Walking the Derbyshire Peaks.

I met up with my old friend Shirley in the Hope Valley for a few days in the Peak District.

Mike (he and Heather are friends of Shirley's and source of our accommodation,..stone cottage surrounded by fells and moors,you get the picture) and resident whippet Pie took us around the laneways of Bradwell (a magnificent village of stone houses) to get the lie of the land and it's long history (Iron Age, prehistoric,Roman evidence of occupation everywhere).

The following day we conquered Stanage Edge ,not so out of breath that we could not manage to admire the stunning scenery for miles around. In the distance we could see Kinder Scout famous for the 1932 mass trespass of Manchester worker's led by communist Benny Rothman to highlight the fact that walkers in England and Wales were denied access to open country. Those rights are now secured so we have much to thank them for. The Peak District is now a National Park and development is tightly controlled (not a croc park, MacDonald's or a house made of ticky tacky),.so good.

A diversion to Bakewell for the tart of course was well worth it ... especially as Mike knew the Derbyshire way to serve it with marmalade and clotted cream !

Just as well we were so well fortified for the hike up another bloody big hill just above the village and down again in time (just)for the annual pagan Well Dressing Festival which dates back hundreds of years .The 5 village wells are adorned with large framed mosaics made of millions of flower petals stuck on to clay depicting stories of historical significance (Moon landing, Wizard of Oz movie anniversary,Haddon Hall.,a rather eclectic mix). The parade was a lot of fun with it's theme this year of Welcoming People (Australia could take a leaf out of their book)....it was generous and heartwarming and humorous (even included a lampooning of Trump on a float paying homage to Mexico,..a portent of terrible things to come in a couple of days).

On the morrow we moved to a town nearby for the last night , which turned out to be fortuitous as we had to drive past Chatsworth so got a peak at it's magnificence (but decided to forgo the tour of the house as apart from being too big the fee to enter was exorbitant)

So we decided to visit the other big old house nearby, Haddon Hall(aka Thornfield Hall, if you have seen Jane Eyre you will know it well) a Tudor Manor house that dates back originally to the 12 century.  It is the general consensus that it is probably the finest example of a fortified medieval Manor house in existence…..it really was FANTASTIC!

Back to Hammersmith via Shirley's in Norwich.

More blogging anon..🛤️

Kath xo