Winnats Pass

Castelton has a classic story concerning the murder in the Winnats Pass of a young couple said to be named Allan and Clara who were believed to be eloping to Peak Forest – the then “Gretna Green of the Peak”. The story has all the ingredients of a modern thriller – tenderness and terror, mystery and murder, villainy and violence, romance and retribution. It happened about the year 1758, and, although the story has been claimed to be apocryphal, there appears to be sufficient evidence to prove its historical accuracy. It has been told and re-told by many different writers, and one clergyman was inspired to present his own particular version in melodramatic – and rather mediocre – verse.

They were hurried into a nearby barn and, after being robbed of their money and valuables, were violently put to death as the attackers attempted to conceal the crime of theft by the more terrible crime of murder. Allan is said to have died as the result of a brutal attack with a pick-axe, but the manner in which Clara met her death is not known.  A thunderstorm added to the confusion and terror of the guilty men who, sobered by the realisation of the consequences of their crime, covered the bodies with straw before sharing the £200 found in the possession of the murdered couple. With the intention of burying their victims the men returned to the scene of the crime at midnight, but hurriedly retreated as they imagined hearing shrieks of terror proceeding from the barn.

A few of my photos from my trip to Winnats Pass...

I used my new grad filters and shot in raw mode to capture the detail and colour. The last one is my favourite as the composition shows off the view of Castelton and the Peak District. It was very cold and windy!