We had a week booked in the Peak District.
We were staying in an apartment in Cressbrook Mill, an old cotton mill house.
This area is familiar to us from previous holidays here, we used to stay in nearby Litten Mill.
We had the pleasure of my son joining us too which was nice as he came with us to the Peaks before in 2018.
Day 1 – Monsal Dale
On our previous Peak District holidays, we usually walk the Monsal Trail, or the part of it that takes you towards the viaduct and weir, and this was no different.
As we left our apartment, I took some infrared shots.
The history of Cressbrook Mill
Cressbrook Mill began as a textile mill founded by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1783, though the original building was destroyed by fire.
The current mill was built in 1812, powered by water from the River Wye.
Known for its cotton spinning, the mill closed in 1965 after changing ownership and was converted to residential use in 2000, becoming part of the village of Cressbrook.
I was enjoying the look of the early infrared shots so kept it going.
We reached the part of the trail where you cross the metallic bridge to the trail.
Once we were on the trail, it was time to start repeating some selfies from our 2018 trip.
We walked up to the viaduct and down the slope towards the weir.
You have to take a picture of the viaduct when visiting this part of the Peaks, it’s mandatory.
And it was nearby that we need to bag a similar group selfie shot as we had done in 2018.
Next up was the weir but we had to navigate a very muddy and slippery path with cows on it.
We arrived at the weir and I saw a fence has now been installed alongside it meaning to get down there and take a shot, you need to climb over the fence.
I took an infrared shot to start with and initially thought this was really good but actually the colour images are nicer.
Colour version below.
I decided to grab a different angle just to bag something different.
We walked along the river and up the steep hill through the trees and along a farm track replicating the return path we did in 2018.
At this point, it started raining heavily but we had our waterproof gear on. However, for about 20 minutes, it really did throw it down so we took cover under some trees until it cleared.
We walked down the lane and down to a junction before going up another lane and across a weird field with dips and mounds that looked like an old quarry on a hill.
We ambled down to a road and walked back towards Cressbrook which took us along a very muddy path beside the river.
We got back to our apartment knackered but content and after supper I looked at my Garmin watch to see what our stats were for the walk.
I had the KitKat stones on Higger Tor on my bucket list and I decided to commit to a sunrise shoot for the next morning.
When I worked out times to travel and find the stones, I figured it would require an 04:15 rise and shine time!
My wife and son both declared they would join me which I found hard to believe. As it happens, they were up and ready to go before me!
Day 2 – Sunrise at Higger Tor
About the KitKat Stones
The “KitKat Stones” are distinctive rock formations located on Higger Tor in the Peak District National Park, England. These gritstone outcrops are named for their resemblance to chocolate bars. The area offers stunning panoramic views, particularly towards the Carl Wark hill fort, and is a popular destination for hikers and photographers.
It was dark when we left and after some initial issues with the SatNav trying to take us along a road which didn’t feel right, we arrived at the small lay-by car park.
We parked up and tried to get booted and prepped quietly as there were two or three camper cans also parked here.
Crossing the road, we went through the gate and up the small incline to the rocks to begin our search for the KitKat stones.
I knew the KitKat stones would be roughly towards the back of the Tor but as I started to Google it, I realised it would’ve been much easier to do a little more navigational research before we tipped up.
I did eventually find coordinates and using a combo of what3words, google maps, and os maps gave me a near enough location and sure enough we eventually located the stones.
I had a quick scout round and set up ready to see what the sunrise would offer me.
I set up my tripod and waited for the sunrise to emerge.
There was an orange glow to my left but a bank of mist in the distance which appeared to be moving quite fast.
Below is my best shot of the morning.
Within seven minutes of the shot above, the mist had completely surrounded the landscape and visibility beyond the rocks was zero.
I packed up and we ambled back to the car.
Kathryn had captured this nice shot of Michael.
We changed our shoes at the car and headed into Hathersage for breakfast.
We went to a hotel on the main high street but it was disappointing for the price charged. Two small pieces of bacon, one sausage of no great quality, overcooked eggs and what Michael described as ‘half a puck’ of black pudding.
We drove back to our apartment and went back to our beds for a kip.
Later on, we went to peek inside the games room across the courtyard.
Over supper, we looked at the forecast as gale force winds were coming in so we had a plan for a chill day and to max out the games room.
Day 3 – Day in using the games room
The games room was in another apartment block on the top floor.
It had a full size snooker table, a pool table (free), table tennis table, darts board as well as a sink, running water and a toilet.
It was exciting to play snooker again on a full size table. My first game with Michael was very close as I kept going in off and only just scraped a win.
The three of us played and I got a 15 break which seemed more like 50 as we were usually pleased to pot one or two in the same visit.
We spent a good four hours there and after several epic table tennis games, I was sweaty and knackered.
We went back for our supper and planned a walk the next day to the other bucket list choice of mine, and somewhere I’d never been which is the ‘Salt Cellar’.
Day 4 – Salt Cellar
We decided to visit a new location called ‘The Salt Cellar’, which I was thrilled about because, aside the the KitKat Stones, it was on my bucket list.
We parked not far away from Ladybower reservoir and began the walk.
Once at the top of the peak, there are some amazing views out to Derwent Edge.
We continued walking until eventually we reached the target location with the recognisable rock known as the salt cellar.
I wandered around for a reccé then starting taking some shots.
The first couple of shots were nothing special.
Although it was an overcast and windy day, there were beams of light occasionally breaking through the cloud.
The conditions were tricky to get a balanced exposure (dark foreground and bright parts of sky) and I had consciously decided not to bring a tripod. However, I did have my filters so I attempted some handheld shots using a graduated filter!
I kept circling the rock and have a couple of favourites, of which this next one is my top choice.
I rushed around to get a couple more shots but the light had disappeared behind the clouds and it was flat.
We walked back along the paths that had got us here.
Once back at the car with walking boots and coats off, we headed back to base but stopped for a quick peek at Ladybower Reservoir.
A quick peek at the plugholes at Labybower
Kathryn and Michael stayed in the car while I wandered up to take a look.
As I expected, there was no water rushing into the plugholes as there is in winter and I was taken aback at just how low the water level looked.
I grabbed an infrared shot because… well, for no reason really!
And that was our lot for the day.
Day 5 – Lumsdale Falls and Stanage Edge
The next day, Kathryn preferred a day chilling with her knitting bag and audio books at the ready so Michael was ready to join me for a trip to a couple of locations on my wishlist.
Lumsdale Falls
First up was a trip East towards Matlock and the Lumsdale Falls.
We found the parking spot and wandered a short distance up to the top of the falls.
It was very slippery descending down the steep path and over some rocks.
I fired off a few shots including some infrared ones.
I set up as best I could to get a good view up the falls from bottom to top but the ideal spot would need wellies, and I had none.
I don’t think the infrared image adds anything particularly special or worthy.
I moved position a little but I didn’t have too much room to manoeuvre without my boots going in the water to knee height and the rocks were perilously slippery.
The next shot is my best one.
In taking the above shot as the final capture, I almost accidentally damaged my camera.
I took the shot, then starting packing away the filters in my bag and as I looked up my tripod with camera on it was starting to keel over.
I managed to grab it before it went the whole way and crashed onto the rocks.
Note for future: Pack the camera away first before anything else!
It had been raining for the whole visit so once packed up, we walked briskly back to the car for a cup of tea from the flask and some of our lunch/snacks.
We left the falls and were heading to Stanage Edge.
Stanage Edge
We parked on a lay-by near to a small woodland and wandered up the path, over a fence and up a path towards the edge (as per the guide book instructions).
There were millstones all around and hardly anyone else about.
I cast my eye around an took an initial shot as we went higher up the hill.
There were many images to be captured and especially with the valley view beyond.
One of my final shots was a long exposure to try and capture movement in the clouds.
I had a feeling I might need some additional drama in an image.
Thanks to the strong winds, I was aware the grasses and heather were moving about a lot, so with my camera on a tripod, I took two images.
One was a slow exposure for the sky and another (fast exposure) to capture the foreground.
I stumbled through the process of merging these two in Photoshop as layers and painting out the blurry grasses to reveal the non-blurry ones, and then I converted the image to mono using a Nik Silver Efex filter.
We wandered back to the car for another cup of tea and a biscuit then it was time to head back to our accommodation.
For our last day, we would go to Chrome Hill.
Day 6 – Chrome Hill
After a stop at a bookshop café that Kathryn had on her must visit list, we made our way to East Sterndale to park the car for Chrome Hill.
I have been here twice before with a photography pal and Kathryn really wanted to see it for herself.
We walked up towards Hitter Hill and then across the top to see the view of Parkhouse Hill as seen below.
What the above image doesn’t convey is just how gusty / windy it was while we stood there.
We made our way down to the road from the fields with a short interruption as one of Michael’s boots split. A quick ‘make do’ repair and on we went.
Across the road and round the side of Parkhouse Hill we went. It was late afternoon / early evening and we were hit by another rain shower.
The only benefit of the rain pouring down was that once it stopped, a rainbow appeared briefly which signalled time to grab another image.
We walked across another road and up Chrome Hill and when we reached the big tree, I think we had seen enough and were knackered.
The weather was challenging, it was late and we had been talking about a pub meal for our last evening.
I grabbed an infrared shot of the view as my final image.
We walked back and managed to get to the same pub (The Angler’s Rest) at Miller’s Dale as on our last visit in 2018.
Superb food and a couple of pints and Kathryn drove us back.
We did our packing and we’re ready to depart for home the next day.
Reflections
It’s difficult to be disappointed with any trip to the Peak District.
We had a brilliant week of walking, exploring and getting lots of clean fresh air. And Michael got us addicted to a TV series called “Slow Horses” with Gary Oldman.
I had bagged a couple of good images from two bucket list locations I was hoping to visit.
Until next time.
Onwards and upwards…