inspired or lucky. Sometimes you just need old stone barns in fields full of buttercups, the morning mist draped softly across the hills, and the air full of skylarks.
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"...Then leaf subsides to leaf / So Eden sank to grief / So dawn goes down to day / Nothing gold can stay." - Robert FrostPerhaps the most precious quality of autumn is its ephemeral nature; of all the seasons, its glory seems to last the shortest time. This always makes me more determined to appreciate every minute of its bright colour, and I certainly drank in the blaze of gold and red and copper and bronze and green along this quiet lane beside Derwent Reservoir. A week or so later, and it was just a memory.
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Throughout the coldest days of winter, every morning when I started work and walked along the magnificent Long Gallery in Haddon Hall, an Elizabethan masterpiece of ornate plasterwork and carved wooden panelling, I spied the flutter of a little robin following me. He hopped from windowsill to windowsill, pecked along the floorboards, flew up to the cornices, and generally seemed to be enjoying what is reputed to be one of the most beautiful rooms in England. At first I worried that he'd got trapped inside, but then I spotted a tiny broken pane in one of the huge leaded windows with a few tell-tale feathers caught on the edges, and I realised that he most probably came in every night to sleep, preferring the high life to a hedge. One morning he posed perfectly for me next to the Christmas decorations, and I like to think it was his way of thanking me for not telling the wardens about his accommodation strategy!
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"So we’re out over the snow fields, before it’s all seen off with a salt-lick of Atlantic air." - Gillian Clarke This is such a tiny little view in the village of Great Hucklow, barely noticed by most, I'm sure, but it intrigues me and I've captured it in every season. That characterful gate, the protective tree, and in winter the view that leads to field upon field of shining snow, divided by dry stone walls beside which the sheep shelter.
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My footsteps creaking and squeaking, my cheeks reddening, my breath pluming out in front of me in the freezing air, I revelled in every step of this winter walk through Hathersage. I know this little cottage well, but half-glimpsed through the snow-heavy branches on the quiet lane, I felt as if I'd left the village behind and walked straight into a fairytale.
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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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Can you hear the silence? There's barely a ripple from the little rowing boats tethered in the calm, still waters of Ladybower Reservoir, as the mists swarm above the arches of Ashopton viaduct and the green slopes of Crook Hill rise beyond into the morning sky. It's a view that never fails to make my shoulders drop.
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Oh, Hathersage. I don’t think I have ever loved my home village more than I did on this bright, beautiful morning. The curves and edges of the hills sparkled with bright snow, the mists curled lazily below, clearing and regrouping and clearing again to reveal tiny new scenes each time, and the church stood half-hidden amid trees that seemed crafted from diamonds. I could happily have stayed all day in that spot, freezing slowly, listening to the blackbirds and the bell ringing out every quarter hour through the valley.
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There are few things more life-affirming than walking through Spring woods on a sunny morning, the air full of birdsong and the scent of bluebells. These woods near Hathersage have always been a favourite of mine, but at this time of year they take on an even more special quality.
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There are trees, and then there are trees so special that they stand on their very own podium. This one is a treasure in every single different season, but adorned with the freshest, brightest new leaves, shining in the early morning sun, it's hard to imagine it ever looking more perfect.
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I very rarely photograph wildlife - I leave that to people with more patience and longer lenses - but when this Little Owl sat staring at me from her tree hollow, the morning sun highlighting her beautiful plumage and wise eyes, well, it would have been rude not to take a picture, wouldn't it?!
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The Peak District has some truly characterful barns, many of them crumbling beautifully in their fields as the seasons pass, perhaps not as weather-tight as once they were but still providing perfect shelter for cattle and wildlife. This one is a particular favourite of mine, two old survivors, barn and tree, weathering all storms together.
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There are moments in nature that feel so special, so perfect, all you can do is stand and stare, grinning out loud, marvelling at how immensely and endlessly beautiful the world is. Standing here in the cold, watching the sun dancing through the snow-crusted branches, hearing millions of ice crystals falling through the shining air, I felt rich beyond my wildest dreams.
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Of all the wonky gates in all the world, this one is my favourite. It can be a little hard to push open, and blimey you've got to run through it quickly unless you want to lose half a leg when it crashes shut behind you, but I love that you reach it through the towering trees on this path beneath Stanage Edge, and that it leads out into the bright Autumn fields above the Hope Valley.
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This is the Peak District village of Hathersage, looking quite alpine in the glow of a snowy sunrise. I love this particular view of it - the houses seemingly scattered across the landscape, punctuated with fields and trees, and the protective hug of the hills all around.
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Featuring my photograph of a Highland Cow on Baslow Edge with the sun streaming through her highlights, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of the ancient oak woodland of Padley Gorge on a midsummer morning, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a cheeky sheep peeping around the rocks on Higger Tor, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of morning mist weaving over the White Peak fields, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a very bold little lamb in a field of buttercups, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of English bluebells and delicate stitchwort flowers in a Spring woodland, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a tiny, delicate toadstool sparkling among dewdrops, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of Fly Agaric toadstools, casting their magic in an autumn woodland, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of Ladybower Reservoir on a fresh summer morning, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a very cheeky cow, standing on her tippy hooves to watch me, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of Padley Gorge, early on a misty midsummer morning, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of the Hope Valley, with morning mists shifting through the hillsides, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a natural heart in an old tree on a midsummer morning, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a Little Owl, watching me as the first light of sunrise shone across her tree, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Featuring my photograph of a heather moor glowing in the evening light, this coaster is perfect for bringing the Peak District countryside right to your table. It's hard-wearing yet beautiful, with a full melamine surface and a gloss finish which is resistant to scratches.
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Bring some Peak District beauty to your fridge door and shout out about your love for this beautiful part of the country! Perfect for sticking important notes, shopping lists, reminders or children's art projects to any magnetic surface, or just for decoration and inspiration. My Peak District Fridge Magnets are beautifully designed tinplate magnets with a light gloss finish, and at 90mm x 65mm they're large enough to show off every detail of the full colour photograph. This magnet features my 'Peak-a-Boo' image of a cheeky Peak District sheep, captured on Higger Tor.
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Bring some Peak District beauty to your fridge door and shout out about your love for this beautiful part of the country! Perfect for sticking important notes, shopping lists, reminders or children's art projects to any magnetic surface, or just for decoration and inspiration. My Peak District Fridge Magnets are beautifully designed tinplate magnets with a light gloss finish, and at 90mm x 65mm they're large enough to show off every detail of the full colour photograph. This magnet features my image entitled 'Into The Wild Wood', a photograph of the ancient oak woodland of Padley Gorge on a misty summer morning.
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Keep your keys perfectly collected with this baaa-eautiful Peak District Keyring, featuring my photograph of a cheeky 'Peak-a-Boo' sheep! These Keyrings are Really Rather Posh Indeed. They're weighty and chunky, with a full colour photograph bonded into a polished nickel case. At 28mm wide x 40mm long (75mm long with ring) they're large enough to show off your love for the Peak District National Park, but still a handy size to fit into your pocket.
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Keep your keys perfectly collected and show off your love for the Peak District National Park at the same time, with this beautiful Keyring featuring my photograph of a natural heart-shaped hole in an old tree in Padley Gorge. These Keyrings are Really Rather Posh Indeed. They're weighty and chunky, with a full colour photograph bonded into a polished nickel case. At 28mm wide x 40mm long (75mm long with ring) they're large enough to make a statement but still a handy size to fit into your pocket.
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BRAND NEW DESIGN FOR 2026! My Peaklass Notepad contains 50 lined sheets, presented seasonally, each featuring a different photograph from around the beautiful Peak District National Park. They're printed in vibrant colours on high quality 100GSM uncoated paper for smooth writing, and at 210 x 99 mm they're the perfect size for short notes, reminders or shopping lists. Each Notepad has a strong 3M magnetic strip on the back to allow it to stick to your fridge or memo board. Sorry, UK shipping only. Please note that all my orders are processed through a small, rural Post Office to help keep them open and profitable, so please allow 7-10 days for despatch and delivery. Thank you.
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My Notebook is a must-have for any home or office, though I do say so myself! It contains 140 ruled pages interspersed with 24 of my own favourite photographs from across the Peak District, each with my comments about the image and its location. It's A5 in size (21 x 15 cm), with smooth, uncoated paper to write on with ease, and it's spiro-bound for lay-flatness. Use it as a journal, an adventure planner, for school or work notes, or just for handy reminders. It's the perfect way to bring the beauty of the Peak District into your life every day! My Notebook is printed on carbon-captured paper and arrives with you packaged in a compostable cellophane wrapper to keep it clean in transit. Sorry, UK shipping only. Please note that all my orders are processed through a small, rural Post Office to help keep them open and profitable, so please allow 7-10 days for despatch and delivery. Thank you.
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I was out for a walk in the lovely Peak District village of Hathersage one Spring evening, and I chanced upon this little lane that was lit up by the low sun, complete with clusters of daffodils and a gate that had completely given up. I love it when you just happen upon scenes like this. It's a tiny snapshot of life witnessed as you pass by, rather than an epic scene that you travel to a specific point to see. Sometimes the best views in life are the the simple ones meant just for you.
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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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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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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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There's nothing quite as fresh as early morning summer sunshine on a country lane - even if you have to get up at 4am to see it and feel less than fresh yourself! This lane in the little Peak District village of Wetton smelled and sounded as good as it looked. I just love those bright new greens, and the cow parsley covered in dew, as if everything has been laundered overnight.
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In winter you glimpse the true beauty of trees; their skeletal forms stripped of leaves, showing the intricacy of every bough, branch and twig. This little cluster of trees in the snow caught my eye on a Peak District hill, standing apart from their neighbours. I call it 'The Family' because it doesn't take much imagination to see two parents with their child protectively between them.
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This is my favourite view of my home village of Hathersage. From a secret vantage point just below Stanage Edge, you can see the beautiful church of St Michael's almost appearing to float in a sea of trees, the interlocking spurs of land weaving across each other and away into the distance, following the line of the River Derwent.
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A classic view in the Peak District village of Castleton, and I always think it looks at its most atmospheric in the winter dusk with the lamplight beckoning you out of the weather and towards the safety of the cottages. The roaring froth of Peakshole Water beside the house rises in Peak Cavern and rushes through the village to join the River Noe in Hope, and eventually on to the River Derwent.
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This is the historic Peak District market town of Bakewell, snoozing in the early morning, with the mists rising from the River Wye and slowly clearing from the jumble of rooflines. I love how the first rays of sunlight are just hitting the clock on the graceful spire of All Saints' Church.
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This was such a beautiful Peak District morning, the sun just breaking through the mist in the valley and briefly turning the horizon a wonderfully warm orange. Something about this little scene really captivated me: the arching branches over the gate, the delicate filigree twigs of the tree, and that fabulous sky shining through it all.
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These graceful birch trees grow amid the bracken in Bolehill, just outside the Peak District village of Hathersage. The woodland here is always beautiful to explore, but on misty autumn mornings there's such a quiet, still magic that it feels a little bewitched. On days like this I find that I creep about, hardly daring to move or make a sound in case I break the spell, and I can't stop myself from glancing back over my shoulder every few paces for unseen eyes among the trees.
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The Peak District National Park is a biiiig place. It takes in parts of five different counties: Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and even Greater Manchester. This is the lovely village of Rainow in Cheshire, looking very pretty on an autumn afternoon. I love the way the little church of the Holy Trinity glows amongst the trees, and you can spot a happy flock of sheep surrounding the farm on the hillside above. You might also be able to pick out a rather fine gate in the foreground, which just completed the scene for me.
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This is the beautiful Peak District village of Alstonefield, looking about as perfect as possible in the early morning autumn light. It has a village green, a country pub, a 12th Century church, more pretty houses than you can shake a stick at, and perhaps best of all, Bert's Bench under the spreading golden sycamore. Who wouldn't want to sit here for a while and watch the sunlight catching in the fallen gold?
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This was an unforgettably beautiful morning in Beresford Dale, when the sun poured down through the golden leaves of this wonderful old chestnut tree and met the mist that was rising from the sparkling waters of the River Dove. The colours and sunshine were all reflected in the puddle for the finishing touch and I honestly could have stayed there all day.
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This was such a beautiful morning in the Manifold Valley, the late autumn sunlight dappling the quiet country lanes and lighting up those ancient ridge and furrow patterns on the fields ahead. The little footpath on the right takes you down through the hills to Larkstone Lane, over the stone bridge across the river and up onto Old Park Hill beyond. Storybook names, and a landscape I never tire of exploring.
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A wonderfully wild view of the gritstone slopes below Stanage Edge, the rusting heather and bracken leading on into the misty hills beyond, and that little farm hunkered down for shelter against the winds that whirl across the moors.
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This was definitely one of those mornings when I couldn't stop grinning like a loon because everywhere I looked there was so much beauty. Is it just me who does that?! But, oh, the soft winter sun falling through the mists and shining in pools of silver light on the water! The sparkle of ice on every tree and bright ripples reflecting on the old stones of the arched bridge. The Cromford Canal is a wonderful place to wander at any time of the year, but it has a perfect, quiet magic all of its own on frosty mornings.
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As I walked past this woodland of tall, dark pines, my eye was caught by a spotlight of sun spilling down through the trees. It completely lit up a tiny beech sapling, still proudly bearing its blaze of orange leaves, a little flame of colour and light in the gloom. Everyone needs their moment to shine, and I think this was hers. I'm glad I was there to see it.
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Sometimes, when the early winter sun shines through the mist and fills the air with gold, you just have to open the door and walk through into the light and possibilities beyond, don't you? Centuries old and studded with iron, this wonderful oak door is at Haddon Hall and leads into the wild acres of the Haddon Medieval Park, a true secret garden, untouched for 900 years and left to the perfect hand of nature.
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There's such a soft beauty about Winter light and the muted colours of a misty morning, as if Nature is just easing gently into the day, slowly turning up the brightness, rather than the sudden POW! of gaudy daybreak in Summer. I can never resist an open gate, and this one was definitely tempting me into the Secret Garden beyond.
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Sometimes it doesn't matter where the road leads. All that matters is the daybreak rushing up the valley, meeting the old gate and then trickling along the verges to light up the hedgerows. All that matters is the song of the blackbirds waiting for the sun. All that matters is the spring in your step as you walk up the hill to meet the morning.
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There's such a sense of wonder that comes with watching a winter sunrise. Everything seems to happen much more quietly and gently than it does in summer. The light creeps into the sky with the softest pastel colours, the growing warmth very slowly burns off the mist that hangs in the valley, and the fields echo with nothing more than birdsong, sheep and your footsteps on the frosty grass. You always leave with your heart feeling a little bit lighter than when you arrived.
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Deep in the woods, where only drops of winter sun fall through the branches onto the earth, lighting rocks that seem soft with velvet mosses, you walk into a world where fairytale and reality blur. In Celtic mythology such places were called Thin Places; where the veil between the physical world and the 'otherworld' of dreams was at its finest. The veils in Padley Gorge seem non-existent at times and I always stay out far too long amongst the ancient trees and shadows.
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On midsummer mornings the light on the country lanes of the Peak District is so clear and golden - every leaf and blade of grass seems to glow with its own brightness. I'd like to say it was as peaceful as it looks when I took this shot, but actually the birds were incredibly loud, singing their little hearts out to welcome in the new day.
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After a heavy snowstorm it always seems as if every living thing is slightly shocked, waiting, breath held, intrigued at what will happen next. The tree branches are completely still with sudden blooms of heavy crystals, the grasses stiff and frozen in the white, only the slightest flicker of water moving through the ice in the brook. I always feel like such a clumsy intruder when I walk into snow scenes. My footsteps break not only the clean, smooth surface of the new snow, but also the silence, their crunch and squeak deafening. I only went far enough to take the photograph, and then retreated, leaving the place to its perfect quiet.
