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What we did on our holidays (part one)
Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 10:18 amMonday was our first day back in the office after a fortnight off. Can’t say I’ve missed the place, but there you go.
We started our holiday with a trip to Shrewsbury primarily for a party that my sister had organised to gather together as many of Mum’s side of the family as possible. I was the unwitting instigator of this as I observed at Mum’s funeral that we only seemed to meet for sad occasions nowadays. Barbie took me at my word and organised a do.
I have to say that while I’d spent the whole period from the funeral to the party fretting about how well it would go, it went really well, and people had a good time, with many long lost cousins and one of Mum’s two surviving brothers turning up out of the murk. Sadly, Barbie and my eldest niece got absolutely blootered, so we didn’t get to see anyone on the Sunday (though we entertained ourselves well enough). We managed to say hello for an hour or so on the Monday before we drove to Buxton, though.
We stayed in Buxton for four nights in the rather grand Palace Hotel. I say ‘rather grand’ – it clearly once was, but now it has settled into a sort of fading grandeur. They seem to have confused the concept of free wifi with ‘wifi-free’ as there as none for the first two days, then the lift – an ancient and rickety device with a one button push memory (it only went to the first floor chosen, which meant that some olds at the back of the lift must have gone up and down two or three times before getting off on the floor they wanted). The breakfasts were reasonable, but a touch greasy. I didn’t ley this worry me too much, though. Furtle was more critical of them than I was. I cannot find it in my heart to be too hard on a help yourself meal that includes bacon, sausage, black pudding, egg, mushrooms, baked beans and hash browns, plus toast and coffee.
We used Buxton as a base for trips out to the Derbyshire Dales. The foirst day we went to Lyme Park, which was famously used as the setting for Pemberley in the mid 90s TV version of Pride and Prejudice. We didn’t get to see the gardens, though as the rain started to hammer down after we had walked around the sizeable park, so we just went into the house itself.
We had a small lunch in Castleton before driving out to look at the Treak Cliff Blue John Mine, where I managed to clock myself on the bonce several times in the low-ceiling tunnels. Other than that it was quite fun to wander through the caverns and Furtle availed herself of some blue john earrings etc in the shop.
The next day we drove out to Bakewell for a bit of exploring. We picked up a proper Bakewell Pudding and a Bakewell Tart for comparison (it’s the law) and some Homily Pies for lunch. We then carried on to a little place, the name of which escapes me, and walked along the disused railway lines that now form part of the Monsal Trail. I got to try out my Nordic Walking poles (well, one of them, anyway) in earnest and we yomped a few miles through some pleasant scenery and through three tunnels. Weeds that we are, this was enough for us and we came back to Buxton and found a pub before wandering out for a very fine Chinese meal.
Thursday saw us at Eyam the plague village and then back in Castleton for a quick look around and a light lunch before driving out via a couple of detours around the reservoirs, to Stanage Edge, which we ascended in leisurely (slow) fashion up what was probably the easiest route. You have to make allowances when you are my size and level of fitness, but it was worth the effort. We ate a couple of Eccles Cakes while taking in the view and then made our way back down in time to get back to Buxton for a further period of recuperation in the pub.
Friday saw us leave Buxton and drive down the A515 to stay a couple of nights in a B&B called the Jug and Glass Inn, a mile and a bit outside the village of Hartington. Having checked in, we drove to Hartington and visited their famous cheese shop, where we bought provisions for a walk around the area, following a small river and then up into the Dales.
That evening we had a fantastic meal in the Devonshire Arms, an unlikely gastro pub in the village, miles from anywhere. I give the place an unreserved five stars and recommend it to anyone visiting the area (though there really isn’t room to sit and just drink booze – you have to go there for a meal. We started off with mushrooms in a stilton sauce and I moved on to steak with mushroom and (more) stilton sauce. I forget what Furtle had, but it was equally toothsome. We had thought we might have dessert, but we just fad room for coffee.
Saturday was the fair at Chatsworth House. Very good, very large, very tiring. Just think of any county agricultural show you’ve ever seen and triple it. Then add a bit more.
Sunday was the drive back home, ready for our second week of holiday.
Next: King Crimson and cats.
We started our holiday with a trip to Shrewsbury primarily for a party that my sister had organised to gather together as many of Mum’s side of the family as possible. I was the unwitting instigator of this as I observed at Mum’s funeral that we only seemed to meet for sad occasions nowadays. Barbie took me at my word and organised a do.
I have to say that while I’d spent the whole period from the funeral to the party fretting about how well it would go, it went really well, and people had a good time, with many long lost cousins and one of Mum’s two surviving brothers turning up out of the murk. Sadly, Barbie and my eldest niece got absolutely blootered, so we didn’t get to see anyone on the Sunday (though we entertained ourselves well enough). We managed to say hello for an hour or so on the Monday before we drove to Buxton, though.
We stayed in Buxton for four nights in the rather grand Palace Hotel. I say ‘rather grand’ – it clearly once was, but now it has settled into a sort of fading grandeur. They seem to have confused the concept of free wifi with ‘wifi-free’ as there as none for the first two days, then the lift – an ancient and rickety device with a one button push memory (it only went to the first floor chosen, which meant that some olds at the back of the lift must have gone up and down two or three times before getting off on the floor they wanted). The breakfasts were reasonable, but a touch greasy. I didn’t ley this worry me too much, though. Furtle was more critical of them than I was. I cannot find it in my heart to be too hard on a help yourself meal that includes bacon, sausage, black pudding, egg, mushrooms, baked beans and hash browns, plus toast and coffee.
We used Buxton as a base for trips out to the Derbyshire Dales. The foirst day we went to Lyme Park, which was famously used as the setting for Pemberley in the mid 90s TV version of Pride and Prejudice. We didn’t get to see the gardens, though as the rain started to hammer down after we had walked around the sizeable park, so we just went into the house itself.
We had a small lunch in Castleton before driving out to look at the Treak Cliff Blue John Mine, where I managed to clock myself on the bonce several times in the low-ceiling tunnels. Other than that it was quite fun to wander through the caverns and Furtle availed herself of some blue john earrings etc in the shop.
The next day we drove out to Bakewell for a bit of exploring. We picked up a proper Bakewell Pudding and a Bakewell Tart for comparison (it’s the law) and some Homily Pies for lunch. We then carried on to a little place, the name of which escapes me, and walked along the disused railway lines that now form part of the Monsal Trail. I got to try out my Nordic Walking poles (well, one of them, anyway) in earnest and we yomped a few miles through some pleasant scenery and through three tunnels. Weeds that we are, this was enough for us and we came back to Buxton and found a pub before wandering out for a very fine Chinese meal.
Thursday saw us at Eyam the plague village and then back in Castleton for a quick look around and a light lunch before driving out via a couple of detours around the reservoirs, to Stanage Edge, which we ascended in leisurely (slow) fashion up what was probably the easiest route. You have to make allowances when you are my size and level of fitness, but it was worth the effort. We ate a couple of Eccles Cakes while taking in the view and then made our way back down in time to get back to Buxton for a further period of recuperation in the pub.
Friday saw us leave Buxton and drive down the A515 to stay a couple of nights in a B&B called the Jug and Glass Inn, a mile and a bit outside the village of Hartington. Having checked in, we drove to Hartington and visited their famous cheese shop, where we bought provisions for a walk around the area, following a small river and then up into the Dales.
That evening we had a fantastic meal in the Devonshire Arms, an unlikely gastro pub in the village, miles from anywhere. I give the place an unreserved five stars and recommend it to anyone visiting the area (though there really isn’t room to sit and just drink booze – you have to go there for a meal. We started off with mushrooms in a stilton sauce and I moved on to steak with mushroom and (more) stilton sauce. I forget what Furtle had, but it was equally toothsome. We had thought we might have dessert, but we just fad room for coffee.
Saturday was the fair at Chatsworth House. Very good, very large, very tiring. Just think of any county agricultural show you’ve ever seen and triple it. Then add a bit more.
Sunday was the drive back home, ready for our second week of holiday.
Next: King Crimson and cats.