Tags
butterfly, caterpillar, eyebright, harebells, heather, Hen Cloud, painted lady, Peak District, Staffordshire Moorland, walking, wild flowers, yarrow
We didn’t have much time for walking on our last full day in the Peak District as we had packing, tidying and cleaning to do as well as taking our awning down. The ideal walk had to be a short walk and one that was near at hand so we returned to Hen Cloud. It is just a few minutes drive from where we stay and once there, within quarter of an hour we can be away from the road and up high, looking down. We try to do this walk every time we visit the Peaks and when we stay there at the end of May/beginning of June we use it as an evening walk. It is great to be at the top of the hill at 9.00 pm with the sun still shining and the swallows and martins flying round us. Peregrines nest in the rock crevices of the hill and their calls mingling with the sound of the wind blowing across the tops fills me with such joy.
This time the walk was done during the afternoon in the second half of August so no nesting peregrines and not too many swallows and martins either.
This is the view from the place where we parked our car.
This last day of our holiday was warm at last and quite bright too. Before setting off on our walk I noticed these flowers by the side of the road.
Some very pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis agg.)
Hen Cloud
The path we choose to walk up isn’t the steepest of the paths to the top, in fact it is a nice steady ascent – just right for two middle-aged, not very fit people.
The Roaches seen from the path up Hen Cloud
Ramshaw Rocks seen from the path up Hen Cloud
We had never been to the Peaks when the Heather (Calluna vulgaris) was in bloom before. The pink-purple flowers with the bright green grass was very beautiful.
This is the path we usually take to the top. You can see Richard is quite a way ahead of me.
Ramshaw Rocks seen from the top of Hen Cloud.
Tittesworth Reservoir
View from Hen Cloud.
We saw this rather battered and faded Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)
I saw this caterpillar making its way across a rock. I can’t identify it.
All too soon, it was time for us to return to the car.
We saw these Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) on the way.
Our last view of Hen Cloud from the road.
The following day we got up very early and drove to Sheffield to collect Elinor from Alice’s house. We only stayed for a couple of minutes and were then on the road back to our camp-site to hitch-up the caravan and then set out for home.
Thanks for visiting!
A Suffolk Lane 
That is some video of the starlings! Your weather looks like ours now. We had a day of wind, clouds and periodic rain, with a brief show of sun in late afternoon. Temperatures in the 40s today.
We had a new nighttime visitor last night. I went out to investigate the 4 point Black tailed deer buck grazing under the apple tree after dark, and heard a grunting and snuffling somewhere close by. A small greyish creature at ground level rushed at me. I high-tailed it and got the flashlight and camera. Appears to be a nutria from what I can tell on the ODFW website.
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/nutria.asp
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Thank-you Lavinia! I am pleased you are getting some rain and temps in the 40s seems about right for the time of year. Thanks for the link as I’d never heard of a nutria. I’m not sure that you’d be all that pleased to have one of those on your land! It must have been a little disconcerting (at least) to have one of them rushing at you in the dark!
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While you may have missed the birds by going latter in the year, the views of the heather on the hills were spectacular! I would love to find someplace like that around here, but there’s nothing like it here in the flatlands. Also, thanks for the videos, they were very informative.
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Thank-you Jerry and my pleasure! The good thing about living on an island is you don’t have to travel too far to find different kinds of landscape. Here at home we have flatlands like you or little rolling hills. The Peak District is only 5 hours drive away from home, so easy to get to. We have heather growing on heathland here in Suffolk but it is also good to see it on the hills.
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The name Hen Cloud is so lovely – do you know the story behind it? Some great photos from this walk – the view through the two rocks is my favourite.
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Thank-you! Apparently, from a certain viewpoint the hill looks like a hen sitting down. The word cloud comes from an Old English word ‘clud’ which means ‘rocky hill’.
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I knew there had to be a story behind the name – thanks for letting me know😊.
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My pleasure!
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The pink-purple heather is glorious! It reminds me of the flowering heather in the outback. The views from Hen Cloud are wonderful. How green, rugged and open the countryside is. Certainly different to many places I walk. Thank you for the videos too. I see falcons occasionally here but only when they are soaring high in the sky usually and I don’t think I’ve heard their calls. I love to watch birds of prey circling up high. They look so free. Thank you for sharing another beautiful walk with us, Clare. They are always a delight. 🙂
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I am so pleased you liked the walk Jane, thank-you. I don’t often see birds of prey; they are badly persecuted still, especially by gamekeepers.
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Wow, what incredible views, Clare. Everything is so green and lush. Richard must have left you in the dust…I didn’t even see him. 🙂 Beautiful photographs!
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Thank-you Jill!
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Incredible views and lovely photos..I always enjoy sharing your walks! xo Johanna
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Thank-you very much, Johanna!
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Your photographs of the Heather are beautiful Clare, I would love to visit here, this looks such a scenic and beautiful walk.
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Thank-you Julie. I am sure you would love it there.
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I don’t blame you for climbing there. The views are excellent at so is the heather. I’ve never seen so much of it!
The pink yarrow was a nice find too. I’ve never seen a pink one so they must be relatively rare, or at least scarce.
Thanks for another great tour!
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Thank-you Allen. I love to see the heather in bloom. We see it near to home on the coastal heaths but it always looks wonderful on the hills. The yarrow was very pink I couldn’t help but notice it. There were a few others near it.
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The little gallery of views from the top was very nice.
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Thank-you!
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The last photo reminds me of that watch tower (weathertop) in Lord of the Rings where the Ring Wraiths come and attack Frodo. As ever your eye for the glorious is undiminished.
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Thank-you Ste. We have got so used to the glorious New Zealand landscapes used in the Lord of the Rings films, haven’t we? I am sure that Tolkien was thinking of the countryside of the English Midlands when he wrote his book – especially the Hobbiton to Rivendell part. Beyond Rivendell he goes off to other places (mainly historical or legendary ones) . I like that view of Hen Cloud – the strange battlement-like rock formations especially.
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he wasn’t talking about my part of the Midlands lol, it is amazing how the Midlands could look as epic as New Zealand, if I lived in the countryside I would definitely still be playing Lord of the Rings because I maybe 33 but Hobbits are much older so that’s okay.
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Of course it’s okay. You are a mere boy compared with me and I’m not that old!
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The heather looks gorgeous.
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Thank-you. Yes it did/does!
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Hen cloud looks sensational! The pink heather looks gorgeous against the grey rocks. Another place I must visit. . . 🙂 x
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It is well worth it 🙂 xx
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This was such a lovely walk Clare, right from that lovely view through the gate – I wanted to go right along too! Wonderful views as always and such glorious scenery. I loved the videos and it was so interesting to hear the cry of the Peregrine. Growing up, I hardly remember any birds of prey and I wonder if it was because, at that time, their survival had been threatened so badly with hunting and pesticides. We actually have a lot of hawks in Florida and that call is very similar. I love to hear them as it is such a haunting sound from way up high. Thanks so much for sharing this.
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My pleasure Kate! The peregrine can be found in most countries of the world so you may have heard one where you live. I also don’t remember seeing birds of prey when I was young either and your reason is probably right. When I first moved to Suffolk from London in 1988 there were hardly any birds of prey – just a few kestrels and fewer sparrow hawks. There are considerably more types of raptors now so things are improving for them.
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