Buxton

I've just come back from a weekend in Buxton, an attractive market town on the edge of England's Peak District National Park. It wasn't a photography or nature-watching trip, as we had gone to see a concert at Buxton Opera House; but, on waking on Saturday morning, we found the town under a blanket of heavy snow, which continued to fall for a few hours after we went outside. Here is the hotel where we stayed:

I would definitely recommend the Buckingham Hotel as a place to stay; particularly for its wonderful food.

I love snow, and we don't get much here in Swansea, so I was keen to walk around and take a few snaps.

This couple were out walking their dog, not far from our hotel:

This lake in Pavilion Gardens was full of wildfowl, which gathered around us, hoping for a few breadcrumbs:

Unfortunately, we had nothing for them.

Here's a female Mallard in the snow:

And a male:

Continuing through the gardens, I spotted a Grey Heron on the stream, but it flew off before I could photograph it. Instead, I pointed my camera across the brook towards this picturesque building:

Here's the Opera House, where we watched the concert on Saturday evening:

After a couple of hours wandering the small town, we had seen most that there was to see, so decided to head a few miles up the valley to Lyme Park. I had imagined taking some photos of the beautiful Peak District swathed in snow, as well as the herds of Red and Fallow Deer that roam the park. Unfortunately, the snow gradually petered out as we left Buxton, and there was none at all as we arrived at our destination. We eventually spotted some distant deer about a mile away - so not worth traipsing over there in the time we had available - and, to cap it all, the mansion house we had hoped to look around was closed. Oh well!

Here's the house: 

This building, set on a windy hilltop, is known as 'The Cage', and was apparently where the local ladies sat whilst watching their menfolk hunt deer in the fields and woods around:

A lone tree growing nearby:

The evening was spent having a wonderful meal at the Ramsay's bar at our hotel, before heading out for the concert.

On Sunday morning, before catching our train back to Wales in early afternoon, we visited Poole's Cavern, a limestone cave containing many stalactites and stalagmites:

including this whopping stalactite, known as the 'Flitch of Bacon':

The fields around the edge of town were carpeted in snow:

Yet another place which I must head back to pretty soon - preferably in better weather!