The Peak District has to be one of the most beautiful areas to visit in England. Rural and picturesque villages are speckled around the stunning countryside, not far from Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham. Typical stone fences line the roads to prevent sheep from straying.
The Peak District (also called The Peak) is a picturesque upland area of the East Midlands and Yorkshire regions of England. Established as a national park in 1951, the Peak District is made up of two distinct terrains: ‘Dark Peak’, with untamed moors and windswept hills; and ‘White Peak’, a patchwork of sheep-grazed fields and quaint villages. Despite its name, the park has no mountains – but it does have hidden depths, in the form of spectacular caves.
Here are examples of pleasing landscapes with grazing sheep – a common sight while driving through Peak District.
Now labelled as one of the seven wonders of the Peak District, Poole’s Cavern is a 2-million-year-old natural limestone cavern near Buxton in the Peak District. In addition to stalactite and stalagmite formations, it was interesting to see a natural stone sculpture formed at the base of a river.
Stalactites, stalagmites and other cave formations fluoresce under the glow of ultraviolet or blacklight at Poole’s Cavern, Derbyshire, England. Fluorescent formations absorb and release energy very quickly. When an ultraviolet, or black light, is directed at these deposits the manganese molecules become activated and we see the calcite release light as a blue-green glow because it is at a different wavelength than the surrounding light sources. Once the light is removed the glow on the rock disappears.
The cathedral sized main chamber at Poole’s Cavern, England is carved from limestone by an ancient river. Walking through the cavern reveals nature’s artwork formed by stalactites of various sizes and shapes.
Stalagnate results when stalactites and stalagmites meet or when stalactites reach the floor of the cave. If the two should grow together, the speleothem is called a “column.” Here is a specimen at Poole’s Cavern, Derbyshire in England.
A stalactite is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves. Poole’s Cavern in the Peak District, England is famous for the longest stalactite formation in Derbyshire at seven feet long and approximately a staggering 100,000 years old.
Poole’s Cavern is the most spectacular natural cavern in the Peak District, England. The cavern is famous for the spectacular and unique crystal formations. A stalagmite is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist of lava, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat.
Poole’s Cavern or Poole’s Hole is a two-million-year-old natural limestone cave on the edge of Buxton in the Peak District, in the county of Derbyshire, England. Located just outside the spa town of Buxton, these caves were named after an infamous outlaw John Poole, who, rumor has it, used them as a hideout during the early years of the 15th century.
The ruins in the York Museum Gardens are all that remains of one of the wealthiest and most powerful Benedictine monasteries in England. First built in 1088, the abbey estate occupied the entire site of the Museum Gardens and the abbot was one of the most powerful clergymen of his day, on a par with the Archbishop of York. The stone walls that surrounded the abbey were built in the 1260s and they remain the most complete set of abbey walls in the country.
Examples of standing Roman remains in York are in the Museum Gardens with fine stretches of the fortress wall.
Visitors to the York Museum Gardens are able to see the birds of prey on display showcasing a European eagle owl named Olive and a Harris hawk named Leon.
Lendal Bridge was the second of the three modern road bridges built over the River Ouse at York (the first being Ouse Bridge which has existed since as early as the ninth century). The bridge replaced an earlier ferry service, which had operated from Barker Tower, on the south-west bank, to Lendal Tower.
Lendal Tower has stood next to the River Ouse since about the 1300. It was originally part of the City’s defenses. In medieval times a great iron chain which was stored in the tower was pulled across the river to Barker Tower on the opposite bank.
The York Museum Gardens are botanic gardens in the center of York, England, beside the River Ouse. They cover an area of 10 acres of the former grounds of St Mary’s Abbey, and were created in the 1830s by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society along with the Yorkshire Museum which they contain.
While cruising on river Ouse in York, spot many famous city landmarks, including the breath-taking gothic beauty of York Minster, Clifford’s Tower, one of the only fortifications left of the castle that oversaw York after 1066, the many bridges that cross the Ouse, the serene Museum Gardens, the medieval Guildhall and much! Biking along the river path is optional.
On display at National Railway Museum, York, England are Station Gates, London & Birmingham Railway. Heavy wrought iron with ornamental locks bearing L & BR crest. These elaborate cast iron gates are from the Doric portico that formed the entrance to the original Euston station in London.
This Agenoria engine was built in 1829 by Foster Rastrick & Co of Stourbridge, for the Earl of Dudley’s Shutt End Colliery Railway at Kingswinford in Staffordshire. On its first outing, it reportedly carried 360 people in 8 trucks at a speed of 7.5 mph, which would have been 45 people to a truck, though some may have been children. It remains part of the National Collection and is on static display at the National Railway Museum at York.
A cutaway of a steam locomotive at National Railway Museum, York reveals the colorful symmetry of steam pipes.
National Railway Museum in York, England has steam locomotive No. 390 built in Glasgow, Great Britain in 1896 to haul trains of products to the ports of South Africa for export.
Milk trains were introduced to transport raw milk from remote farms to central creameries. This wagon was used on the London, Midland & Scottish Railway which collected milk from Cumbria and North Wales. Tank wagon, No ADW44057, six wheeled United Dairies milk wagon with glass-lined tank, built in Derby 1937 on display at National Railway Museum, York, England. Length over buffers: 23′ 11″; width 8′ 7″; height 12′ 9″.
