An evening stroll

       One evening recently we went over to Castleton in the Hope Valley

       and had a walk around the quiet streets as there were few people around.

We parked by St. Edmund's Church near the Market Place

    where there's a view of the ruins of Peveril Castle high up on a hill. 

We walked along the path by the millstream towards Peak Cavern

before returning to the main street, Castle Street.
Most of the shops were closed, but there were window displays
to look at including the jewellery and other ornamental items crafted from the Blue John
(bleu et jaune) stone, the beautiful dark purple/'blue' and yellow veined and banded
 fluorspar mineral that has been mined in the Castleton caverns since the C18th.
  

There are eating places in old buildings all with an interesting history.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn was one of the earliest ale houses in Castleton.
It was a regular stopping place for horses and riders transporting salt
from the county of Cheshire and the payment for a stay would be in the form
of Cheshire Cheeses. 

We sat for a while before driving back home, 

stopping by Lady bower Reservoir where it was very peaceful by the water....

.....although looking over the stone wall by the dam a bell mouth overflow,
one of two, looked very strange in the growing twilight. 

When we've been here before it has looked very different.

There are several Open Garden events this weekend in our locality where villages are opening gardens to the public. The one at Castleton is called 'Castleton's Secret Gardens'. There's a similar event nearer to where we live so I might go along.