Day 12 Sunday October 30th Buxton

 Today again looked like a mixed bag of weather but we were excited as we had planned to meet with Alexander and Keren Martin and their three young children, the youngest we had never met.  After breakfast we got all our gear together and left about 1015 in order to be in good time for our 1100ish rendezvous.  The drive to Buxton was easy with very scenic views, 

Buxton Pavilions

We found the Buxton Pavilions gardens and even better found a parking place.  The carpark was very busy as there seemed a lot going on today.  We waited and a bit later we caught sight of Alexander.  

We were soon all together and one of the advantages of this venue is that there is a large playpark area where children can let off steam.  There were a variety of 

fearless adventurer

things to have a go at, climb, ride and swing on.  As well as a mini football pitch for the Hammer supporters to improve their skills.  We spent some time here having great fun but after a time we had some drops of rain.  

play station!

Christine and I had left our waterproof jackets in the car but everyone else in the party had theirs'.  We carried on a little more but the rain got heavier and heavier.  We decided to head for a clump of trees for shelter.  This was much better but the rain persisted and we were becoming very wet.  We decided to head for the pub Alexander had booked a table at for lunch.  We were certainly the wettest people to arrive and out top layers were dripping.  We put them on hooks and settled down round a table to enjoy the food and company.  It was certainly a good choice of pub and we all had a good meal with some enjoying a dessert.  By the end of the food it had stopped raining and sunshine was coming through the windows.  We decided to further explore Buxton and went through arcades and saw a place where a therapeutic bath/spa once operated.  The architecture was interesting for one of us.  We were still all together when we arrived back at the pavilion gardens and then there was the thrill of seeing superhero/comic characters (some sort of enthusiasts gathering going on) which made the day for the younger ones.  It was now time to wave goodbye and after hugs and kisses we said our fond farewells.

Gardener's Cottage view

We made our way back to Bakewell and our tea was the leftover pizzas from the night before.  I took a photo which gave a good idea of the b&b setting.  We stayed in and watched television and did some blogging.  Another very good day of our holiday.