Edinburgh From Up High

Today was a scorcher. Most of the week it's been about 12 degrees, we've been wearing jackets to and from work. Suddenly, a heat wave hit. Today it was about 25 degrees! Luckily we have casual at work, I was in shorts and t-shirt.

After work, Helen and I walked up Salisbury Crags. Helen had been up there before, but not me. It was about 7pm by this time, but the sun was still beating down on us rather hot. The view was interesting, lots of smog haze due to the lack of wind, and the sun was on its way down.

Getting photos was difficult, but made for some interesting effects. One photo is now the page header on this blog, heavily photoshopped to get it to look how it did through my sunglasses. Then there's this one, in which you can see the Forth Bridges in the distance.

It was 9pm by the time we came down, and it was still light then!

Back to Edinburgh

Without too much hassle we returned the rental car and got our deposit refunded. They then ran us back to Manchester Piccadilly station. Here we had time to grab some lunch, before our train arrived one minute before departure time.

Again thanks to Helen's talent for finding a bargain, we were on first class tickets. Apart from a couple of people for short stints, we were the only paying first class passengers so our compartment was empty while outside people were standing in coach. It kept us amused seeing people sneak in, sitting for a while, before being asked for tickets, then playing dumb and moving back to coach.

The steward we had was the funniest, he must have eaten at least 5 or 6 packets of crisps and drunken a few cups of coffee, on the house, sitting near us. He really didn't seem to care or he would have tried to hide the fact.

Anyway it was a relaxing trip home, then we were home to Edinburgh.

Lyme Park Again!

Today, we're heading back to Edinburgh. The tour involves driving back to Manchester, returning the rental car, and getting to the train. Driving to Manchester, we are practically passing by Lyme Park, and have time to spare, so why not?

We parked up, and headed up the hill towards The Cage. This is a building up on the hill, perhaps 1/2 a mile away from the house. The walk wasn't strenuous, but was hard going as it was incredibly windy. It's quite exposed up on top of a hill. So windy, I was having trouble holding the camera still when taking photos. Many were too shaky. But being from Wellington, we weren't put off :-)

One of the park staff was up there, and we had a brief chat. We thought it was a hunting lodge, and were almost correct, it's where the ladies used to go while the man went hunting. It doesn't look much from afar, but up close is a very large building, three stories high, and in itself an impressive house in size and design.
The view was pretty good in all directions from the house, and we could even see Manchester sprawling in the distance.

The guide also pointed out to us some deer further down the hill. The park has a lot of deer, they are contained to the park by fences but roam free. I went for a walk down the hill to get closer to them, they were rather cautious of me but I got some photos before they moved away.

We then returned to the car, to head towards Manchester.

Well Dressing

I had never heard of this until the day before, but a video in our B&B informed us about Well Dressing. This is a Derbyshire tradition, where wells are decorated with flowers.

They make wooden structures, then soak them in the river so the wood is really wet, then fill it with wet clay and then in go the flowers. The moist wood and clay keep the flowers fresh.

Only that morning, after watching the video, we stopped at a small town just to admire the view. Upon walking across the bridge, Helen spotted the wooden well dressings soaking in the river. See them in the water in the photo below.

Then, on the way home today, we passed a town that had its well dressing happening, there were cars parked everywhere. We detoured in to have a quick look. Very pretty.

It was just such a coincidence that within 24 hours we learned about this, saw the well dressing for one town in the river in the morning, and saw the well dressings on the wells in another that same afternoon.

Sudbury Hall

Ah Sudbury Hall, yet another Pride and Prejudice film location, but not the only reason to visit. The interior of Sudbury Hall was used for the interior of Pemberley in the BBC's P&P. I did try to get Mike to walk down the hall way like Darcy did, holding his candle stick etc, but for some reason he just wasn't up for it, not sure why, I did show him the scene on my iPod but he just wouldn't give it a go.... oh well maybe next time.

The building dates back to the 1660's and the external brick work is very different to anything else I have seen in Derbyshire or the UK for that matter. Unfortunately we were not aloud to take any photos of the inside, the great hall has this amazing ceiling, the plaster work is so ornate. All in all it was a nice way to finish our day of stately homes off.

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House was another "must see" for us. A grand old house, an historic estate, and still the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. It's very grand indeed, with massive house and grounds.

More importantly, it was used as Pemberley in the recent Pride and Prejudice movie with Kiera Knightly so a visit was essential.

We had actually popped in a couple of days before, as we passed by on our way elsewhere. We had arrived before opening time, but already cars were queuing to park. So we knew that the day we came here, we had to get in early. We were also prepped well, having watched a DVD about it at our B&B the night before. So we knew a bit about the history and what we would see.

The day we visited, the weather forecast was for hot and sunny, and it was a public holiday. And boy was it busy! By the time we left, there were literally thousands of cars. The entire grounds, all nearby surrounding fields, were transformed into makeshift car parks.

We started outside, walking up the back of the gardens, past the cascade, which was due to be turned on later. This was what we saw initially, and looked forward to the water being turned on later.

We then went to the man made rock formations and waterfall, and through to the maze.

The area around the maze was filled with medieval enthusiasts, in costume, teaching people about the days of old like craft, cooking, music and dancing. A nice atmosphere. Most interesting to me was a display of birds of prey, with trainers on hand. They had some beautiful owls, eagles and falcons. And look at this handsome fellow!

We walked through the maze, and gave it a good attempt, but all we found were dead ends. And we were a little pressed for time. We continued over to the lake by the grotto. All just amazing.

We then hurried back to the cascade in time to see it be turned on. Being a special weekend, they were turning the top water feature on too. It wasn't quite as beautiful as expected, this is what we saw.

We then headed for the indoors, but not before looking at the private gardens which include the steps used in Pride and Prejudice. Unfortunately for Helen, she wasn't able to walk up them.

We also encountered this incredible rooster roaming around free. He was huge, as high as my knees, and strutting his stuff like he owned the place.

Next we headed inside to take the self guided tour. It is truly amazing inside. Very ornate, and well kept. Unlike most places we've visited in the UK, photos were allowed. I am therefore pleased to share with you a taste of what we saw.

In particular, they had an exhibit specially about the movies and films that have been shot at Chatsworth, including costumes. And Helen was especially pleased to see the bust of Mr Darcy, which was made specially for the movie.

We also went through where the real statues are kept, which is where the bust was situated in the movie.

We had more to see elsewhere today, so left. We would have liked to stay longer, and see more, especially outside, but it wasn't to be. Probably a good thing though, because as we left the queues to purchase tickets were getting rather long.

Cadbury World

Cadbury World is a factory tour, visitors centre, museum, and more, at Cadbury's factory near Birmingham. Check out their website.

The tour starts with finding a park, which isn't easy, then paying the entry fee, then getting free chocolates, before entering. It appears to be all for kids, but is fun and informative for adults too. The history of the company, the Bourneville village are covered, how chocolates are made, how it gets to the UK, etc.

The factory tour is less than expected, but good all the same, and shows the chocolates being wrapped and boxed at incredible speed, they fly by at an incredible rate and they're wrapped in the blink of an eye by intricate machinery.

Next it steps up a gear, with a Disneyland style ride, very amusing, then onto the demonstration part where people show you up close how hand made choclates are made, and we got to write our own names in chocolate!

We learn more about the "glass and a half" branding, and get to see old Cadbury TV adverts from decades gone by. And more. The tour lasts for ages and is thoroughly enjoyable. A lot of imagination has gone into the whole experience.

Finally, we exit and thought we were done. So we head off to the factory shop for a few "supplies".

But wait, there's more! The tour continues in another building, with more history of the company, then into a special place where you can make your own chocolate mix, choosing from a selection of lollies and biscuits, then they pour melted chocolate over the top.

I had liquorice allsorts in mine, while Helen had shortbread. Yummmmmm!

Stratford-Upon-Avon - Romeo Romeo Where For Art Thou Romeo

After a early morning start, we arrived at Stratford-Upon-Avon around 10.45. It only took us 2.5 hours from Buxton. And what a glorious morning it was, we managed to find a parking building just off Henley Street.

Stratford-Upon-Avon is the birth place of William Shakespeare, and the town is all about William Shakespeare. Henley Street is the main attraction in town as Shakespeare's birthplace is still standing. It's hard to get a photo of it with all the tourists there, but Mike managed it.

Once we had a good look around Henley Street we headed over towards the River Avon and the Grand Canal to take a look around. The place was packed, I guess with weather like this on a long weekend everyone decided to take a trip to Shakespeare land.

The whole experience seemed somewhat surreal. Here we were in what should be the most English of English cities, home of Shakespeare, and as we walked through the pedestrian friendly streets our ears were bombarded with the sounds of buskers; including Jamaicans playing Edelweiss, bagpipes wailing, and native Indians with pan flutes playing Scottish music. At times all a bit much. But Mike and I enjoyed it all the same, with the visuals of canal boats and wild life on the river being the highlight.

From there we headed 7 miles out of town to see Anne Hathaway's Cottage, as in Shakespeare's wife, not as in the American actress.

Been there, done that. Next stop, Bourneville.

This Is Not America

This is David Bowie's song, but also a fact.

Strangely enough, within an hour of each other, I saw these two vehicles. One was near Birmingham and the other in Stratford Upon Avon.

You don’t often see vehicles this over-the-top in the US itself, let alone the UK.

Buxton

For the duration of our visit to the Peak District, we've been staying in the town of Buxton at the Old Manse Guesthouse, where we enjoyed a wonderful stay. Buxton is a spa town in the middle of the Peak District. Helen chose this town to stay because of its location.

It's a beautiful town, with many local pubs and restaurants, but also a nice park nearby to the Buxton Opera House and Pavillion.

We spent a while taking in the sights, watching geese fight over each other, dogs playing in the stream, all the usual stuff. It was busy enough to be interesting, but quiet enough not to be crowded.

Crich Tramway Village - Ding Ding All Aboard

What a day to visit the Crich Tramway Village. The weather was just perfect, and they were celebrating there 50th anniversary.

The place just blow me away, I figured it would be a bit of a tourist trap but I was very wrong. The whole place is like stepping back in time to the early 1900's. Somehow it felt authentic, not fake as such places can sometimes be.

They have over 50 trams in the shed with 5 of them running today, up and down the main street and along the end of the line past the old quarry.

I can tell you if you want to know anything about a tram this is the place to go, and everyone is so friendly and informative. You can even spend a day learning how to drive a tram... not something we ventured to do but it sounds like fun, we even got to take a tram with a trainee, he was doing very well.

We were fortunate enough to get a tour of the workshops, where they showed us restorations in progress and explained a bit about the work they do.

On our final ride before departing, the tram broke down. The circuit breakers blew, with a loud bang, causing much debate amongst the conductors and drivers as to the cause and how bad it might be. There is wild garlic growing around the place, and they couldn't decide if they could smell garlic or electrical burning. It was interesting observing the debate.

An excellent day's outing.

Church of St Mary's and All Saints

A beautiful sunny day so we are going to make the most of it and visit some of the more outdoor attractions in the Derbyshire area. The Church of St Mary's and All Saints is a Grade 1 listed building in Chesterfield. It is a famous landmark due to its twisted spire. All though we didn't venture in, the amazing spire is definitely a sight to behold and was worth the trip.

Helen's Mr Darcy

Lyme Park is one of my favourite homes in England and today I returned after 10 years for another visit, but this time I had my Mr Darcy with me. For those of you who may not be aware Lyme Park was used as Pemberley in the 1995 BBC adaption of Pride and Prejudice. Not much has changed in the house since my last visit. The best thing this time was the rambling around the gardens with my Mr Darcy. In fact like Elizabeth I managed to spot my Mr Darcy in the garden.

After all this time I think Mike can understand a little of why I love this place so much. There is just something about its setting, and the grounds are just amazing. We didn't have time to walk through the deer park to the "Cage" which was orginally a hunting lodge, but hey I guess we need to save something for next time.

Lyme Park

If you know Helen, then you know why we are here! This is none other than Pemberley from BBC's Pride and Prejudice TV series.

As we drove there, the rain set in, and on arrival it was quite wet. We hoped it would go away, which it never quite did but it wasn't a problem.

The famous view of the building is actually the rear. We enter by the front (as you do) into the central courtyard, then as it was still raining we went up the stairs to get inside.

It is adorned by items collected by The National Trust that need a good home. Every room has an elderly volunteer only to eager to tell you all about it. I hope they send them home at night but by the looks of some of them I think they've been there for years.

The tour was good but now for the main event, outside! The rain had eased to a few spits. We walked around the gardens for a while.

We headed to the back of the lake to get the "money shot". It required a great deal of patience, as there was a man with a tractor mowing the lawns. After perhaps 30 minutes of waiting we got THE photo....

I offered to jump into the lake for Helen. She called my bluff and accepted my offer, at which point I had to let her down. She will just have to settle for Colin Firth I'm afraid.

After that we carried on around the lake. The rain was returning, so we sat in the glasshouse. Helen studied Pride and Prejudice on her iPod to check which shots were taken where, we came to the conclusion there was some trickery used and the continuity isn't true to the layout of the property.

After that we departed, off to Buxton to the B&B we were booked into.