Hiking Hills in the Peak District

OK, this is going to be a short post (as usual-- ha ha ha). Yesterday, the hiking club went to the Peak District, our favorite hiking haunt, mostly because it's so huge, you can take 10 or more day-hikes and still not cover the whole area-- which is basically what we've been doing. Yesterday, we conquered Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill-- two jagged mossy crags that have to be scaled like the true hardcore hikers we are. Look at the picture if you don't believe me:



This picture was expertly taken yesterday by a member of our hiking club, as we stood atop the second hill of the day. The first hill is the more distant one in the shot-- you can click the image to make it bigger.

The Peak District is just beautiful. Descriptions can't do it justice. As we walked, I imagined medieval knights and poets having adventures in this land, laying on the hillside, watching over the quiet world. And I just love the small brick villages tucked in hill valleys, and their old pubs with names like "The Black Sheep" and "Coach and Horses", the high churches, and the farms that go for miles and miles all around with crumbling stone barriers around their land. Sheep dot the hills everywhere, and horses and cows can usually be spotted closer to the farmhouse. It's springtime now, and the countryside is only becoming more vibrantly green-- some of the sheep have lambs, and they hop playfully at their mother's side on long, awkward legs, and bleat with annoying regularity.

There's nothing like a good hike on a sunny day, followed by a stop at the pub before returning home. Siiighh-- I wish Leicester were in the country! But it's a good thing the country is never too far off, wherever you are in England!