The Roaches

Ryan Calhoun, on September 9, 2007, said:

These are wonderful rocks with a very interesting sky. Do you know if these boulders are granite? It reminds me a lot of Elephant Rocks in Missouri. Very pretty photo, Sarah.

muba, on September 10, 2007, said:

Nice shots Sarah. I am surprised because I've not heard of these rocks even though I have been in that area a good few times. They are not granite are they? I guess Permo-Triassic sandstone from the colour and the well wind and rain smoothed appearance, or perhaps Millstone grit even

Sarah Graham, on September 10, 2007, said:

Hi Ryan, hi muba,

Thanks for your kind comments! It does indeed look like Elephant Rocks - thanks for that link, Ryan!

Muba's right: it's called Staffordshire gritstone, a rough red sandstone - the same stone all the local churches are made from.

It can be a place full of red colours: there is heather all around & I have been there on a winter's day with a pewter sky when the red rocks almost glowed.

Muba, if you're on the Leek to Buxton road (A53), you won't be able to miss the Roaches, as they loom up into your vision across the plain then as you ascend the hill. It's a stunning drive across open heights towards the Georgian gem that is Buxton. It's beautiful but treacherous, with fast straights then double bends. Both A54 Congleton-Buxton & A53 Leek-Buxton are among the most dangerous roads in the UK....

Sarah Graham, on September 10, 2007, said:

I forgot to say, Ryan & muba, that it was this photo which reminded me about the Roaches in the first place.

The name used to be written Roches until recently - rocks in French, naturellement.

Sigmund Rise, on September 15, 2007, said:

Very nice Sarah, I like it!

Greetings from Norway!

Sigmund

Sarah Graham, on September 15, 2007, said:

Thanks you, Sigmund, I really appreciate it! All best, Sarah

© Alan Knox, on September 23, 2007, said:

Fantastic HDR photo, Sarah! Beautiful shades.

Alan

Sarah Graham, on September 23, 2007, said:

Many thanks, Alan! On this occasion the HDR made the tones more true-to-life - it's really a red sandstone - but just helped bring out the dramatic sky. I haven't done many HDR shots, but I do like this one! Thanks again, Sarah

George Sled, on January 3, 2008, said:

Thanks for the visit and kind comments, Sarah. You have beautiful photos in your gallery, this one being a prime example. These are my first attempts at HDR and so we'll see what happens. Also, thank you for adding me to your 'favorites'.

Mark68, on April 16, 2008, said:

Nice shot Sarah. How do you get the HDR?

Mark.

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Sarah Graham, on April 18, 2008, said:

Hi Mark, Thanks for this! I did a triple exposure & used a free program - this one, I think, try www.hdrsoft.com/download.html. I've removed it now, as I had a few experimental tries with it & am just not prepared to spend hours & hours in post processing. Some people have fabulous results, I agree, but this was the only one of mine that turned out half decent, & probably a polarizer would have done the same job on this particular shot. Thanks again!

Mark68, on April 18, 2008, said:

Thanks Sarah will have a look.

Mark.

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P. F. Glover, on November 10, 2008, said:

you have titled all of your photos of the gritstone in staffordshire as the Roaches. they are all excellent photo's but most of them are of Hen Cloud or Ramshaw rocks which are close to the Roaches but we climbers like to keep each set of rocks seperate from the others. The Roaches are only a few hundred metres to the west of Ramshaw rocks and it may seem a bit pointless to retitle them all.