Perfect Peak District

Hello!

My Patient Other Half celebrated a Significant Birthday earlier this year and part of his present from me was a surprise mini holiday or weekend away every month for the whole year!  It's been great fun planning them, and he has no idea where we are going each time, as all I tell him is what sort of clothing to pack, and then we pop Daisy Dog in her booster seat (she's too little to see out of the window otherwise!) and I hold the Sat Nav, so he can't see which direction we are taking. We've travelled all over the country and it's been really lovely.

Two weeks ago we set off on a Friday afternoon, and it was only when we were ten minutes away from our destination that POH guessed we were going back to the beautiful and peaceful cottage we stayed in for May's holiday! It's in the Dovedale area of the Peak District, and so perfectly peaceful.  We had a lovely time when we stayed there in May and I thought why not go back?!

This is the view from the window. Isn't it glorious?

I'd planned for us to go to Chatsworth on the Saturday, but the weather turned a bit overcast and damp, so instead we went to Bakewell (one of our favourite little towns) and had a happy wander around the shops and the Rutland Antique Centre, and treated ourselves to morning tea and cakes at the Lavender Tea Rooms, which is tucked away in a quaint little courtyard.

After that we went to Hardwick Hall (Bess of Hardwick fame) had a lovely picnic and then went around the Hall (separately, as dogs weren't allowed in, of course).  It was a fascinating house.

I love peeking inside linen cupboards!

On Sunday, the colds we had battled all week got the better of us, so went spent the morning lounging and napping, and by the afternoon felt a bit better so we headed off for a short walk around Dovedale.  Its dramatic beauty is beyond photographs, but I tried to take a couple, in case you haven't been there:

I love my Muck boots that I bought at the Tatton Flower Show!

On Monday we were feeling a great deal better so we went to Chatsworth.  I'd just bought tickets for the gardens, as they are dog friendly, whereas the house, obviously, isn't.  But my goodness, what spectacular gardens they are! We spent hours there, until closing time in fact.  It is wonderful to find such beautiful places to visit that are dog friendly, as Daisy is such a big part of our family, and makes holidays so much fun.  She loved it there, and found lots of other dogs to make friends with.

We sat in the sunshine after lunch and I produced my crochet from my bag and did a few rows.  The pattern is 'Your Mileage May Vary' by Joanne Scrace, and is included in the fabulous book 'The Shawl Project- Book One'.  The yarn is by Knitglobal, and is 4ply 75% Superwash Merino and 25% Nylon yarn.  The colour is 'Summer Berries'.

On Tuesday we packed up our little cottage, and said 'see you soon!' and then headed off to Eyam for lunch.  Eyam is famous as the 'Plague Village' as when the deadly plague took hold in 1665 the villagers took the brave decision to isolate themselves to contain the disease.  Tragically, about 260 of the villagers - in some cases whole families - died, and there are little plaques outside some of the original cottages detailing the inhabitants at the time of the plague along with their fate.  It makes for sobering reading.

After a delicious lunch, complete with a holiday cake, we made our way home.  What a wonderful weekend that was.  

October's trip?  Well, I can't tell you about that quite yet, as POH reads my blog!  

Have you been anywhere Perfectly Lovely recently?  Or even Fairly Reasonable?  Please do leave a comment below.  I promise to answer each one!

Donna x