Eyam, Derbyshire

To be honest.... as I set out this morning with my friend David to explore a bit of the Peak District, heading straight into dark skies and torrential rain, we didn't hold out much hope of even getting out the car let alone getting any photography under our belts. But, as any good photographer knows, there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing, so we carried on and headed out to Monsal Head.

Our perseverence paid off ... within an hour of our arrival and after having received the first of many masterclasses in photography from the supremely talented David, the skies broke and we were gifted with some fantastic contrasts for the rest of the day.

After we'd done as much justice to Monsal Dale as we could, we headed to Eyam. I was drawn towards the village owing to its history and I wasn't disappointed by some of the old cottages with their brightly coloured doors and ancient, knarled creepers reflecting the changing light to create a beautiful contrast.

When the plague came to Eyam in 1665, borne in a box of cloth from London, the rector, William Mompesson, persuaded the villagers to quarantine themselves within the parish and thereby prevent the disease from spreading further. Although some families left, the majority remained, knowing that their chances of survival were very slim indeed. When the terrible infection extinguished itself some 14 months later, over 250 people had died.

Many of the cottages in the former lead-mining, cotton spinning and silk-weaving village bear plaques with information about the occupants who remained, and died, in their self-imposed quarantine and, while you'd imagine this would create a sombre mood to the place, there's no sense of sadness or abandonment at all and perhaps it's the way that the resilience of the community in 1665 is celebrated today with a sense of pride and colour, that lifts the tone of the place and makes you feel so welcome.

I'm glad I chose this shot over those I took in Monsal Dale at the waterfall downstream from the viaduct. While I was equally pleased with the results I got at that location - thanks to David's advice and guidance - I just get a deeper feeling about the shot from Eyam.

I hope you like it too!