19th June 2022
Dear All,
We
have just returned from a sun-drenched Derbyshire – words you seldom hear! We
have been staying with Kate’s sister Sue and husband John in their log cabin in
Darwin Forest near Darley Dale, a few miles north of Matlock. On the way up we
met Ben at Trent Bridge for the first day of the Test Match. It was a day that
New Zealand dominated but nevertheless an enjoyable experience.
Trent Bridge
On
Saturday we began by viewing Darley Dale church which has a 2000-year-old Yew
tree in the cemetery with a huge trunk. The church has a “Lepers Window” which
is a slit where the unfortunate stricken could look in from the outside without
infecting the congregation. We arrived in the middle of a coffee morning so
they were pleased to see us. Next stop was Heague Windmill which is only one of
three in the country with 6 sails. We were given a thorough conducted tour and
purchased a bag of their finest flour. This was only 3 miles from Belper so we
travelled there for lunch and explored the town. It has a couple of decent
parks but is dominated by huge disused cotton mills one of which is seven
stories high and had a Peregrine falcon on the top ledge. We then drove to the
Cromford Canal and did a waterside walk looking for the outlet of Meerbrook
sough which Kate was keen to find. So, a fairly busy start to the holiday.
2000 year old Yew
Tree
Heague Windmill
On
Sunday we travelled to Wirksworth, the Baptist church where we were married has
amalgamated with the Methodists and sold the Baptist building. They have used
the money to refurbish the Methodist church which was a revelation with an
ancient looking exterior and a very smart modern interior with excellent
projectors and a huge kitchen where they teach folk cooking skills as well as
feeding those that need it.
In
the afternoon we moved a few miles to Brassington as they had 24 gardens open,
they were not spectacular but it is an attractive village and we managed to
view 14 gardens, very few of which were on level ground!
Wirksworth Wellspring
church
We
had done our own thing for the first two days but on Monday we went to Bakewell
Market with John & Sue and then on to Magpie Mine which claims to be the
best example of an 18th century lead mine. It was interesting to
explore but not well explained, but we were able to remedy that later in Matlock
Bath Mining Museum. We walked from the mine to the nearby village of Sheldon.
Magpie Mine,
Sheldon
Horse Gin for
drainage
Darwin
Forest has a heated indoor swimming pool so we began each day with a few
lengths – an excellent way to wake up!
On
Tuesday we visited Lea Rhododendron gardens. The flowers were mainly over but
it is in a spectacular valley setting then to Smedley’s factory shop. There
used to be several of these factory shops in the area but this seems to be the
last survivor. Even though the clothes were reduced they were still expensive
and therefore resistible! At lunchtime we met up with Kate & Sue’s brother
Phil and partner Mandy at the New Bath Hotel where Kate had skivvied as a
teenager. The hotel was built on the sight of a spa pool and still boasts a
large open-air pool where Kate almost learnt to swim but instead opted for
shivering in the shallow end!
New Bath Hotel
Pool at Matlock Bath
John, Sue, Kate,
Phil & Mandy
Wednesday
saw us exploring the Plague village of Eyam which has a museum as well as
plaques all round the village. John had booked a special lunch at “Stella’s
Afro Caribbean Experience”. Stella was a cheerful lady from Cameroon who
somehow met and married a local farmer and set up a restaurant which was
recently put on the map by a visit from the Hairy Bikers. It was an enjoyable
experience. After we returned to Bakewell and walked a section of the Monsal
Way.
Eyam stocks
Sue, Kate, John
& Stella
Thursday,
we caught a bus in Matlock and visited Buxton. After exploring the Crescent and
water springs in the town we walked up to Poole’s Cavern which contains the
usual stalagmites and ‘tites but also an unusual large brilliant white Calcite
deposit. We then walked up through Buxton Country Park to Solomon’s Temple - a
tower with a fantastic view over Buxton. After lunch at Weatherspoon’s, it was
the bus ride home. The bus was 30 minutes late and the driver seemed intent on
catching up so it was “hold onto your seat time!”
Buxton Crescent
Calcite Deposit in
Poole’s cavern
Walk to Solomon’s
Temple
We
had a quieter day on Friday revisiting the Matlock Bath Mining Museum, checking
Kate’s parents’ graves in Wirksworth, then on to Bolehill where Kate called in
on Elizabeth Bunting, a childhood neighbour who has had serious cancer problems
but has coped reasonably well and is very determined and positive. We then
walked round some of Kate’s brother’s fields a few of which would have Chris
Packham weeping with joy as they revert to native species! The temperature rose
to 29°C, unusually warm for Derbyshire.
This
was Sue’s 70th birthday so they had booked a celebration meal at the
Red Lion at Kelstedge where Kate and I held our wedding reception. It had changed
and gone upmarket considerably in 51 years and we would not have recognised anything
including the price list and portion size, I have never seen such small
portions at eye watering prices! – a contrast to Weatherspoon’s. Still, it was
a good atmosphere and a good occasion.
Ash Farm, Bolehill
70th
Celebration
We
were up early at 5.30am on Saturday for a quiet journey home while John and Sue
travelled west to their caravan near Minehead. Back home we were greeted with
serious badger activity as they had eaten four pots worth and every carrot on a
row. The pots were in our fruit cage which they had burrowed in and cleared the
strawberries in passing!
Friday,
we had two good pieces of news, firstly we had a WhatsAp message from Phil in
Moldova. We had not heard anything for a week and travelling alone with £10,000
in his luggage could have gone wrong, but he had completed three out of four
stops and it had all gone very well. Then we heard from Mary-Ann that after
months of frustration their house move was going through and in fact, they
completed the move that day.
So,
all in all an excellent week.
Mike
& Kate
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