Landscape of the peak district

Today we went on a hike/walk to Mam Tor, Back Tor, & Losehill and down to the town of Hope, which is in the peak district.  It's somewhat of a ridge walk really.  We had perfect weather, although the wind was incredibly strong.  It's a beautiful area, and very interesting.  This area is the dividing line between two types of geology - the land we were on & drove through is all limestone and, predictably, there are many caves in the area.  Including one with the only source of a particular variety of feldspar, if I've got it right, called "Blue John."  This limestone land is covered in grass (of the greenest lawn-type).  Across the valley in the distance, the rock is sandstone and the land is covered in heather, currently a purply brown (blooms in august).  It is a visible indicator of the geology below.

The walk was lovely, on a well maintained stone trail for the portion on the ridge.  The walking trails and "public footbaths" weave everywhere here - throughout the hills, and through all kinds of fields and through the towns.  Fields with sheep, fields with cows, fields with bulls, fields with chickens, hillsides... It's quite charming.  The land is hilly, mostly all rolling and green, with some exposed rock.  The trees are nearly all unfamiliar.  It seems like the perfect land for aspens, but there's none to be seen!  Instead, the trees are large and bushy.  All of the sudden the trees in paintings by Gainsborough, Fragonard, etc seem less strange to me.  In the store in Castleton I flipped through a book on trees and bought myself a book on flowers.

Tommorrow means the end of our time here, and our train trip to Scotland.  We will certainly miss our hosts who have been so good to us.