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The hermit of the bridge
The causeway in the old days Swarkeston Bridge was once the only crossing of the Trent between Burton and Nottingham, carrying traffic on the north-south route through the Midlands to Derby and beyond. At this point the river flows through low-lying meadows which flood regularly, and so the road is carried across these on a…
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Snowmotion
A recent winter view of Youlgreave Winter has never been the best season for travel, but in the past it must have been far more difficult than today. Not only were roads much worse, but at times the weather seems to have been much colder. Especially in the upland areas of Derbyshire farms and villages…
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Traveller’s Tree
The yew tree in St Helen’s churchyard at Darley Churchtown is a well-known example of an ancient tree in a sacred setting. Growing near the west church porch, it is 33 feet in girth (which makes it hard to illustrate clearly), and is estimated to be 2,000 years old. Clearly it pre-dates the (twelfth-century) church,…
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Bilberry crumble?
Writers of Matlock tourist guides in the nineteenth century described megalithic remains on Riber Hill, above Starkholmes, which are variously labelled dolmen, cromlech and rocking stone, and appear to have been four large stones, one balanced on another. But there was no trace of these a hundred years ago, and they appear to have been…
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Harboro’ highlife?
Harboro’ Rocks seen from the High Peak Trail A couple of miles west of Wirksworth, just above the High Peak Trail, Harboro’ Rocks are a distinctive limestone outcrop rising to 379 metres. The summit offers a splendid view of Carsington Water to the south and the Via Gellia valley to the north, while providing practice…
The Old Roads of Derbyshire 