Lunch in Litton, well dressing in Cressbrook

After our time in Tideswell we had lunch in the nearby village of Litton before going on to Cressbrook.

Litton is another Peak District limestone village tucked away in the Wye Valley countryside.  The leafy village green extends down the main street and there are old stone houses and cottages. Lead mining went on here as well as the making of textiles at Litton Mill, one of the local C18th mills, sadly notorious for the harsh working conditions which included child labourers. It was, therefore, good to see the old village school with a carving over one of the windows 'National School and Village Library - Litton 1869'.  It was around about this time that more small schools were being built so that children could receive a basic education.  National Schools were funded by the church and parish system and apparently Litton School was used at first as a day school, an evening library and a Sunday School.

Leaving Litton we went on to Cressbrook through Cressbrook Dale which forms part of the  Derbyshire Dales Nature Reserve and well known for its limestone geology and wildlife. A  prominent feature is Peter's Rock which probably got it's name from the rounded shape similar to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.  A less pleasant name given to it was Gibbet Rock as it was here that public hangings took place, the last being in 1815.

Several of these steep-sided dales have footpaths and bridleways and many unusual wild flowers can be spotted especially in Cressbrook Dale - early purple orchids, cowslips, lords and ladies, violets, cranesbill and many others. In the Winter a stream flows through this dale and watercress was once cultivated in its clear waters.

Views looking down towards Upper Dale and Monsal Dale from Cressbrook village 

The roof tops of the school and other houses viewed from a top lane.

The houses, school, farmstead and other community buildings in Cressbrook are built along a few single track lanes on the side of a hill.  One lane with a steep descent leads down into Miller's Dale and Monsal Dale where the River Wye flows.  Here another textile mill was built by Richard Arkwright who had more enlightened ideas about better working conditions for his employees.

A picture using natural materials done by the primary school children

This was the children's contribution to the well dressing and village festivities this year.  The pictures made of natural materials are pressed into clay and there were one or two other examples dotted around the village. Cressbrook is one of the many Peak District villages to have Gala Days and well dressing ceremonies in the Summer months. (Read about the tradition of well dressing here).

We came across the Tudor-style mansion of Cressbrook Hall, now an hotel. Not far away there are further trails to walk including walking or cycling along the disused railway tracks and through the tunnels of the Monsal Trail. Everyone can enjoy the scenery from the hills above.

Monsal Viaduct

It was our 49th wedding anniversary this week. It was a low-key celebration as we've been busy with the family, but we've had some lovely garden-related gifts and there's the garden, of course, to enjoy. Most days we just like to relax at home, although we did go out for a drive to one of our favourite places in Derbyshire yesterday evening and had a wander around Castleton which we haven't been to since last Autumn.

Derbyshire Well Dressing and Wakes Weeks

We returned to Hope this morning to see the flower pictures that had been completed and erected around the village near to old pumps and wells for the annual ceremony of well dressing. It's also the beginning of Wakes Week for the village so there was a festival atmosphere and a good time for us to visit as the road was to be closed in the afternoon for a carnival procession. The rain and wind that has returned didn't seem to be bothering the villagers I spoke to as I stopped to take photos.  Wakes Week was originally the week long holiday that was given to workers in mills, factories and collieries at this time of the year, but now it's more like a Summer Festival with events that are intended to bring the whole community together.

                                                   Hope Valley - the edge of the village

Since we passed through the village on Wednesday and stopped to see the beginning of the picture making process I will start with the work in the Village Hall.

The moulds are filled with clay and sheets of paper with the designs that have been decided as the theme for that year are placed on the top. Using a craft knife the lines that make up the pattern or picture are cut through so that an imprint is left on the soft clay underneath the paper.

As the flowers and leaves hadn't been placed on the design at this point it was good to see the finished pictures.

The children from the village primary school and Hope Valley College also made pictures.

As there was a competition to make the best dressed models based on the 'scarecrow trail' idea, - the theme was 'Musicals' - many of the gardens and businesses were looking festive.  

On Wednesday we visited another area in the Peak District and came across some more pictures made from flowers and other materials. Cressbrook is a small hamlet with narrow, leafy lanes that meandering down into the other dales of Water-Cum-Jolly, Monsal Dale and Miller's Dale.

A good day out

Thank you for your best wishes for our wedding anniversary. We had a good day out driving to an area that we haven't been to for a while.  In fact, we sometimes used to come up to Derbyshire for a weekend's break to celebrate our anniversary and then went on to south Yorkshire to see our daughter and family.  Now we are living here in retirement and the beauty of the countryside of these two counties is on our doorstep. We were blessed with good weather and we were able to spend time in the Hope and Wye valleys enjoying the scenery, history and traditions of the area.  We headed for Ashford-in-the-Water where we had planned to have lunch and take a walk. Along the way we stopped to see some of the preparations for the well dressing and summer festival events that will take place in this area at the weekend.

Today I will show you the countryside we passed though - the top photo is a view of Hope Valley and Win Hill taken in a leafy country lane on the way to Ashford-in-the-Water.

This is the area around a place called Litton.  We were diverted onto a one-car lane because the main route was closed. However, we were able to view the contour of the land and the geology from above. As always, walking in this area must be a pleasure.  We went on through Cressbrook and Monsal Dale.

Monsal Viaduct over the River Wye now part of the Monsal Trail following the C19th disused railway tracks and tunnels

I'm sure you know that we love walking beside a flowing stream or river.  This is the River Wye and the packhorse bridge at nearby Ashford-in-the Water.

Driving through the more familiar landscape on our way back home we saw fields of white flowers growing amongst the tufts of green and dry grasses and it looked like a sprinkling of snow.  I could only stop briefly to take a photo because at this point the road was quite straight and busy with fast traffic so I don't know what the flowers were - not cow parsley as in the foreground, but probably some sort of daisy or bog cotton plant.  I like the wildness of this landscape.

The well dressing at the original village pump in Ashford-in-the-Water took place at the beginning of June. However, our walk around the village and visit to the church was very enjoyable and I will post more about the trip and the well dressing preparations in Hope and Cressbrook that we did see very soon.

Meanwhile, here's a detail of one of the pictures set up in the village of Cressbrook. Petals, seeds, sheep's wool etc. have been used to create the picture.