Thursday 13 December 2012

From a valve tower to a tympanum ...

Back in 2011, in those January days, I was walking little but often. I had gone down to a three day working week but gone up to a three day walking week.

The 24th January 2011 saw me parking at Carsington Water between Wirksworth and Ashbourne on one of those dull Derbyshire days ... it suited my mood.

I set off across the dam wall and it was damn cold. It always is. Even on the sunniest of summer days the wind howls across here. 

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.  

I reached the valve tower which you may just have spotted on the right hand side of the photograph above ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

I was grateful to get out of the wind and onto the path that links the reservoir with the village of Hognaston ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.  

I was lucky enough to see two or three bullfinches but not lucky enough to photograph them ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

The hawk-eyed amongst you will have noticed the mud. Well, get out of the wind and into the shelter of trees and bushes and mud is what you're likely to encounter ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.  

The mud ended though when I reached a rather fine bridge over the watercourse below the dam wall ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

As I rose up, away from the bridge the path wasn't quite so miserable. In fact it was rather attractive ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

My meandering route led me to St, Bartholomew's Church in Hognaston ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

The short avenue of pollarded trees always catch my eye ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

The most interesting thing abiout this church though it its tympanum [the bit above the door in the porch] ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

It's not always easy to photograph this type of feature but you should be able to make out a figure holding a crook in the middle together with a sheep on the left with a pair of birds above it. On the right is a dog or wolf with a pig perhaps above. There is also something on the far right which doesn't show up well in my photo.

Is this Norman ? Or perhaps Saxon ? Who knows ... but it does appear to be very old. There are certainly much grander tympanum but I like the naivety of this one and the others nearby at Parwich and Tissington.

From the tympanum I walked down Green Lane to the stream in the valley to the north-east of the church ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.  

After crossing the stream I followed Enslet Lane out of the shallow valley ...

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

It always impresses me that a muddy old track like this has a name.

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.

 This muddy old track may be very ancient too of course, perhaps even older than the church.

In the field beside Enslet Lane I tried to squeeze through a redundant squeezer stile ... 

Around Carsington Water ~ January 2011.  

In those days I could do it.

This walk was followed on the 24th January 2011
 
Length of walk stroll ~ 3.18 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 27.55 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 24th January 2011 ~ 556.60 miles
 
8 of 2011
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

12 comments:

  1. Wow, that is interesting. When I saw the thumbnail of the tower it looked almost like an eyewitness photo of some sort of Japanese house. Very nice.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it ... there will be more.

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  2. I love to see the interesting things you find on your walks, especially the Tympanum.Flanders and Swann came to mind when I saw the path,Mud Mud glorious Mud.I expect the stile is now a scratching post for the livestock.Ann

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    1. The mud pictured is nothing like some of the mud I have encountered Ann.

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  3. I love the images that you capture, Charlie. You have an artist's eye. (Well, I'm sure that you have two of them ...)

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    1. Thank you Pet. I was going to agree with you by answering eye eye [aye aye !] ... but thought better of it.

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  4. An interesting, if rather muddy, walk. Love that avenue of pollarded trees. Fascinating tympanum, would be interesting to find out just how old it really is.

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    1. It's a very low avenue of pollarded trees which makes it all the more interesting I think. As for the tympanum I wonder too. It seems it is going to be at least a thousand years old which is quite something.

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  5. tympanum.....if I had been asked I would have said it had something to do with drums...here is another new word you have taught me. I was impressed with the lovely soft winter colours in the shrubs, especially in photos #4 and 5.

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    1. Yes, it does sound like something to do with drumming. I think you have something in your ear called a tympanum too.

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  6. I'm annoyed that Blogger hasn't told me that you'ver been busy. Consequently, catching up from a long way back. Enjoyed this walk, Charlie.

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    1. I can't understand why Blogger doesn't make it easier. I keep seeing excellent blogs on other Blogger pages and there is often no comment whatsoever. It's strange ...

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