Peak District National Park

After the excursion to Goodison Park, there were more activities lined up for us at the Peak District National Park, which lies just south of Manchester. This was a bonus trip for us because we had not planned to make a trip here. Since we were going to Liverpool and had to head south to get back to London (for us) and Exetor (for Ernest), we thought we'd take the opportunity to visit the area.

We headed for the small village of Ollerbrook Booth just off Edale (itself a small town), and which lies between the White Peaks and Dark Peaks. The roads there were winding, steep and as we were arriving at night, they were also pitch black! It took us a while to locate the place. The B&B was the most lavish Jon and I had ever been to - we had a spacious room complete with a sitting area, stereo, TV, a full sized bathroom with a jacuzzi sized bathtub and shower, a walk in wardrobe...wow!



















The B&B and trusty ol' Suzie (Ernest's car)










Evidence of spring - Snowdrops!










Around the B&B










Near the B&B was a field with plenty of sheep, which reminded me of the super tasty dinner I had the night before - lamb stew in a giant Yorkshire pudding :)










After having our fill of a full English breakfast, we headed off to explore the Peak District proper. It was lovely, bright and clear day, which was perfect for sightseeing. Our first stop was to Mam Tor - a mountain overlooking Hope Valley. But we didn't climb that; instead we walked to the top of another hill also overlooking the valley - which was lovely except for a tall industrial chimney spewing out smoke. From the top it looks like you're on the top of the world, even though it really isn't that high.




























We next headed through the steep-sided Winnats Pass to Castleton, where we were going to go down into Speedwell Cavern - a flooded mineshaft. Inside you take a boat ride down a narrow flooded tunnel to a natural cave where a huge subterranean lake lies. Unfortunately although the pictures on the brochures look like you will get to take a boat onto the lake and explore deeper into the cave, in actuality, you only get to stand in the cave and peek at the edge of the lake. Still, it was a fun experience, and we got to stay down there longer than expected cos some silly people from a second group got on our return boat, taking our places, even before they had a chance to look around the cave! So we had to wait for the next boat to arrive. Good thing the return boat comes every 15 minutes so we didn't waste too much time.










After Speedwell Cavern, we drove on to Millstone Edge to check out the view, which was supposed to be spectacular. The scenery there was supposed to be more craggy compared with the White Peak area, consisting of cliff edges that stretch for many kilometres. I really enjoyed walking around the park area surrounding the lookout point, just being in the outdoors on a sunny day and being near to nature :) The rock formations were intriguing, some aerodynamic looking, some were huge monuments standing up in the middle of nowhere. And of course being the monkey, I climbed everything I could haha :)








































As the sun was setting we decided we'd better start making our way South, but we thought that before we left the Peak District we'd stop by Bakewell to try their famous Bakewell Pudding. It's very sweet, has strawberry jam, almond essence, and some other ingredients.










After a good dinner and the Bakewell Pudding as dinner, we drove on to Birmingham where Ernest dropped us off at the train station where we caught a train back to London :)