Can not say we saw much of Nottingham. Though I do not feel we missed too much which would interest us. Museum and Castle are closed until 2020 for renovations.
Aimed for the War Hammer outlet and spent the morning through to lunchtime. Impressive and extremely popular place.
Cameron and I sat in the Cafe reading, drinking Hammer coffee in front of a roaring fire. All good!!!
After lunch we drove through Nottingham and then out towards Cromford Mills to have a ride on the aqueduct in a very old, refurbished barge. It was a two hour trip which was thoroughly enjoyable.
At the end you could get off and walk across to the other side of the river while they turned the Barge around for the return trip. At the mill there were antique, gift, woven fabric, garden and food shops.
At closing time we drove through high into the hills of the Peak district. It is certainly beneficial having another person to share the driving as it is another stretch of winding, narrow roads. Arrived at Lady Bower Inn in time to order a Cider and a meal. Fantastic meals. The chef is incredible.
It was my turn to drive from the mountain down to Chatsworth house and gardens . . . scarry, but we survived. I admire the mens staunch support of my efforts to stay on the road without hitting on coming cars.
CHATSWORTH HOUSE
What a treat. 16 generations held by the one family. We all enjoyed the tour, wandering the gardens and having a stroll through shops and enjoying lunch at Cafe. Well worth the four hour visit.
The architecture, frescoes, tapestries, paintings, sculptures and art works are fascinating.
Museum quality.
Library . . . the walls are lined with thousands of leather bound volumes and comfy sofas.
Shops and cafes throughout the house and gardens. Went on a ride on a tractor drawn carriage through gardens. I sat in cafe people watching while the boys explored further and walked the maze. Last look at some antiquities and we had to move on . . .
Afternoon drive through to Scarborough was uninteresting and uneventful . . . arrived at Hotel near waterfront. The Victorian architecture is impressive. You can see the opulence of the past everywhere. Cliff in places has eroded and there is a lot of work being done to fix and re-gentrify. Saw a squirrel in gardens opposite. Booked in and walk along ocean front and into a local Pub for evening meal. They were all there to have a trivia night and we were invited to stay and partake, but I said
we did not know our own trivia, let alone the UK stuff!!!
Will venture down the hill in Victorian contraption to Spa on the waterfront for breakfast, have a walk along the shops and then start our drive up towards Northumberland. Will pop into Robin Hood Bay and other small villages and expect to arrive at out AirBnB cottage tonight, where we stay the next four days.
Can hear the sea gulls and the water rushing at the cliffs. Must away. Let the adventures continue . . .
(Ha! Sea gulls just landed on our window sill. Bloody Huge birds. )
