Igloo!

We only had a sprinkling of snow in the UK, but there was enough to build an igloo.
As I piled the snow high and carefully hollowed out the interior I contemplated spending a cosy night sleeping out in it.
There had been a terrible mistake of scale... I don't know if I mistook inches for millimetres on the plans. Maybe the cat had grown... No, something had definitely gone wrong!
Never mind, the cats think it's great...

Hoar Cross Downhill....moving pictures (whatever next!)

There was a good turn out, many not venturing up the steep hill but instead generating more charitable funds by watching the big screen and drinking from the Meynell Arms and the beer tent (all profits to a good cause).


If your brakes worked, then the plan was to stop and ring the bell, if not then hay bails were provided for 'your comfort'.

The General Lee was able to stop without jumping the bridge which is always 'out'.......Daisy did turn up, but she looked better on TV!

This one was shaped like a coffin... it always pays to be prepared.


It may not appear that fast, but then it's not you that is an inch from the ground about to receive a bout of 'gravel rash'!!


30 to 40 mph in a low slung pram...transport of the future (the oil will run out one day)!


40 ++++ foot of downhill go-kart...the stuff of childhood dreams.


NASA funding cutbacks cause a complete re-think on launching techniques.


The 'Harry Potter' bus is a little unstable even in its scaled down form...... Double decker buses four times the height of this drive past my house every day, what the hell were we thinking of when we invented these!!!!!

The 'bath tub' chassis design has been embraced by Formula One designers as the ultimate in safety....Oh , crap let's hope so!......

Every Thorpe Cloud has a silver moon lighting....

Determined not to let the short winter days get to me, I'm turning increasingly nocturnal. There was a beautiful almost full moon. What was left of the wisps of cloud were beginning to clear....

....until all that remained was a crystal clear sky. The moonlight illuminated the ground in that eerie way, and lunar madness gripped me. Packing all the necessaries, I headed off in the car northwards. After about an hours drive, some 40 miles and numerous sightings of barn owls hunting by the roadside, I arrived. The craggy tops of the Peak District silhouetted the velvet star spangled sky.

From the warmth of the car the thermometer readout of -6' seemed a little unwelcoming.

Dressed up warm and resembling 'Tony Hancock' on a bad day I stepped out into the cold.

It was now midnight as I stared up with trepidation at the towering hill awaiting my challenge. Thorpe Cloud, an easy climb on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but it was dark except the moonlight, the rivulets were frozen and a slippery haw frost coated the ground.

If it hadn't been for the reflective piping on her jacket, 'Ninja Jenny' would have disappeared altogether.

As we walked on the icy ground alongside the River Dove our eyes slowly became accustomed to the silvery light. My camera however, did not, hence the sparseness of pictures. We quickly realised that the steep but direct route to the summit was covered in ice. Much as I like adventure, the easy route seemed the best option. A glance at my phone informed me that there was no network coverage here and no one knew where we were, there seemed little point in taking any unnecessary risks.

Once out of the frost hollow of the valley it didn't feel so cold. The hill sheep were surprised to see walkers out so late and looked rather spooky with their eyes reflecting red in the light of our headtorches. There have been sightings of big cats out on the hills, but we reckoned they'd be more interested in a nice yummy sheep, I tried my best to appear 'unappetising'.

Eventually we reached the top and I took this great photo of the view....yes, I know all you can see is a rock, I could have taken that at the bottom!

This is what it looks like in the daylight. No, I'm not wearing a skirt, I'm in a bivi bag!

A quick blurry shot of the moon ( couldn't keep my hands still, it was soooo cold), and it was time to head down.

Back at the car a nice warming flask of coffee awaited. Unfortunately the lovely soft moist cookie I was looking forward to had frozen solid as a ships biscuit!

By 4 am I was back in my bed, warm and toasty. A goods night sleep and I'll be ready for some more perambulations.