Abandoned in their hundreds – our ‘alien’ millstones!

Bolehill-Quarry, Derbyshire Millstones

Teacher Esther Rackham moved from Bristol to Chesterfield with her family a few years ago – and has fallen in love with the Peak District, including its ‘alien-looking’ millstones!

THERE are some places which truly impress upon us the utter power and immovability of the Earth beneath. The wild landscape of the Peak District’s gritstone edges is such a place, where immense tidal waves of ancient stones tower over the more gentle slopes.
The discerning walker, eyes sweeping across the vista, may become aware of some abnormality within the landscape. Not a glint or shine of something entirely manmade and out of place, but still, something slightly alien within the stones, an unnatural shape, perhaps partly covered by creeping greenery…