Day 18 Saturday November 5th Homeward Bound St Martin's

 The day we go home.  We were up earlier because we had to deliver the car for repair and catch the 0915 Scillonian to St Mary's.  It was pouring with rain on the mainland and we rapidly packed the car and set off.  At Penzance quay we unloaded the car and handed the car over for hopefully a good repair.  Our luggage went in a container, we checked in, obtained our boarding 

miserable Penzance quay

passes and waited until the gangplank was in position.  Luckily there is now some shelter from the rain on the quay.  The ship was not too busy and we were able to find a favourite position.  The trip turned out to be quite rough and several were ill

passing the garrison

 but we were OK.  It took 3½ hours and so everyone was glad to arrive.   We had to wait on St Mary's until 1400 and so had a snack then boarded the jet boat to arrive safely home (the sun was now shining!).  

Well folks that is the end of the blog for this year.  Thank you to everyone who has followed it, I hope you have found it a bit interesting, we certainly have had an enjoyable holiday.

 

Day 17 Friday November 4th Bristol to Hayle

 It definitely feels as if our holiday is coming to an end.  This will be another bog with no interesting photos.  Today was predicted to be good weather wise and it started sunny.  After breakfast we quickly loaded and started the journey.  The M5 was easy to find and we were on our way just after 1000.  Our aim was to have two breaks between here and Hayle.  The traffic was light compared to Derby and Birmingham so that the driving was easy and comfortable.  The sun was on our east side and that made it good to travel.  It was just over an hour and we arrived at Exeter service area.  We had some coffee and the remains of the Bakewell pudding which we had not eaten.  Within 30 minutes we were on the road again heading west on the A30.  

The familiar road took us round Dartmoor, Okehampton and Bodmin.  We were now getting a bit low on fuel and bought some more petrol at the Victoria service area which had improved somewhat since our last visit (20 years ago?).  We got a bit lost coming out of the service area and ended up driving towards Newquay but we soon found a roundabout with a sign for Truro and Redruth.  Back on track it did not take us long to reach Hayle.  We decided to carry on to Sainsburys in Penzance to buy some goods and fill up with petrol.  This we did although the car had its rear wheel problem again and we waited for it to cool.  We were soon back at Hayle and settled into our room.  We had a good basic pub meal next door and settled down looking forward to an earlier start tomorrow.

Day 16 Thursday November 3rd Bakewell to Bristol

 Today we are moving base from Bakewell to Bristol as we now travel towards home.  It was an overcast but dry day as we set out.  We said our goodbyes and got on the road just after 1000.  We planned to travel for about 40 minutes and then check that the car was OK.  We did have a slight delay when a diversion in Matlock led to confusion in our car and we ended up in Sainsburys car park!  It was soon corrected and we were progressing well again.  We stopped in a layby to check the car and thankfully all was OK.  Our journey then continued southwards as the sun was coming out more and soon we were going round Birmingham heading towards the M5.  We stopped at the first service station on the M5 and had about 50 minutes rest and food time before progressing on the second part down to Bristol.  We safely arrived at our 

our car at Bristol

Premier Inn

Our window curtain drawn

Premier Inn at Cribbs Causeway near Bristol by 1430, We settled in after a long distance drive for us.  We have booked bb&d here and so no need to look for further food sources.  We just relaxed for the rest of the evening.  


   

Day 15 Wednesday November 2nd The High Peak

 Today again we planned something different in the Peak District, as yet we had stayed in the low "white peak" area of the National Park and today we planned to venture into the higher, more desolate "dark peak" area further to the north.  After breakfast we filled our insulated coffee mugs, got our gear together and set out for the uplands.  We were on territory we had 

farm near Glossop

not explored before and after a few miles the landscape became more rugged and hilly. As we approached the metropolis of Glossop the farms were distinctly less pasture and more moorland.  When we arrived at Glossop we turned onto the Snake Pass road which links Manchester and Sheffield.  We had read that during most winters the road is closed because of snow.  We were now climbing quite

Snake Pass landscape

steeply but eventually we reached the top and were surrounded by 

from snake pass

bleak moorland.  It was bleak, rugged and wild with no sign of habitation.  It carried on like this for several miles and then we started to descend.  The descent was similar to coming up - steep and windy.  Soon we could see the water of reservoirs including the Lady Bower Reservoir which were created for the large cities which surround this area.  We stopped and took a 

Lady Bower reservoir

picture of the Lady Bower which was still at a low level even after the significant amounts of rain we have had recently.  

We carried on and by this time we needed a coffee and light lunch which we were able to get at a nearby pub.  Adjacent to 

new homes for the displaced

the pub were some newish houses which had been built to rehouse the people who had been displaced by the waters of the reservoirs flooding their homes.  It seems over the years many folk have been displaced for a variety of reasons!  The landscape was now more wooded

landscape near pub

 although still hilly.  We carried on and soon were passing through villages (Bamford and Grindleford) that were part of the character of the park.  We arrived back in Bakewell, sorted ourselves out and by now it was looking as if it could rain at any minute so we drove into town and found a pub producing good typical grub which we enjoyed as a dinner. 

 

Day 14 Tuesday November 1st Chatsworth and Edensor

Chatsworth House

 Each day in the Peak District we planned to have a different theme.  Today we had decided to visit

rear view of house

 the stately home of Chatsworth House.  We had been past the house previously but not visited it.  We had learnt that the house itself would not be open because of Christmas preparations but we were happy to see the grounds.  

East aspect of house

The pictures will tell or story.  We went to the kitchen garden where they supply veg and flowers to the house.  We saw the 

kitchen garden

cascade and fountain, had a coffee and then found the interesting coal tunnel.  To heat the house required an awful lot of fuel and a tunnel was dug with its small train to transport the coal out of sight of the house.  The boiler fumes were also channelled away from sight.

the maze

  

jungle explorer

cascade

fountain

coal tunnel

newly gilded gates

We spent a long time touring all the parts of the garden and had a good interesting time, we thought if we had the house to go round as well it would have been too much.  We photographed the newly gilded main gates which were also impressive.

 After this experience we went to the village of Edensor which was a small village moved in the 1800s because it was in the line of sight of the house.  All the buildings in the new village were of a different design.  The church which was also Victorian was a well kept active witness in the small community.  It was drizzling and we left the gated village to make our way back to base. 

Edensor house with tower

house with narrow window

church interior

Day 13 Monday, October 31st Around Bakewell

 A different day planned after the excitement of yesterday.  Today we planned to have a walk and explore a bit more of Bakewell.  We were in Bakewell by 1000 and had chosen a walk 

sheep at the auction

auctioneer at work

from a TIC leaflet.  We started off near the livestock market which was in full swing.  There were pens of sheep awaiting entry into the market and an auctioneer doing his stuff inside the large shed - I hope he had a good drink waiting after doing his work for an hour or two.  After a false start our walk took us past 

watermill wheels

a mill on the outskirts of the town, the building is now offices and the mill wheel stands in the car park.

We carried on getting away from the built 

packhorse bridge

up area and turned to cross the river over a packhorse bridge (it certainly was not wide enough to be a postbridge).  We then turned and carried on back to town following the 

goose on the river Wye

 

the old bridgr

windy river route.  There were geese and other river birds along the way.  We approached the town at Bakewell's old bridge which we crossed and went into town.  After walking the three miles it was time for refreshment and we went to the "Original Bakewell Pudding shop" to sample their wares.  We 

Bakewell tart

had a coffee and I had a slice of Bakewell tart which was delicious and lived up to expectations.

Bakewell church

  After this we walked up to the church which dominates the skyline above the town.  It was a large, good looking church but was in need of extensive repairs and thus had what looked like an uncertain future.  In the graveyard was the remains of a Celtic cross which has some significance.

the Celtic cross

Ater climbing up and down this steep hill and looking at some shops and somewhere along the line looking at the stalls in the market it was time for a cup of tea.  We had a cup in a teashop and then decided to return to the b&b after a pretty energetic day.

For our evening meal we went to a bistro recommended by our hosts.  Although it was pouring with rain by this time we did enjoy the meal.  It was then time to relax in our room before going to bed.