One of my passions is exploring the world we live in, and there are few finer places than the Peak District National Park. Another growing passion of mine is photography. Basing myself in Hathersage, in the Hope Valley (see main panorama), I have explored the Dark Peak and White Peak extensively. On this page, I offer a number of locations I have enjoyed visiting and photographing. Some of the inspiration for these photographs has come from Chris Gilbert and Mick Ryan’s excellent book “Photographing the Peak District“.

Bolehill Quarry

Bolehill Quarry sits just south of the A6127 into Hathersage, at Surprise View. It featured in a Guardian Article in 2012. It is a beautiful, quiet and fairly secluded location, which has been colonised by silver birch. The path from the road leads down to Grindleford and Padley Gorge. The quarry closed at the end of the First World War, but has a magical atmosphere. The path is littrered with abandonned mills stones which are a common feature all over the Hope Valley as the demand for millstones dropped off.

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Before meeting the paved path into Grindleford, the footpath leaves the silver birch behind …..

….and meets, almost at a clean break, the twisted oaks.

Padley Gorge

Padley Gorge is an enchanting place, a deep valley full of alder, beech, birch and oak trees, and scattered moss-covered rocks following Burbage Brook. A short way up from the start there are some steep steps down to a footbridge which takes you over the brook and back up along into the Longshaw Estate on the north side.

Burbage Brook starts life up on Stannage Edge, slips under the Ringinglow Road at Upper Burbage Bridge, before passing Higger Tor and Carl Walk, creeping under the A6187 Hathersage Road at Burbage Bridge. From there it cascades all the way down into Grindleford where it meets the River Derwent.

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