These three pictures were taken in Cressbrook Dale, well the third one is actually looking across the top of the dale from Litton but the first two are of the unusual rock formation at the northern end of the dale. (which is where I found the crinoid fossils shown in my blog post titled Marine Fossils)
The feature in the second picture is known as Peter's Stone and as well as the rock that my daughter climbed (much to my surprise) it is also thought to be the place of the last public hanging in this country from the gibbet.
I've called today's post Rocky Smile because of the first picture which is of the face of Malham Cove. If its a rock face then it can have a smile and that is what I have tried to show in that photo.
The second picture is of the steps leading from the cove to the limestone terrace above. It is part of the Pennine Way long distance path. I had walked this path once before, in December 2012, when there was snow and ice on the ground making the path and the limestone at the top quite treacherous.
The next two images are landscape views, the first from the top of the cove and the second back down at the riverside. My favourite image is the final one, I like the little grassy mounds in the foreground and the distant barn framed by the trees in the centre. I also like the sky which was starting to brighten up after a storm had been threatening to develop but fortunately didn't materialise.
Golden Valley, also known as Dore Valley (because of River Dore which flows through it) is in Herefordshire and is a really beautiful valley of gentle hills and rolling countryside. Today's pictures were taken at the end of a work day when I had visited a client in the area. The area was an inspiration to the writer C.S.Lewis who saw a painting of the valley when he was a child and he commented that to him it appeared to be heaven.
With the golden light in the first picture and the stunning sunset in the other two I think I can see why he felt that way. I hope you agree.
