The 272 bus from Sheffield to Castleton |
Having
spent a day out, walking around the Burbage Valley to look at some of the gritstone edges in the Dark Peak of South Yorkshire, a couple of weeks later I took advantage
of the 272 bus again – to venture further into the White Peak of Derbyshire.
Surprise View |
At
Fox House, the bus turns right and heads off towards Hathersage down the
escarpment, which is formed by the erosion of the Chatsworth Grit and the underlying
beds of much softer siltstone and shale.
Winding
around Millstone Edge, the aptly named Surprise View appears very suddenly -
with the course of the River Derwent seen down in the valley below and the Kinderscout Grit and Shale Grit looming in the distance.
A plateau formed from these rocks, which are older than the Chatsworth Grit, can be seen
from the main road along the Hope Valley but, turning off into Bradwell and passing over the low lying Bowland Shale, the geology changes abruptly to Carboniferous Limestone.
Bradwell is set on the very edge of the White Peak but, from my position on the top deck of the bus, I couldn't see any outcrops of limestone whilst passing through the village; however, the basic stone walling for the vernacular architecture and church reflects the underlying geology and contrasts with the sandstone that is used for quoins, lintels and other stone dressings - which provide structural integrity to the buildings.
The Kinderscout Grit and Shale Grit |
Bradwell is set on the very edge of the White Peak but, from my position on the top deck of the bus, I couldn't see any outcrops of limestone whilst passing through the village; however, the basic stone walling for the vernacular architecture and church reflects the underlying geology and contrasts with the sandstone that is used for quoins, lintels and other stone dressings - which provide structural integrity to the buildings.
Ecclesiastical and vernacular architecture in the Hope Valley |