Explore mountains in miniature at Chrome Hill in Derbyshire.
We humans have a peculiar soft spot for things in miniature: kittens, train sets, model villages, the wrinkled faces of newborn babies.
Head for the upper Dove Valley in the Peak District and you’ll discover a mini-marvel created by Mother Nature: a tiny mountain range called the Dragon’s Back that rises above a landscape of pasture and meadowland. One of those tiny mountains is Chrome Hill, a limestone reef knoll brought into existence by a foible of geology.
Looking like the plate on the back of a stegosaurus, the hill is an area of open-access land only reachable via a footpath (so there’s no risk of stray cars spoiling your pics). Stand near the foot of neighbouring Parkhouse Hill and you may even get two chances to photograph a sunset on the same evening.
Our solar system’s trusty star dips below the summit of Chrome Hill only to reappear soon afterwards at its foot to set for a second time. The phenomenon is particularly striking around the summer solstice.
Nearby is Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens, with its 9.3 hectares of Grade II-listed Victorian grandeur, an impressive tree sculpture, plus a boating lake and fountains for practising those water-feature shots.
Also nearby: You can have a go at time travel at Buxton Museum’s Wonders of the Peak gallery, as well
as brushing up on local archaeology, geology, art and history.