Derbyshire in late spring

I'm not sure whether it's actually summer yet - or whether it's still late spring.  The weather has been dreadful again today, and quite haphazard - one minute it's glorious sunshine, and the next, it's bucketing down.

Two weeks ago we met up with 2 friends for a (very) short walk in Derbyshire, at Over Haddon.  It was one of those days when you feel as if you could carry on rambling for much longer, but there was a pub, so we stopped to have a drink.  And then lunch. And then pudding.  By which point we were too full to walk much more without a little break....

View of Lathkill Dale

After the aforesaid repast, we tootled over to Birchover, for another (very) short walk - again, only about 90 minutes.  This time we went up to the Nine Ladies - a Bronze Age stone circle up on the moorland. I'm ashamed to say that it's one of those places that I have read about, and know that I should have gone to many years ago - but isn't it always the way, that the places right on your doorstep are the last that you visit?

First stop was the Cork Stone - so called because (apparently) it looks like a cork.  Not sure myself.

And then on to the Nine Ladies.  Now, at this point, I was very glad that I was in a small group, because, despite all the notices about 'no camping' and 'no fires', there were about 2 dozen or so people with campfires a-blazing, and with tents a-pitched.  They were lying and lolling about in the middle of the stone circle, and it almost felt as though we were the intruders - I felt as though I was trespassing - which is ridiculous, as this is open access ground -but there you are. 

Mr Z&Z told me not to be so silly, as I scuttled through - but I'd prefer to go back another day when I can have time to wander about a bit more and not feel as though I must rush through*.

It's quite unusual for a stone circle in that it's the middle of woodland, and is very quiet and contemplative.

According to legend, the nine ladies were turned to stone as a punishment for dancing on the sabbath, with the King Stone (set a little distance from the circle) being the unlucky fiddler who had been providing the music.

And at the end of the walk (well, not really - just before a slog up hill through woodland), here were these beauties:

Lovely Alpacas.

*After writing this, I googled Nine Ladies to check that I'd got the legend right - and apparently these are eco-protesters, who are campaigning against the expansionof the nearby quarry which would result in the destruction of the the area.