Saturday – Day One in Derbyshire

The forecast wasn’t good for our first full day in Derbyshire with rain and thunder showers predicted throughout the day.  Nonetheless, we set off from Dovedale Lodge for nearby Ashbourne to check out the town.  It’s comfortably small but bustling and full of shops.  It was market day, so it was quite busy.  Today is also the start of a long weekend as Monday is a bank holiday in the UK as well as the beginning of mid-term school break week.

We wandered around for awhile before visiting St Oswald’s Church.  St Oswald’s is the parish church for Ashbourne and is one of the most beautiful and most visited parish churches in England.  It is named after Oswald of Northumbria and was dedicated in 1241.  It is a very nice church with lots of stained glass.  We also stopped in at the associated St John’s Church on the opposite side of downtown.  Both are Anglican.

We found a great bakery in Ashbourne and bought a loaf of country sourdough bread that turned out to be amazingly good.  You don’t get bread in the UK like you do in France, but this loaf was damn close.  We also discovered a butcher shop where we will return to buy game pies for dinner one night this week.

As we walked around, it was sprinkling off and on with the sun sometimes sneaking out.  No rainbows though.  Back to the car we decided to drive the 15 miles to visit Haddon Hall.  I was afraid it would be teaming with Brits out on the long weekend.  And the gardens, supposedly beautiful, wouldn’t be very enjoyable in the rain.  But luck was on our side.  It wasn’t crowded at all, the clouds cleared, and we visited under bright blue skies.

Haddon Hall, famous for its tapestries and gardens, is often described as the most perfect house to survive from the middle ages. Set in the heart of the beautiful Peak District National Park, parts of the house date from the 12th Century, sitting like a jewel in its Elizabethan terraced gardens, and overlooking the River Wye.  Film-makers flock to Haddon Hall to use it as a location. The house and grounds have played host to no less than three versions of Jane Eyre. Screen credits also include Elizabeth, Pride & Prejudice, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Princess Bride, the cult classic movie in which Haddon Hall becomes Prince Humperdinck’s Castle and village. Haddon Hall is recognized as one of the most romantic houses in Britain.  The gardens were lovely, full of blooming flowers that sparkled under the beautiful sunny skies.  It lived up to its reputation.

We then stopped in nearby Bakewell for a walkabout.  It is known as the ancient capital of the Peak District.  The River Wye meanders gently through the center of this beautiful old market town.  It is famous for its Bakewell Puddings.  Bakewell grew up around a cluster of thermal springs and wells that attracted Iron Age settlers.  The town has a long and fascinating history; mentioned in the Domes Day Book of 1085,`Badequella’ meaning Bath-well.  Bakewell was hopping as it was the day for the monthly farmer’s market, second biggest in the UK.

Then we headed home to Dovedale Lodge for a rest and for cocktails.  We waited too long to make reservations for dinner in White’s Restaurant in Ashbourne, so we made a reservation there for Thursday night, our last night in the area.  For dinner we ate the leftover steak burgers and potatoes served with that delicious bread we bought.  The clouds were back and it rained periodically with the occasional thunder claps.

And tomorrow is another day.

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