The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that I’ve added two new sections to my projects page on my website. Companion Stones and 5 by 5 in Lockdown.
There is a short introduction to each on the relevant page that will give you a flavour of what they are both about. This weekend I decided to continue with capturing the images of the Companion Stones.
The weather forecast wasn’t great on Saturday but looked good for Sunday. It was decided, Sunday morning I’d venture back into the moorlands around Curber and Baslow, and I’d find the Stones at Shillito Woods and Bleak House, plus one other dependent on timing.
I Should Have Known
I pulled into the car park at Shillito Woods, opened my boot and then stood in horror at the space where my walking boots should have been. They got wet on Saturdays walk and I’d taken them indoors to dry off. No problem I thought I’ve got my new Ridgemont boots on, if I’m careful I won’t get them completely ruined.
My pre planning on the OS map told me that the stone at Shillito woods was not far from the main car park and true enough there it was right on the map reference point.
The actual images taken will be posted to page on my website but this image gives you a sense of the scene.
So I was feeling quite chipper, bagged the next stone and not completely trashed my new trainers, onto the next scene.
I’d worked out that there would be places to park near the next stone at a location called Bleak House. The nearest car park was a good mile away but given that lots of cars are parked on the side of the road I decide to drive close to the next location.
OS maps showed the stone was at a junction of 3 roads. I found a suitable spot away from the junctions and strapped on my backpack. Follow the arrow on the OS map and Bob would be my uncle.
Well I walked around each of those roads a good 5 times each. Climbed into each field and scoured the inside walls. I found the stoop stone but could I find the companion stone, nope I could not.
What I did find was a hole in the ground, was this the foundations of the stone, was the stone being repaired, had it been stolen? Who knew? Not me that’s for sure.
At this point my new trainers where slightly (well very muddy) so I decided that going looking for a stone in the middle of a moor was not a sensible idea. The golf towels in my boot were a god send or else the carpets in my car would have been ruined.
So all in all the day did not pan out as expected. I packed up, got in the car and heard home. An email has gone off to the contacts email on the companion stones website. I’ll let you know in a future blog posting. I’ll leave you with an image of the stone I did find yesterday,
