Country diary: a feast for birdwatchers – and some of the best views in the Peak District

Bretton, Derbyshire Finches, fieldfares, tits, siskins and bramblings line up for the feeders at this remote cottage

The road between Abney and Bretton had been closed for much of the summer as a landslip was repaired. The ground hereabouts is wormed through with faults and weaknesses, a legacy of shale rocks and local lead mining. It's a boundary of sorts, between limestone country to the south and dark gritstone moors to the north, a place of geomantic charm and mystery, hidden corners and unexpected angles.

Now the road was open again, offering some of the best views in the Peak District. I stopped at a remote cottage where a rough footpath led down into the head of Bretton Clough.