In mid-October we took a short break to explore a part of north Derbyshire we don’t often visit, simply because it’s a bit too far from home to manage comfortably in a day. We stayed in Sheffield, which turned out to be a good base, with easy drives into the Hope Valley and the lovely villages of Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Castleton, as well as Derwent and Ladybower Reservoirs.

I’d hoped to capture a few autumnal shots, but it was still a little early for the best of the season’s colours. In fact, the trees near Derwent Reservoir were almost spring-like in appearance.

The biggest surprise was how low the reservoir water levels still were after the long, dry summer, although I understand they’ve since returned to full capacity following the heavy rain in the area over recent weeks.

Geography was one of my favourite subjects at school and I found myself recalling things I learned some 60 years ago: the importance of the reservoirs, the contrast between the White Peak’s limestone and the Dark Peak’s millstone grit, once used for millwheels and grindstones. If you know where to look, abandoned wheels can still be found around the area though the only ones we came across were on the Longshaw Estate (National Trust).

We must return to the area again and also take the train along the Hope Valley Line from Sheffield to Manchester.