Tissington

Last Thursday, we went to Tissington, a beautiful village in the Peak District best known for its well-dressings in the spring.

Apparently, much of the peak district is made up of limestone dating from the lower Carboniferous period. The groundwater tends to drain into the relatively permeable rock, creating caves and other such features, some of which are reported to be quite spectacular, but also resulting in water shortages in the summer. So people developed a tradition of decorating the wells in the village with flower petals and other natural materials in an elaborate blessing ceremony. This pagan tradition was later integrated into the church.

We saw many of the wells, but they weren’t quite so spectacular without their dressings. There is also a candle-making workshop, a garden shop, a butcher shop, and a entrance point to a bicycle trail on an old rail bed that runs deep into the Peak district. I hope we’ll have a chance to return sometime with our bicycles.

The houses and stone walls are made of the abundant limestone. I think these pictures give a bit of the flavor of the village.

The gardens here were particularly nice.

I love these phone booths.