A motorcyclist approaches 'Toads mouth' on the A6187 towards 'Hathersage' - Derbyshire..

A well known feature 'rock' and locality known as 'Toads mouth' in the North Peak District - this area has hundreds of grindstones in all phases of completion. In the 17th to 19th centuries these stones would have been transported, by horse and cart, about 9 miles to Sheffield, some carried a further 15 miles to the inland port at Bawtry then shipped down the River Idle and then via a canal dug by the Romans to the River Trent for shipment to the rest of the country and even as far as the Netherlands. Many grindstones lay around on the ground - why so many were never finished is not known. Unseen in the photo is an 'eye' carved into the 'toads' face.. no one knows when - or who did the carving.