The Grey Ladies

The pictures today show The Grey Ladies, a stone circle that stands on Harthill Moor in the Derbyshire Peak District between Youlgreave and Elton.

Also known as Nine Stones Close, the circle dated back to the Late Neolithic / Early Bronze Age and is likely at least three thousand years old. It’s an odd thought to think that, over thirty centuries ago, people stood where I did and built this.

Although named Nine Stones Close, there are just four stones present in the arrangement today (although in the mid 19th century there were still seven – one of these now stands as a nearby gatepost while another lays in a field some distance to the north.). The site was excavated in the 19th century, and some consercation work took place in the 1930s to re-stand two of the stones which had fallen.

Folklore says that the stones will sometimes dance at midday and midnight, and the “Nine” in the name Nine Stones Close may be a corruption of “Noon”, when fairies were said to gather to dance at the site.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 26 March 2024

Derelict cars

Finding old, abandoned cars isn’t that easy in the UK. Anything unroadworthy (which includes most old cars) is, well, off the road. In most cases this will mean scrappage of the vehicle. Even scrap yards seem to be a thing of the past. All the old yards, where you could wander between aisles of teetering wrecks piled atop one another, looking for a spare wing mirror or replacement windscreen wiper motor for your own, still functioning, ride, seem to have disappeared. They’ve been lost to tightening of laws and regulations and, to some extent probably, online sales of used parts.

While this isn’t a junkyard, finding these old cars (including a couple of Vauxhall’s – A Chevette, and a Nova) by the side of a footpath, was a pleasant surprise. These scenes may not be pretty but they’re certainly photogenic.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 26 March 2024

Hilltop farm

Today’s photo is from a hike I took back in March. There will be a post or two about the full hike coming soon, but before then I’ll share some medium format pictures I made with my Yashica Mat 124G alongside the bulk that I shot with my Olympus XA3.

This farm sits in the hilly Peak District countryside between Elton to the south and Youlgreave to the north.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 26 March 2024

Boats at West Stockwith

The first two boats in this scene – Willow and Trisantona – look best suited to the adjacent River Trent, although I suppose they can also traverse the River Idle. I’m not sure if boats like this venture onto the Chesterfield Canal, and I expect that their wakes would cause quite a commotion if they did. That journey is probably left to narrowboats, like the ones moored in the background.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 24 March 2024

Pictures without words

Occasionally on this blog I will post a photograph without saying anything about it. I could try and bluff my way through this and claim that “the picture speaks for itself“, or something similar, but that would be – pardon my French – bullshit.

What it actually means is, usually, one of two things:

1. I have writer’s block and can’t think of anything to say.
2. I don’t have time to write anything.

Option 2 is the usual culprit. I’ve either been doing something that has kept me from the computer, or I’ve been doing something else on the computer (or PlayStation…) and the time has gotten away from me. Either way, the result is the same, a picture without words.

Today was going to be a similar thing, but then I wrote this.

So here’s a picture that has words, they’re just not connected to its contents whatsoever…

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 24 March 2024

A nice doer-upper

This is the same house that I shared a picture of yesterday. It definitely needs some TLC, but I imagine it will be worth a fortune when renovated.

Those two black specks at the top of the picture are birds. I ummed and aahed about painting them out, but decided they were there when the picture was shot, so there they can remain.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 24 March 2024

Empty house

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 24 March 2024

A change to our planned schedule…

I was going to publish the second part of my West Stockwith to Misterton walk post today but I got waylaid on other important stuff (not playing Fallout 4, honest… 😉 ). I will endeavour to write it for tomorrow though.

It’s not been all videogames today though, most of the day was taken up by a trip to Bakewell with my wife as there was a food market on. Other than a couple of bratwurst’s for lunch, and some cakes from a shop, we didn’t actually buy that much food. My wife came home with a new coat though, and I bought a second-hand Ladybird book (one that I used to own as a child).

I took a handful of photos while there, although I’ll have to wait and see if any of them were worthwhile. One, at least, ought to be interesting.

So instead of photos from my second planned Walk With a Camera outing, here’s a picture of the closed post office in Eyam (which, to be fair on myself, I shot during the earlier hike I posted about here).

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 9 March 2024

Peekaboo

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 9 March 2024

Goldilocks

This structure stands on a sloping side street in Eyam, Derbyshire.

I’m not sure what the buildings are. Workshops? Outbuildings? Stables? Whatever their purpose, there was a definite air of Goldilocks about it – A Daddy Bear – Mummy Bear – Baby Bear arrangement of size. I felt it worthwhile of a picture.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 9 March 2024