Kitsch me if you can

The final pictures of Macclesfield as the sun went down. Rest here.

Click on these for larger versions.

Yuck

Neal makes a break for it.

We opted for the pub instead of Evensong

No doubt a salubrious emporium.

At the setting of the sun

We managed to find two top rural real-ale pubs on the way, although sitting down was much easier than standing up… These pictures were taken between the Wild Boar in Wincle and The Hanging Gate in Lansley, which has a terrace looking west over rolling hills. More pictures here.

The world's most pointless stile?

The Bullstones prehistoric stone circle, with Shutlingsloe in the background. Very impressive remains. Some hippies had left money in the rock's hollow. For some reason, I left it there. Now I wonder why. It's probably the remains of a barrow. A Celtic urn burial was found there - not sure where it is now. 

Jodrell Bank radio telescope at sunset

All this said to us was 'this is a great sledging field'.

Camper Dan Beethoven

Have you ever seen a man so camp? (More pics here, or click these ones to engorge).

Cheshire County Council's footpath markings and stiles are brilliant. But this one was confusing…

I knew him, Horatio…

Mmm… gander. Sauce…

Like the saturation and vignetting? One day I'll start talking about bokeh. Then you'll be sorry.

I love rust. And barbed wire.

Down in the valley

Down in Greasley Valley is Mareknowles farm - clearly a very ancient ruin. I love decay. Click here for the rest of the day's photos or click on these for larger versions.

The Elephant Tree

Hobbit Neal

All Cheshire farms have outdoor amenities

Evocative, isn't it?

A spring in my step

More pictures: whole set here.

Post-production makes the day look rather more apocalyptic than it actually was - I got sunburned

That distant odd shape is a curlew. Really.

Neal and Dan were highly amused at an authoritarian Trotskyist finding lambs so cute

Cute now. Tasty later.

Neal on a scheduled, prehistoric ancient monument

Insert your own… joke.

Out and about

I've been too busy to blog today - so much work (thanks to the 5 great students who came to class and talked about Cwmardy this afternoon: I really enjoyed, sod the rest) and planning for the strike on Thursday.

At the weekend, the Map Twats had a day out, at long last. We started at Macclesfield's finest pie shop (mmmm hare and venison and pheasant in one package) and headed along the canal, up Sutton Common overlooking Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope on the Cheshire Plain, along Wincle Minn and Bosley Minn, taking in ruins, prehistoric monuments, sheep and pubs along the way. It was a beautiful day. Lambs gambolled, and kestrels, larks and curlews frolicked around us as we wended our way from ridge to ridge. I'm still aching, to be honest. Here are some pictures - click on them to enlarge, or see the rest here.

Shutlingsloe and clouds

You can take the boy out of the The Dark Place…

Top quality dry-stone walling

Shutlingsloe bathed in sun

Rust tanker

Don't fence me in…

My sins 1: picnicking

I found a good bit in the Bible which explains why this world is in such a terrible state.

No, it's not the gays, fornicators and bestiality fans.

It's the Map Twats. We've repeatedly broken one of God's cardinal rules, according to Leviticus.

Lev 19:26 Eat not on the mountains

I have pictures of us sinning, which I'll post when I'm back on my own computer. They're online here, here, and here: pages and pages of us sinning over and over again. Often on a dead sheep. But that's a different story.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

Picture Post

A final few (rest here).

A self-portrait

Barn to be wild…

I've now run out of horse puns.

This just depresses me. One of a pair at Church Stretton station

Click the picture for larger versions.

Deliverance… in Shropshire

Some more pictures (rest here): click on them for larger version.

Men at C+A

I'm lichen' it.

Caer Caradoc and The Lawley

I'm a fungi to be around

and a little bit twisted.