Cresswell Crags

Karen's parents Bob and Pat were visiting for the weekend and Karen had planned on a visit to Cresswell Crags. It took some time to drive there as they are located on the Derbyshire /Nottinghamshire border. Because some prehistoric rock engravings were found a few years ago and prehistoric art is very rare in the UK, Creswell Crags and their caves have been in the news rather a lot recently. There is a brand new visitors centre and car park, where we parked and walked the short distance to the Crags.
These are limestone and form a short valley with walls 25 or so metres high, with a lake in between them and very picturesque. We walked around the lake looking at the various caves named Boathouse Cave, Church Hole Cave, Robin Hoods Cave, Pinhead Cave and others. Because of the archarologocal interest - they have been excavated and studied for many decades - all the entrances were well closed with metal railings and locked gates.
There were a family of swans at the near end of the lake and when an elderly gentleman came past in an electric wheelchair, he was chased by the male swan who took exception to the wheelchair and pecked at the rear wheels!
We had a quick sandwich and drink in the cafe before heading howewards and stopping off at Cromford Wharf and having a walk along the Cromford Canal to High Peak Junction and back. We saw quite a lot of Little Grebes and also Moorhens, Coots and Mallard Ducks as well as a fleeting glance of a couple of water voles at High Peak Junction.