Monday 18 February 2008

Shining Tor



Is this map better for you, Your Highness. I have now carefully selected a map that is not O.S. If all Lorenzo's friends demand the old map back, then she will be only too delighted to oblige and sod the consequences!!



In answer to Rob's question, Shining Tor is the highest point in Cheshire at 1,834 feet. No Everest, but still quite a pull up. The Cheshire/Derbyshire border runs along the ridge of Windgather Rocks, Pym Chair, Cats Tor and Shining Tor. Peter, Badger and I decided to go for a walk along the top, down through to the Goyt Valley and up again through Erwood woods, probably about six miles.



Lorenzo straddling herself between Cheshire and Derbyshire.

The path up to the top used to be a nightmare as it passed through peat bogs, but in the last couple of years it has been paved with granite slabs.



I spent time studying these granite blocks and I saw some fossils in two of them.



Now what do you make of these two Maalie? I think it just goes to show, that without a shaddow of doubt, australopithecus robustus wore trainers and rode a bike.

Up we scrambled



and then I proved that Martin is not the only one to be run over by a steam roller.





We reached the summit.

Badger was having a wonderful time, but unfortunately she didn't see any grouse to chase.



We skirted past the ruins of Erwood Hall and made our way back uphill. We passed this sweet little shrine in the woods.




This shrine is still used a lot. There were prayers and petitions written out and left. Someone had been burning a candle. It's a nice little place and very peaceful there.

It was getting really cold by this time. We hurried back to the car. "Beer time" said Peter so it was off to The Swan, his favourite pub. Even after the walk he was still able to manage a sprint in from the car park.




No guesses who had to drive home.

62 comments:

Maalie said...

Nice post. Has Scaredy been up Cat's Tor, I wonder? Very interesting fossil casts. Looks as if they were made just as the mud was drying out after Noah's flood.

The Lone Beader® said...

Badger does look like she's having a great time!! And, I love that little shrine. Things like interest me very much.

Sara said...

What a wonderful walk. I recognise some of the landmark names from one of my all time favourite childrens's books (a popular topic these days L.) 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen' by Alan Garner. The shrine looked just the kind of place I'd have liked to have spent a quiet moment or two.

What kind of beer did you have?

tut-tut said...

What a wonderful hike! I especially like that shrine; I'd think that would be a place where prayers might be heard. It must be built on an ancient holy place. My friend Mary could use some of that energy.

Alan Garner! The Owl Service is a book I've loaned out and I would like it back . . .

Rob Windstrel Watson said...

That's wonderful, Llama, thankyou.

It reminds me of Exmoor but seems wilder somehow.

I remember the stone walls well. Down here, they are made of earth piled high most of the time.

Today on my lunchtime walk, I took a photo of some hedge layering which I think is used to make hedges more friendly for wild life, including birds. Perhaps I'll put it up tomorrow.

The highest point around here is Dunkery Beacon, which looks out over the Bristol Channel.

Thanks for the pics. They're great:-)

Ju's little sister said...

Before I read this post, or its comments here are some replies to the last comments on your previous blog:

LtL - A Marting blog? Damn, I started out going for a Lorenzo Blog.

Maalie - Yes, Polly is a grumpy old man - his last name is Perkins, and there was a song... anyway, 'Polly' is his nickname.

Rob - Okay, I'll post the full story on my own blog, one day! ;-)

Now - I'm going to read your exciting looking post Lorenzo

Ju's little sister said...

I like those granite blocks - here in nz they path the marshy parts of the track with wooden slats, overlaid with chicken wire for a bit of grip. The rocks look a lot nicer.

You'll have to take me on that walk when I come visit!

And Lorenzo, you really shouldn't let Badger drive...

Anonymous said...

very nice hike. i like the steam roller shot...well done.

good to see a photo of you...nice hat.

lorenzothellama said...

Maalie: did Noah wear trainers and ride a bike?

Magdalene: I think Peter had Bishop's Finger.

Tuts: How is Mary doing?

Rob: see you for coffee and cake if Mags hasn't eaten it all.

JLS: we have slatted wood paths here too. We call them duckboards. Badger hates them as her feet fall between them.
No she shouldn't have driven home, but hey, she managed well!

Nancy: Brilliant hat, isn't it!

Martin Stickland said...

Woof! So that dreaded steam roller driver got you too (eat lots of yeast and lie out in the sun, that should pop you back in to shape!)

Looks like a lovely walk, keep on straddling!

I am off to wipe my wet nose!

Anonymous said...

We can trace no record of your application to reproduce Crown Copyright material (Ordnance Survey). Unless we receive the appropriate fee within 7 (seven) days we will have no option but to initiate proceedings against you to recover the fee under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988).

Maalie said...

Oh dear, are you in trouble?

By the way, in Cumbria we call them boardwalks. I'm thinking of leaving something in my Will to have a stretch of boardwalk named after me. So I can continue to feel trampled all over for a while to come.

Sara said...

Bishop's Finger is great. I'd rather be sitting in the sun drinking a pint than sitting here waiting for the last two clients of the day to show up.

Sara said...

Is that H.M thing just some git like T. Rex having a laugh, or is it REAL??

lorenzothellama said...

I don't know whether it is real or not Mags. I suspected Maalie at first, but now I don't know!

Now look here Mr Her Maj's Stationery Office. It's all very well threatening me with court proceedings, but if you look very carefully at that map you will find it is the property of the Shining Tor Fell Race, and as I am a member of a running club affiliated to the AAA, then that map is rightfully mine. So there.

Anonymous said...

Lovely walk, lucky you. Can I come next time? I'll be really quiet and really good. Infact, I'll be so far behind that you wont even know I'm there!

Viking Warrior said...

My mighty mercenary army will deliver thou from yon stationery office enemies.

Anonymous said...

Do you want me to sort them out Flower?

Ged the SAS

Anonymous said...

Crikey D.M! How exciting!

Kiwi Nomad said...

Wonderful photos lorenzo... even if they do show up that it is a tad cold! Great views you had. Impressive granite slabs. So many lovely places to walk... so little time...
Just two questions. Did Australopithecus get wiped out in Noah's flood then? And if so, did his trainers survive to make a modern fashion statement?

lorenzothellama said...

Not sure Kiwi. I should ask Maalie if I were you. He seems to be the expert on all things Noah!

Anonymous said...

I am afraid you are wrong. That sheet is licensed under OS 125 Peak District Copyright (c) Crown Copyright; Ordnance Survey Licence Number PU 100034184, you can see it printed at the top map of the sheet you have put into the public domain without permission.

Final warning.

Ju's little sister said...

If her Majesties stationary office is genuine, it has to provide you with the information required for you to make payments, else they aren't in a very safe position to prosecute are they? So they should be providing you with an address, email, website or phone number so that you are able to determine their authenticity and begin the process of payment.

I, however, suspect Martin - though it's not as long winded as his usual so maybe not.

Kiwi Nomad said...

I think her majesty's stationery office is a very scary person... perhaps they are the human equivalent of the wedge-tailed eagle.
But I am sure that if you just tell them they are ugly and their mother dresses them funny, they will go away.

rauf said...

Ah such a lovely place.
So You are a giant Lorenzo.
1834 feet ? Reminds me of Hugh grant movie, 'The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain'
Hi Badger
Hi Scaredy

simon said...

its making me "home sick" for the mountains of Cumbria!!!

lorenzothellama said...

OK Maj's Stationery Office.
Do what JLS says. Tell me how much to send and where. You can email me at martin.stickland@hotmail.co.uk with the information.
I still say this map belongs to the Windgather Fell Race. It's even got the start/finish and the route marked out! You Wedged Shaped Eagles!

Off to yoga now. Be all nice and bendy when I come back!

Anonymous said...

To all whom it may concern: Copyright infringement is a serious matter. The onus is on the user to apply for permission through HMSO.

We already know the ISP address of the offender (cpc1-stkp1-0-0-cust535.manc.cable.ntl.com (82.11.134.24)) and know the offender is in the Greater Manchester area. The Service Provider will locate postal address for us today.

Kiwi Nomad said...

Lorenzo, interestingly I see that HMso uses the same isp formatting as your extremetracker thingie. I notice that your brother maalie uses the same kind of tracker. I am sure other likely culprits could be identified from the use of such a tracker. We will be successful detectives yet. They might even want to use us in Midsomer.

Unknown said...

Can you believe I never made it up there?! Macc forest and roundabouts was my usual walking ground. Now you've given me a reason to go back - and ok, I admit it, the pub helped (d'you think Badger would drive me back too?).

Maalie said...

That shrine is the sort of place one could spend the Solstice. Except I'll probably be in the Arctic worshipping the Midnight Sun.

Kiwi, yes that is about the most common stat-counter in use, but I can confirm that it DOES appear to be Lorenzo's ISP address. They are clearly onto her. As an author myself I can confirm that they take copyright very seriously (think about the writers' strike in USA). Presumably the Fell Race people applied for (and paid for) permission to use it, as I had to if I wished to include a map in some bird report. This certainly does not allow all and sundry to copy it and put it in the public domain to be downloaded and used without payment of the appropriate duty. I think she should be careful here, it could cost her a whole lot more than the original fee would have.

lorenzothellama said...

ok, I'll take the bloody map off.

lorenzothellama said...

Satisfied now, you pen pushing beurocrats

Seattle Boy said...

You won't get away with it you know. They will estimate how many copies may have been downloaded from your blog and how much revenue they might have lost.

And it will infuriate them that you don't know how to spell bureaucrat.

lorenzothellama said...

Oh whoops, I always was a crap speller!
What do you suggest that Seattle Person? Shall I reinstate my map and see if the buggers bill me?

Martin Stickland said...

Oi Lorenzybum, these ten pound notes you printed for me are still wet!

It twas not me pretending to be madges staty office .. really!

Is this for real???

By the way I hate to add to your woes but I have had the Llama Societies chief spokes person complaining that you are using the portrait of their late king Larry the llama as your profile picture.

you is a naughty girl and who is this Vick bloke you want to rub on my chest?

Wandering Star said...

Bureaucrats are important, they administer our taxes and make sure we have hospitals, schools, bin men and cartographers. Cartographers need to be paid for the maps they write. Without cartographers there would be no maps. And then where would we be?

Anonymous said...

We have located your address. An invoice for £428.30 (including VAT) is in the post to you this afternoon, Mr Young.

Estelle des Chevaliers said...

Hooray! I'm back! Just back from Montpelier.

Do cats go up the Cat and Fiddle Pass? Is that a real name?

Kiwi Nomad said...

I would be taking Her Majesty's Stationery Office to the media for threatening the sanctuary of llamas.

One thing I found very interesting in that chapel was the presence of the Corrie Ten Boom book on the altar. That seemed like an evangelical invader in what otherwise looked to have quite an RC /High Anglican influence.
Of course, it is the sneaker remnants in the fossils that I find most interesting of all.

lorenzothellama said...

Kiwi: I am not sure whether the shrine was High Anglican or Catholic. I will try to find out. I have a vague idea it was built for an Italian governess belonging to the children at Erwood Hall.

Martin: I hope you didn't mind me giving the Madge men your email address! That picture is of Lorenzo!

Welcome back Estelle. Do your worst my dear! It's not a Cat and Fiddle Pass but the highest pub in the Country. It's a scruffy place though, just up my street.

Sara said...

Fancy getting duffed up by the Queen Lorenzo. I wonder if she's telling Philip, over tea, 'how one thumped a common Llama woman with ones hendbeg and snetched ones mep beck.'

I also want to know why the comment I posted this afternoon has disappeared in the ether? There are some very funny things going on with me and the Blog Ra lately. See Rob's and Raelha' posts for my complaints about non- received comment notifications. Bah and Grrr!

lorenzothellama said...

OOO Mags, try again my dear!

I hope The Duke of Edinburgh doesn't get together with Mr Fayad and MI6 about all this.

Anyway, it seems that Mr Young or Mr Stickland will get the bill for the map. Lorenzo the llama is in the clear!

lorenzothellama said...

What am I going to tell Peter when he gets that bill? Anyway, I've removed the offending map haven't I?

Maalie said...

Lorenzo, I think the bill represents lost revenue from Royalties estimated from the number of the downloads from your site (you never download an image from the internet, do you?). They can get the info. from your Service Provider.

I think you should pay; to challenge it might cost you thousands. I can only assume that your phone account is in Peter's name, is it?

I know a bit about this as E was involved in a copyright dispute once.

lorenzothellama said...

What do you mean I never download an image from the internet? Where do you think I got that map from?

Kiwi Nomad said...

"I know a bit about this"

I think you know more than a bit about this Mr Maalie.

Ted M. Gossard said...

Beautiful sites and post, Lorenzo!

Where's the snow? Quite fascinating. Looks like a good little walk. And good sights. And a good way to end it all; I think I'd be thirsty, too!

Maalie said...

>What do you mean I never download an image from the internet?

I was being sarcastic!

Kiwi, you're right - ever since my statistics text book was published I have been a lot more protective over these things. If I saw a student photocopying pages from my book I'd challenge them and ask if they had sought permission from the publisher. When they looked worried I'd say: "It's OK, I own the copyright, I give you my permission".

lorenzothellama said...

Does Worzel ask permission before he prints any maps on TCA's blogsite?

Martin Stickland said...

Spsssss! Got any knock off silk or any of those ration voucher things?

IT WAS NOT ME!

I'll give you fruit cake!

Kiwi Nomad said...

no martin... it wasn't you... you couldn't refrain from calling her lorenzybum for several long posts ;-)

Ju's little sister said...

I agree with Kiwi N, I did originally think it was something Marty would come up with, but it was too harsh to be him. He would have ended up saying the bill was 400 beers to be sent to Combe Martin or something like.

Well that's a bit stink, Lorenzo! I'll send you ten dollars towards the fee if you like! Only... Well, it wouldn't be much more than a few pounds by the time you converted it!

Martin Stickland said...

Dear Sirs,

It has come to our attention that when you were a little young whipper snapper with the brownies you did a brass rubbing in a small Village church in the lake district.

Need I spell it out? COPYRIGHT!!!

And! Because the brass plaque was dated the 12th June 1376 and was to commemorate the death of the late Lord Iver Biggun we will be sending you a bill 6,320.00 (10.00 for each year and we will chuck the VAT in for free)

SO THERE!

Viking Warrior said...

Whippersnapper is one word thou ignorant Devon git.

Maalie said...

No, oddly enough, brass rubbing (palimpsest - google it) is NOT a breach of copyright. Neither is it a breach of copyright to TRACE a map, so long as it is in your own hand (not with a photocopier or camera). I tell, we I had go through all this lot n the University library.

I can tell you for sure that if I saw someone had put up pages of one of my books on the internet without permission (or better still, payment of the appropriate Royalty) I would me most severely gnarked.

Olga said...

Gads! after reading through your comments I'm still not sure if that complaint about the map was for real,was it?
Thank you sooo much for visting my humble little abode, but you seem to have WAY more adventures than I, Better pictures too, by the looks of it! I guess I better watch my back in case they come looking for me, I merrily copy and paste pictures with wild abandon! My days doing that are not looking so good.....

Anonymous said...

Thank good ness for divine copyright protection. I myself am a prolific author. No doubt some of you are familiar with my more well known titles;

'Celibacy - A 'Hand' Guide'(1996)
'How To Get Your Collection Box Noticed' (1998)
'Overseas Mission - How to Spread The Word in the Top 10 Tax Havens' (2001).

I regularly display my body of work, in the vestry, and its 2 for 1 on Wednesdays.

Martin Stickland said...

Cap'n shortbeard here!

Me no see vidy thingy ma jig here?

Did thee dreamy it uppy?

Youie tubie not working?

Sara said...

Are you still bored shitless Lorenzo? Never fear, cointreau hour is nigh.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mrs. Queen.
Was it bad of me to reproduce 6,209,324 copies of that map and give them out to all the passers by in my local Netto in a brazen attempt to get them to exercise properly. Anyway, f**k you, I'm a revolutionary socialist and you and all your type will be the first against the wall.

Rob Windstrel Watson said...

Maalie, ref your comment about being narked at someone putting pages of your book on the Internet.

Someone bought me a novel to read over Christmas as a Christmas present.

As I read the first page, I thought how identical it was to the first page of my free online novella Sarah's Price. It was quite unnerving. The actual words and the story that followed afterwards was quite different.

There is no question of copyright here, of course.

However, (IMHO), a successful writer had taken my opening page which has been online since the early days of the Internet and had used it to start their conventionally published blockbuster book.

A strange feeling.