One of our evenings out earlier this week took us to Dale Abbey, a small, quiet village situated between Derby and Ilkeston, but well off the main A-road. Walk past the houses, and across a field, and you can't fail to see this huge arch, the only remaining piece of the abbey after which the village is named.
Back at the road, carry on a little further to All Saints' Church - an unusual building with the church to the left, on this photograph, and a farmhouse on the right.
The church dates back to the early twelfth century but we were looking for something a little older.
Hidden away in the wood behind the church is a hermit's cave, cut into the sandstone rock. In about 1130, a baker from Derby had a vision of the Virgin Mary, left his life behind, and came to live here as a hermit.
It's probably quite simple to find but somehow we managed to get lost, so ended walking down steps cut into the cliff, and up another set of steps, then down again!
Until you're really close the trees mask the hermitage, but with openings for doors and windows, there's no mistaking it when you do find it.
It looks rather like a hobbit-burrow, though one that's gone to ruin rather than Mr Baggins' snug little house, but there's a strange, eerie atmosphere to the place.
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