Dave's classmate Rahul has lived in England for the last couple of years. He has a car and knows how to get around this country. So when he offered to drive up to Peak District National Park for a weekend getaway, it didn't take much to convince Dave and me.
Peak District National Park is the oldest national park in the UK. It has no real peaks so its name is completely misleading. It's just a really beautiful area in the western midlands with tons of rolling green pastures and farmlands.
After stocking up on several snacks and drinks at a "petrol" station in London, Dave, Rahul, another classmate Marvilano and I were off on the 4-hour drive. We entertained ourselves by playing 20 questions (we picked some hard ones, and only got through 4 rounds) and I was extremely happy to learn that highways in England also have rest stops with McDonalds as the restaurant of choice. I felt so at home.
Upon arriving on the outskirts of the small village of Hognaston, we found our bed and breakfast, Turlow Bank. We were the only guests, so we basically had the house to ourselves. It was so comfortable and homey, you just felt like you were in your grandma's house...your old British grandma's country house. After arriving, we sat in the main living area, drinking wine and unwinding after the drive.
The next morning, we woke up to see blue skies and our first glimpse onto the green countryside of the Peak District.
We went downstairs for a lovely home-cooked breakfast before getting ready for the day. Our two other friends, Patricia and Lazar, came in by train that morning, so Rahul and Marvilano went to pick them up. While they were out, Dave and I went on a walk to explore the area.
We felt safe wandering down the road since...no one was driving on this road.
The edge of our B&B's farm.
Loved this. A telephone booth...out here...just in case.
Some British pride
Road to nowhere
We soon saw Rahul's car returning, and headed back to the house. While waiting for everyone to get settled, we had a photo shoot in the backyard. My main models? Marvilano and the horse that he wouldn't stop trying to hug.
Lazar and the horse...precious.
Finally, we all piled into Rahul's car to explore the area. First stop was Carsington Water, a huge lake down the road. They had sailing, bikes, and tons of walking paths.
Marvilano was so happy to be here.
We walked around the area for a little while, but it was pretty cold by the lake. So after a viewing of this fairly weak sculpture exhibit (which we could always rely on Marvilano to enjoy regardless), we headed back to the car to drive to our next stop.
We decided to drive up to the Chatsworth House for the rest of the day. As this just so happened to be in my book, I've given it a separate entry. Click here for the photos.
Afterwards, we took the drive back to the B&B to have a couple of beers and relax before dinner. The back of the house had a beautiful sun porch, so we just sat and enjoyed the view.
The pub that we decided on for dinner was about a mile walk away. So we wandered down country lanes towards the village, just like in olden days. As we wandered, the sheep stared me down...perhaps the wool of my hat reminded them of someone they know?
The Red Lion Inn. The lady at the B&B told us to make reservations because it would be hopping on a Saturday night. We ended up being the only people there for dinner. A few locals came in for a drink or two, but it was pretty much just us. However, there was a fire burning and the seventeenth-century low hanging ceiling was the perfect ambience to our meal.
After dinner and few drinks, we headed back down the dark country roads to our hotel. As our eyes adjusted to the light, we could see tons of stars. It was so quiet and peaceful, you could almost picture yourself back a couple hundred years ago, stumbling home from the village pub.
Back at the house, we cracked open another bottle of wine to enjoy the living room and the company.
The next morning, we took our time getting up. We enjoyed another delicious home-cooked breakfast, then slowly showered and packed. This allowed for some more wandering around the back yard.
One of the odd things that they had in the backyard was this orb that you could enter and sit inside. I guess if you wanted to sit outside but not, this was the solution for you?
Marvilano moved his attention from the horse to the family dogs. He liked to pet them, but didn't want to touch them or be licked...making it quite the challenge for him.
We drove into the village of Ashbourne to have a cup of coffee and figure out our next move. We settled on doing some hiking. On the drive there, we were surrounded by beautifully emerald green rolling hills. We swerved through them until we hit the trailhead, parked the car and headed off.
Just as we started, the boys saw a tall mountain and for some reason, decided to climb it.
Patricia and I decided to stay at the bottom and watch. It didn't take long for them to each slowly exhaust themselves and stop.
Rahul put everyone to shame going the farthest.
Coming back down was harder than it looked. Dave is lucky he didn't tear a whole in his jeans sliding down most of the way.
We continued walking along the river's edge.
At one point, the trail crosses over the river. The most famous spot in the park is where they've put stones into the water to allow you to cross.
Marvilano took no prisoners. He went across multiple times regardless of oncoming traffic. However, he finally got held up on one of his crossings by a toddler and two babies. He stopped after this. Dave had a much easier time crossing.
We continued walking down the trail along the river. It was so beautiful and quiet.
At one point, Rahul found a rope swing. It seemed like a good idea at first to jump out onto it. But with each swing, he realised he couldn't reach the shore anymore. Slowly his arms lost strength and we all laughed watching until, while slowly dangling, he said "umm...guys? a little help?" We saved him eventually.
Our group on the trail...Marvilano casting a spell in the second one.
The hike continued to be beautiful.
Finally, we reached the destination - the village.
Rahul very kindly ran back down the trail like the trooper he is to get his car and meet us here. We all had lunch in a small little pub that was probably hundreds of years old, and then we packed up to head back to the B&B.
At that point, Patricia and Lazar had a taxi take them to the train station, and it was time for the rest of us to say goodbye to the Turlow Bank. And our friend, the white horse.
Then Rahul, Dave, Marvilano and I piled into the car for a few more hours of roadtripping. We drove north through the rest of the park, taking our time to enjoy the scenery.
Finally we turned east and out of the park to head for Leeds for a quick dinner with Rahul's sister before heading south back to London. It was a beautiful weekend, and was fitting for our first proper British holiday.
No comments:
Post a Comment