Relics

manifold  
adjective
1. many and various. 
2. having many different forms or elements. 

noun
1. a pipe or chamber branching into several openings. 

We are in the Manifold valley - the valley of the river Manifold. Curiously, not 'Manifold Dale' - unlike neighbouring (and much better known) Dovedale, or nearby Monsal Dale, Lathkill Dale and many more. Something to do with the way it rolls off the tongue, I think, rather than any lack of qualification. Or perhaps Derbyshire and Yorkshire hold the copyright - we are in Staffordshire (an administrative region called the Staffordshire Moorlands - though there are no moors in these parts)

'Manifold' - many folds - 'manig-fald' in Anglo-Saxon, referring to its many meanders. Very visible today as we walked along, but 150m above, the river, looking down into its deeply incised valley. In geological terms, the river water cuts into this soluble limestone like a hot knife through butter, producing the steep valley sides that make the place so picturesque, and produce my pleasantly glowing hamstring muscles

The Manifold has another characteristic - or so we have read, and keep challenging one another about whether or not we believe it. The section that we walked today - in fact a 6km stretch south from here - normally runs entirely underground in hollow caverns, only forming the energetic, conventional river we have been watching 'in conditions of spate'. So the combination of the endless rain this year, and the as-yet-leafless state of the trees and shrubs, may mean that we are lucky to have a good view of a relatively rare version of the river

Throwley Old Hall occupies a commanding position overlooking the valley - though it's unclear exactly who it commanded. It was built in the 16th century, but the village of Throwley was abandoned by the time the house was built. I'm not sure exactly why, but plague pandemics came many times between the 14th and 17th centuries - small villages in hard country like this were vulnerable. The marks of the old villagers' presence are still clear in the landscape as shadowed ridge-and-furrow in the valley bottom. The hall too, now lies abandoned and roofless. The sort of place where the ghost of the squire throws a harvest festival for the spirits of the long gone villagers