Images above are from D. Baker's WEBSHOTS page: http://community.webshots.com/user/davbak/1 - also contains other nice images of the surrounding area. There are over 150 million images in total on the site, and you will usually find something useful. Another well frequented photosite is FLICKR, which has the advantage of linking in with your weblog (what do you mean you haven't got one...)

Welcome!

On the way, passed through Whatstandswell, and outside a pub was a big banner saying "Well done Ellen, we knew you'd make it!" - discovered later that Ellen Macarthur's parents live in the village.

Fog, rain, accidents on the roads all around. Luckily all the delegates made it safely to the venue.

Delegates gathered from 5.30pm onwards at Hartington Hall Youth Hostel, based in rooms 16 and 18, and the Byre Study Room. This was an excellent venue for the weekend. For more details, head to: http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hostelpages/53.html. This is a 4* hostel, which had a lot of Lottery funding for its renovation. Also has a Bonnie Prince Charlie room where he once slept, and free Fairtrade coffee.

Click to enlarge. But it's a bit big.... Image by Mister P

For more information, e-mail the youth hostel: hartington@yha.org.uk - but be quick because it gets booked up quick, and quite deservedly.

Drinks from 6.30 in the panelled entrance hall with Wood-burning stove. Excellent local 'Goldings' ale from micro-brewery.

Evening bar meal: out to one of the various pubs in and around market place: the 'DEVONSHIRE ARMS' this time round - other pubs are also available...

Image above borrowed from:  http://www.diningpubs.co.uk/pub_details.asp?id=446. Click to enlarge.

Joined by others following their eventful trip up in the fog from East Midlands Airport

Several of the delegates were unfortunately ill - hope to see you all soon, or at the next SLN weekend.

Food and ale - v. nice Hartington chicken, broccoli soup and chips, followed by Bombardier.

Back to the Youth Hostel in time to avoid the 'curfew' of 11.30 am

Night caps in the lounge, and an excellent carrot cake which had flown in the hold from Edinburgh and survived.

Breakfast: the ladies were on time, the gentlemen were 'fashionably late' having woken up at 8.20am, when they were supposed to be having their fried eggs at 8am.

Plans made for a day ‘in the field’:

Visit to Bakewell as an example of a ‘honeypot’ location. Patches of blue sky as we drove down through Monyash, and parked up in the old cattle market.  Information gathering & visit to National Park Information Centre - nice diorama! - village tour and retail therapy. Down to the river - used to feed the ducks here regularly as a kid.

Bakewell Bridge by Mister P - as enhanced by Picasa: click to enlarge

Purchase of Original Bakewell Pudding (de rigeur) - cafe stop.

Possible other stop offs had included:

• Long Rake – abandoned calcite mine

• Arbor Low: stone circle

• Nine Ladies: stone circle

Circular route from Monsal Head Hotel. Lots of flooded areas as we drove up from Bakewell.

Into 'The Stables’ - serves food from 12 until 9pm, and has 13 real ales - also a huge roaring fire -  sampled the 'Pale Rider' (CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2004) and noticed how everyone who came through the door was soaking wet through ! - perhaps that was due to the fact that it was precipitating heavily (could have been 'siling it down' but it was horizontal with the wind rather than vertical - my old granny would have called them 'stair rods')

Met up with Andy.

Great views of the Wye Valley and viaduct available at: http://www.monsalhead.com/tourist.html

Tourist management / local vegetation (as enhanced by Picasa)

Images by Mister P. Click to enlarge

Down to walk along Monsal Head railway track over the viaduct, and then down towards Cressbrook Mill - discovered that the Water-Cum-Jolly Dale path to Litton was underwater - also started to hail / sleet and throw it down, so decided on a loop round over the tops, and then back down the railway track. Managed an hour plus walk, and some images too.

Back to the Youth Hostel - road flooded en route so had to take a detour.

Hour break to shower and warm up...

Over for resource swaps in the Byre Study Room, which we had been given access to for the weekend.

Swaps of CDs, books, resource sheets, Taboos, pens, images etc.

Discussion of resources etc.

Presentations of Picasa image tool, OS Mountain biker viral, wonderful PhotoJams of Dundee and the Arbroath coast, Memory Map, Interactive 'Virtual' fieldwork, Powerpoint quizzes and Inspirations software as a way or organising multimedia and digital resources.

Rather nice fruit cake too, which had also flown in the hold.

Evening Meal: Eliza's Restaurant - 3 courses for £7.50 - can't be bad! - serenaded with 'Green grow the rushes'... local ale slipping down nicely again.

Later on: "Geography Santa" in the lounge – exchange of gifts - £3 limit - some very thoughtful and imaginative choices of gift, including:

Kentish Apple Juice, an Eyam plague rat, 'tablet' & oat cakes, globes, books, maps, Geog Hogs, Tunnock's Caramel wafer, OS Maps and lots more. Also lots of Fairtrade chocolate.

Mister P explaining how big his remaining bandwidth is at the end of each month as GeoDave looks on. Click to enlarge. Note MakePovertyHistory wristbands. Image by VV

Breakfast - woke to a dusting of snow on the hills. Another nice cooked breakfast, and another resource hand-out by Kate.

Sunday morning stroll - drive out to Wetton via Hulme End, past a sign saying 'Welcome to Staffordshire': 'the Creative county'.

Walk to Thor's Cave. A bit muddy ! Evidence of 'poaching' in the entrance to the field where the stiles were.

Path to Thor's Cave (through the glaur)

Click to enlarge. Image by Mister P

Thor’s Cave from Wetton - good view of Manifold Valley - Staffordshire... Often people think of the Peak District as being just Derbyshire...

http://www.derbyshire-photographs.co.uk/manifold_valley.html - Manifold Valley and Thor's Cave image page.

Allyson having to resort to the plastic bag method of keeping the cars clean.

Note Staffordshire QLS carrier bag being used effectively. Image by VV.

Back to the cars, and bye to Kate.

Back to Youth Hostel for final piece of cake and chat to LittleMiss.

Off back South, via the Via Gellia, World Heritage site of Derwent Mills, Ambergate (where I lived when I started my teaching career) &  drove past the Toyota plant at Burnaston (using it as a case study this week), to East Midlands Airport, and back across the Fens...

Manchester 2006 ?

Booty

Geography Santa gifts from 'Meg': various Scottish foodstuffs and Polar Explorer book

2 books in "Horrible Geography" series: Raging Rivers & Bloomin' Rainforests from cheap book shop in Bakewell - written by Anita Ganeri (lots of good facts and cartoons...)

5 CDs full of resources - loads of powerpoints, images, PhotoJams etc.

Fieldwork handout books from Val - wonderful presentation and puts mine to shame...

Posters from Kate

Book of Decision Making Exercises

Fairtrade Chocolate - seem to have inherited quite a lot of it...

Land use map of Bakewell (thanks Jason!)

Various leaflets and booklets from Bakewell TiC

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