Walking at Carsington Meadows near Wirksworth in Derbyshire gives a real feel of man's effect on the landscape. What looks like gently sloping, slightly uneven pastures, becomes, on closer inspection, industrial archaeology.
Between the amazing natural rock formations that characterise the area are dips in the ground with a slight bank all around.
These are the remains of mines dug by hand to extract materials like chert or lead. Many are deep and dangerous and have been capped off using concrete.
One wonderful thing about this disruption to the landscape is that certain species of flowers actually prefer lead mined areas.
Derbyshire lead ore, known as galena, was first smelted 3500 years ago. The Romans made it an important industry and, for two hundred years up to 1780, the Derbyshire Peak District was the most important lead mining area in the world. Nearby Matlock Bath houses a lead mining museum, with interesting historical displays.
All photos taken by me. If you have enjoyed this glimpse into Derbyshire's lead rakes, please follow, upvote and resteem!
Until the next post, Nikki the MaskedBlogger. x