Tranquillity

It's probably 25 years since the last time we had a Sunday morning like this. During the intervening years some things have improved and some have got worse. Peace and tranquillity, those necessary accompaniments to natural beauty, have definitely suffered and we are all the poorer for that. I can remember that in the mid eighties I would habitually walk to Common Lane Open Space on a Sunday and sit on the bench admiring the view over Mayfield Valley. At 9 am there would be no noise of traffic and I'm pretty sure there was no aircraft noise. Eventually church bells from Ranmoor would join the bird song and I would be refreshed for the coming week.

This morning on Blacka the national grounding of aircraft meant there was none of the usual background noise. But the other blessing was that there was no wind either which frequently brings traffic noise across from Hathersage Road. Tranquillity is not the same as silence and it benefits from natural sounds such as birdsong and flowing streams. Both the willow warbler and the chiff chaff are well named, the former suggesting, to me at least, the drooping of willow boughs not unlike the descending scale of the bird's liquid song.

My favourite places on Blacka are well to the side of the main tracks and best kept unidentified - though easy enough for a natural explorer to find. The blackbird was silent perhaps overawed by the silence, but the little warblers were on good form. Small groups of stags posed individually and in groups.
A blessed start to the day. Only at 9 am did the spell get broken as we approached the main road to be deafened by a sports car rally/event with drivers competing to make the greatest noise. Ah well.