Hartington lollipop

I've written a few walks for a web based walking site ( www.walkingworld.com ) and every couple of years, I re-walk the walks to check there are no mistakes or new features (like new stiles etc). This one is called the 'Hartington lollipop'. It's a lovely walk, so we were looking forward to it, even though the forecast was very gloomy.
This is Sue, fearlessly passing between cows just after setting off from Hartington.

The sky was FULL of huge thunder clouds, and we just knew it was only a matter of time.
Looking back to Hartington.

The foxglove - I love the way these plants cling to walls, they look so lovely.

Not very warm for flying, so this butterfly was at rest in the grass.

We climbed the hill to Sheen, and this is what we saw as we passed through the stile.

We decided to go into the church to shelter in case it rained, and just to have a look.
It's nice that the church is left open for visitors to take a tour.

Some very fearsome gargoyles were on the ground - there were also others on each corner of the roof, looking down on us.

Oh dear - here it comes...........

We decided to have an early lunch when the rain came. We sat in the porch and watched it clattering on the ground. The thunder boomed and lightning flashed, we were glad not to be out in it.

It only lasted about half an hour, so under a brightening sky, we set off again.

Lots of calves in the fields, this one having a quick suckle from Mum.

Wonder if this is the proud dad??

The sky was still crowded with heavy cloud, and we didn't hold out much hope of staying dry for long.

Then, over the reef knolls, we saw the rain coming, but where to shelter??

Any port in a storm - this old digger wasn't very comfortable to sit under, but at least we stayed dry(ish).

I got this shot of a fine patch of fungi, but as the rain persisted, we decided that we couldn't sit any longer and set off. No more photo's were taken after this, as I put the camera away in my rucksack to keep it dry. The last hour and a half was spent walking in the steady rain. We got back to the car late, but despite the rain, we still enjoyed the walk.