Placename Elements in Some Peak District Toponyms

Peak District Toponyms...I've limited the list to placename elements that are unique to the Peak District, their meanings aren't obvious, or they are quite rare elsewehere.

BOOTH: Several locations in the Vale of Edale incorporate this word in their names. The word means 'vaccary' or 'cattle farm'.

BRINK: The dictionary definition is, 'the extreme edge of land before a steep slope or a body or water.' The only example I know of is 'Hope Brink.'

CLOUD: A local dialect word for 'hill'.

CLOUGH: A steep valley or ravine in the highest parts of the Peak District.

COP: The only example I can think of is 'Fin Cop' - I don't know what it means here though.

DALE: There are also cloughs and valleys in the Peak District...and, of course, the Vale of Edale. Most of the uses of 'dale' are in the limestone areas of the White Peak.

EDGE: A geological feature only found in the Peak District, and the Welsh Marches I think. It's a linear stretch of cliff.

GROUGH: Found at the top of Kinder Scout and Bleaklow - a natural channel or fissure in a peat moor.

HAG: Also found on Kinder Scout and Bleaklow, and probably other areas too - a peat mound left after water has created the groughs.

LOW: Derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for a covering; probably means that there was a burial place here. There are actually several places called 'Highlow' in the Peak District.

MOSS: An extensive area of bog.

OVER: Found in the placenames, Ashover, Birchover, and Oakover. There seems to be some disagreement as to what it actually means; 'beyond' and 'on the slope' are the two alternatives. I find it interesting that it only occurs in conjunction with a word for a specific type of tree.

PEAK: In the name of the Peak District the word refers to the original inhabitants, the Pecsaetan.

PIKE: 'A hill with a peaked top'. Same as Scafell Pike in the Lake District.

RAKE: 'Lead rakes are linear mining features along the outcrop of a lead vein resulting from the extraction of relatively shallow ore'. In the shallow workings and the spoil piled up at the sides there are a lot of rare wildflowers growing.

SITCH: A Derbyshire dialect word meaning 'A brook; ditch; gutter; drain; ravine'. It's only used to define small streams high up on the moors.

SOUGH: An underground channel for draining water out of a mine.

TOR: A rocky outcrop. I think the word was originally introduced to the Peak District by lead miners who were brought into the area from Cornwall.

Sprotbrough and Cusworth Hall Museum

A walk today without using public transport. I lost my travel pass on Friday at Sheffield and although I've ordered a replacement it will be at least a week until I get a new one.

So...I set off from my home not too far from the town centre and walked into town, then along the river to Sprotbrough, and looped back via Cusworth Hall Museum, taking some footpaths I'd not used before - mainly up on the limestone meadows.

I was hoping to try out the new tearooms at Sprotbrough...but they don't open on Sundays. Instead I went in the Otto Bar and Kitchen, which was quite busy by this time. I was told I would have to wait thirty minutes for my pot of tea and toasted teacake and so also ordered a glass of Diet Coke and found somewhere to sit outside. I only had to wait for a few minutes though for my food, but the pot of tea didn't arrive until ten minutes later by which time I'd already eaten the teacake - and I didn't get the extra hot water that I'd requested. I don't like strong tea and so I immediately scoop out the teabags, pour out a cupful ready to drink and then keep topping up the contents of the teapot with the hot water. Unfortunately today I couldn't fathom out how to take off the teapot lid and so my second cup was too strong for my taste.

I noticed people leaving the church and so I went inside and was fortunate to be given a brief guided tour by the churchwarden. She told me her name, but I've forgotten it.

It's not very far across the fields to Cusworth Hall, and then it's about a mile and a half back into town.

I didn't know about it, but there's currently a temporary exhibition in one of the rooms at the museum all about the history of Hooton Pagnell, my favourite local village. I had many of the rooms all to myself and had fun walking across the very creaky floorboards without having to worry about keeping quiet.  

Monyash, Flagg, Chelmorton, Cowdale, Staden, and Buxton

I made three mistakes today, one of them much more serious than the others; I lost my travel pass, most likely on the platform at Sheffield Railway Station. I've had something hanging heavy on my mind these last few days and I've not been thinking straight - I've also not been eating or sleeping as well as I normally do...and I've even been vomiting because of the stress and worry. So I thought a day out in the Peak District doing what I like best would do me good...well it didn't quite turn out according to plan.

The second mistake I made is that I accidentally deleted all of the photographs I'd taken: by comparison, my final mistake seems relatively inconsequential - just a minor lapse of concentration resulting in a navigating error.

Anyhow here's the trip report for today's walk, written on the bus coming back from Bakewell; after I'd realised I'd deleted the photographs, but before I'd lost my travel pass.

After the short bus journey from Bakewell I arrived at Monyash just before ten o'clock. I left the village and headed northwards along the Limestone Way to Flagg, and then Chelmorton.

There's a footpath through the fields at Flagg which runs parallel to the village high street and I would have used this but there were a couple of large Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme groups [teenagers] looking lost and confused and I didn't want to be dealing with this, so I took the easy option and just walked through the village.

I was going to eat my sandwiches in the churchyard at Chelmorton but there's a smelly farm right next to it and so I walked further down into the village, but upwind of the farm, and sat on a bench.

I left Chelmorton and continued westwards down into Deepdale, and then climbed back out again until I reached the road about half a mile south of King Sterndale, although this is where the parish church is. Unfortunately I went the wrong way because I forgot to stop and check my map. I took the wrong path and ended up going about a mile and a half out of my way. I love maps, but I like to look at them when I'm at home and not when I'm out walking. When I'm walking I only want to be stopping to admire the scenery and take photos. This is an error I regularly make and it's a habit I need to break, but it's a right bind to get access to my map case in cold weather when it's hanging round my neck and I've got cold fingers and several layers of clothing to unbutton and unzip. What I really need is a map bib or pinny which I can hang from my neck and fasten round my waste...and wear over the top of all of my other clothes. I'd probably look like a right pillock though and would get a lot more abuse than I already do.

I only needed to walk along the road near the church at King Sterndale until I found the footpath heading directly to Buxton via Cowdale and Staden: I didn't take any photographs at either place.

Unfortunately there are no photographs included in today's trip report because I accidentally all of my images on my camera as I was looking at them on the bus. The camera is so complicated and fiddly...and so bloody small; every button is tiny and has multiple functions and it's so easy to press the wrong one, or even two or three at the same time. I just need a camera, a larger camera, that's only got basic functionality and is easy to use - just press a large green button and it takes the photo and press another button to view the stored images. I don't want to shoot high definition moving images, add special effects, mess with the exposure and contrast settings, couple the camera up to the internet, edit or compress my images...or whatever else it does that I don't know about.  [By the way, why is it even possible to delete images on a digital camera without seeing some sort of final warning message before it's actually done?]

Today has been a good example of how my life can do sometimes. With me being nearly always on my own all the time and having to push myself to the limit just in order to feel that I'm still alive I can be very vulnerable and exposed. If I'd been with a walking companion I'm sure we would be checking the map; it would be social and co-operative thing to be doing...and i wouldn't have been messing with my camera because we'd be chatting on the bus, or maybe we'd even be travelling by car. My life is diminished in so many ways because of my Asperger's syndrome and the resulting loneliness and social isolation...and my clumsiness as well of course.

Taking photographs is how it is with a lot of things I do: I'm very good at one aspect of an activity but absolutely useless at everything else that needs to be undertaken. Quite a few people have commented how good some of my photographs are, easily up to professional standards...and I believe them, but I couldn't even consider training to be a professional landscape photographer when I'd never be able to use a camera correctly and effectively and would never fully understand the technical aspects of photography.

Despite my problems and mistakes today I still enjoyed my walk, as I always do. I sometimes get a bit frustrated and angry with myself and the world though because I believe that I'm not living the life that I should be...and the different, and much better, outcomes that I'm convinced that I'm capable of achieving.

Finally, just to cap off my day...I attempted to apply for a replacement travel pass online. I needed to scan several documents and email them...but I couldn't get my scanner to work. I'll try again tomorrow...or take the documents into town to be photocopied and then posted off...adding to the delay. So, I won't be walking again for a few days, probably more than a week.

Navigating and Mapreading Tips

Some Navigating and Mapreading Tips That I've picked up over the years.

Naismith's Rule - A rule-of-thumb way of calculating how long it will take you to complete your walk, factoring in the extra time it takes to climb uphill.

'Allow one hour per three miles, plus one hour per 2000ft of ascent.'

Using this method no account is taken of coming downhill,  which sometimes can take even longer than going up. When using OS maps I add a minute per 10m contour line crossed on the map, irrespective of whether I'm climbing or descending.

Always read the environment and the landscape, as well as your map.

Things to look out for:

Satellite dishes always point towards the south-east; solar panels also generally point in a southerly direction, but these are not as reliable as a guide due to them having to be attached to fixed roofs...I suspect panels in solar farms are more accurately aligned though.

Moss usually grows on the northern side of a tree's bark, the side that gets the most shade. There are excceptions to this rule; the important phrase here is 'gets the most shade' and this might be caused by the tree's position, near to a rockface for example, or in the shade of a hill...so always check several trees, ideally those that are out in the open, before making your decision as to what direction to go.

In an exposed location trees are likely to be bent forward, leaning towards the north-east, the opposite direction to the prevailing winds...which usually come from the south west in England.

If you're lost and need to quickly get down to safety from the mountainside, fell, or moor, finding a watercourse and following it down is usually the best option. You might not end up where you want to be...but you should be safe. If you can decide which way the watercourse is flowing throw in a twig, or piece of straw, and see which direction it floats.

Footpaths, bridleways, and byways are all marked separately on OS maps, and that distinction also applies when you reach a sign along your route. Remember, there are no stiles on bridleways, and any gate needs to be able to be opened by someone on horseback.

On maps where field boundaries or shown I find these to be a very useful aid to navigation.

Overhead powerlines and pylons are also depicted and these are very useful aids to navigation as well.

I'm pretty good at looking at contour lines on a map and envisioning the shape of the hills and valleys in the landscape, but I know that not everyone is and so for many people these being on maps is actually a hindrance.

Doncaster Free Press: Revealed, the seven prettiest places in Doncaster

I live in Doncaster and have visited all seven locations many times.

1...Hooton Pagnell: My favourite place by a long way. A stunning estate village on top of the Yorkshire Magnesian Limestone Ridge which wouldn't be out of place in the Cotswolds. Mainly seventeenth and eighteenth century cottages built with the local yellow limestone, a pretty mediaeval church with a four tune carillon, a grandiose hall with a mediaeval gatehouse, there's also a Disneyesque gatehouse and high walls with Rapunzel-style turrets, yet it's a totally appropriate architectural style for the village, a flock of black sheep originally from St. Kilda...and some lovely cottage gardens and courtyards. I used to live in Thurnscoe and Hooton Pagnell is the next village and I would walk here across the fields nearly every week. The village also holds a popular summer fete every year at the beginning of July featuring stalls, craft demonstrations, hot food, and live music. Several of my blogposts feature Hooton Pagnell.

2...Sprotbrough Falls: I don't know if there were ever any natural falls or rapids on the river here, but the name now actually refers to a weir - it's quite spectacular when the River Don is in spate though; you can hear the roar and see the spray from a long way off. It's a very attractive location down in the Don Gorge - there's the river, a short stretch of canal and a lock, a lovely country pub, an island in the middle of the river, and a fish ladder...as well as some delightful walks along the river or up through the woods to the wildflower meadows. In the higher part of the village there's the church, a bistro, and some tearooms. For anyone with an interest in literature, the novel Ivanhoe was written by Sir Walter Scott in the village.

3...Hickleton: Another pretty estate village on the limestone ridge, somewhat spoiled by the main trunk road passing through. A great place to start a walk though. Have a look at the skulls inside the lychgate as you enter the churchyard.

4...Tickhill Butter Cross: Located in the centre of this small attractive market town. Personally though the highlight of Tickhill for me is the millpond and the adjacent castle, which unfortunately is private property and is only open to the public on one day a year - and I still haven't managed to visit. The parish church is large and impressive and well worth a visit.

5...Cusworth Hall: A local museum with free entry, although you do have to pay for parking. A lovely parkland setting on top of hill, with formal gardens and fishing ponds. There are public toilets here and some lovely tearooms.

6...Roche Abbey: Actually just over the boundary in Rotherham. Substantial ruins in a peaceful sheltered limestone valley. The nearby village of Stone is very pretty.

7...Brodsworth Hall: A grand country house with extensive formal gardens. Owned by English Heritage and so there's an admission charge.

There are some other places that I would consider including in the list:

Bawtry: A small pleasant market town with historical connections to the Pilgrim Fathers.

Conisbrough Castle: Everyone's idealised romantic image of a ruined castle on top of a hill.

Walker's Garden Centre and Show Gardens: Well maintained formal show gardens, a large pond filled with koi carp, and a restaurant.

Denaby Ings Nature Reserve: Be careful of the doggers...or maybe you might want to join them!

Howell Wood Country Park: Woodland in rolling countryside.

Thorne Moors: Like nowhere else in England - on a hot sunny day you might think you're on the savannah in Africa.