Loose_Grip/Pete's photos with the keyword: countryside

Looking south-west from the Buxton Road between Earl Sterndale and Hindlow. The River Dove runs beneath the snow-capped limestone crags on the skyline. HWW to everyone. Enjoy the day.

Deep in the Dove Valley south of Alstonefield where Lode Lane & The Pinch meet the sun finds it difficult to penetrate and the frost lingers all day. HWW to everyone. Enjoy the day.

The river Soar is in full spate and the Meadows are doing what they are for: containing the water. The river from here is actually canalised and forms the Leicester branch of the Grand Union Canal. HFF to everyone. I hope you have a great weekend.

Where else but the Netherlands? The many windmills along this canal in South Holland near Rotterdam are famous but I can't for the life of me remember the name of the area. Help me Jaap, Fred, Trudy... Thanks! It's Kinderdijk of course! Anyway HFF to everyone. Enjoy the weekend.

A ride out west to Shropshire where we hoped to see a bit more sun took us to the National Trust at Dudmaston Hall. No sun I'm afraid but a beautiful house and gardens.

The end of the Line! And what a line it used to be! The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, later MSLR/GCR/LNER/BR, Woodhead Route opened through Hadfield in 1845 and was a major trans-Pennine transport link for nearly 140 years. Approved by the LNER pre-war the line was finally electrified by BR at 1500 vDC in 1955. It was the most modern railway in Britain at the time but was unfortunately the only main line using 1.5 kVDC and this system was soon superseded by the later network standard of 25 kV AC. When the infrastructure needed upgrading the decision was made to close the line instead and all traffic between Hadfield and Penistone ceased in 1981. The Manchester commuter lines were eventually upgraded to 25 kV AC and trains still run to Hadfield & Glossop via Dinting Junction. Interestingly the original 70-year old overhead structures have been reused...

Bradgate Park with Old John on the horizon. Wikipedia tells me :- The area now enclosed as Bradgate Park was one of a number of parks surrounding Charnwood Forest. The manor, along with some 100 others in and around Leicestershire, was awarded to Hugh de Grandmesnil in the eleventh century as reward for his assistance in battle to William I. The first mention of Bradgate Park is from 1241, by which time it was laid out as a hunting park. It was subsequently acquired by the Beaumont family, passing to the de Quincy family and on to William de Ferrers of Groby. It remained in the de Ferrers family until 1445, when it passed to the Grey family who retained it for the next 500 years. In 1928 it was bought by Charles Bennion and given, as a plaque in the park describes, 'to be preserved in its natural state for the quiet enjoyment of the people of Leicestershire'. HFF to everyone & have a great weekend. Stay safe.

As the sun sets, one man and his dog paddle across Swithland reservoir heading for Brazil Island. I'm pretty sure that boating on the res isn't really allowed. This was taken from BR Standard 5 73156 & we were running late returning to Loughborough so didn't hang about.

Looking north from Symonds Yat Rock as the River Wye makes a broad loop through the limestone hills on the northern flank of the Forest of Dean. We were on our way back from a holiday in Cornwall and made a one night stopover in the Forest of Dean.

A traditional Yemeni village near Sana'a. The stone construction of the houses blends perfectly with the rocks of the mountains. The green irrigated areas are mainly vegetables and maybe some qat fields. Jessops screwed up the developing of my slide film by treating it as a colour negative film instead. The colours were hardly life-like and the resolution low. I have spend some time in PhotoShop almost retrieving the colour but can do nothing about the resolution.

The village of Mousehole was once more important than Newlyn or Penzance as a port. It is a picturesque tourist spot these days.

Bolsover Castle dominates the skyline. Built in the early 17th century, the present castle lies on the earthworks and ruins of the 12th-century medieval castle; the first structure of the present castle was built between 1612 and 1617 by Sir Charles Cavendish. The site is now in the care of the English Heritage charity. HFF & have a great weekend. Stay safe.

Sunset over Porthmissen Beach Trevone near Padstow.

Our 7.5 mile walk was pretty straightforward: down the steep-sided hills into the Manifold Valley, follow the disused trackbed of the former Leek & Manifold Light Railway, climb out of the steep-sided valley and walk back to Grindon on the top. Anyone who knows this part of the Peak District will know that the River Manifold is a "disappearing" river. Depending on the volume of rainfall the river fluctuates from normal flow to a completely dry bed as the porous limestone soaks up the water. This bucolic view is an intermediate situation!

A summer morning over West Yorkshire. The view looking Northeast towards Soil Hill from the A629 at Ogden between Halifax & Keighley. HFF & have a great Easter weekend.

A trip to The George at Alstonefield for lunch.

Wolsztyn is about 120km east of the German border at Frankfurt-am-Oder and the last 50km drive was on very pleasant country roads like this.

We saw these Icelandic horses being herded near Armannsfell alongside Route 52 which is a well graded dirt road and approaches the Langjokull (Long Glacier) before turning west to Borganes.