Shutlingslow from Tegg's Nose Country Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England

Using the site of a former quarry as a country park wouldn't be an obvious thing to be doing but that is what Tegg's Nose Country Park is. When you take in the views from the site, you'll soon realise why the local authority came up with this new use. Here, I am sharing but one of them and the scene originally was enjoyed while out on a December stroll that crossed patches of snow as I followed the Gritstone Trail from Langley as far as Kerridge as part of a circular walk from my own home. Returning to the subject of snow, those streaks by the walls that you see above were typical as were those that lay in hollows out of the fuller power of the sun.

With all that's in the foreground, Shutlingsloe is less easy to discern above but look to the right for a wedge sitting proud of its surroundings. Cheshire's highest point is one that I have summitted a few times to partake of the panoramic vistas surrounding its top. In ways, it flatters to deceive with a Matterhorn-esque profile on offer from certain vantage points. Of course, its altitude of 506 metres or 1,687 feet above sea level makes it a mere hummock compared with that celebrated member of the French Alps. That isn't to say that it is a walk in the park though there is a paved way to the top. A January visit had me struggling to stay upright but, at the other extreme, a balmy June encounter was accompanied by birdsong as I made my ascent from Trentabeck Reservoir through the woods lining the slopes next to it. Regardless of the effort involved, it is those views that make it all worthwhile.