We headed out after having a late breakfast, and before long we were driving through some towns very familiar to me; Duffield, Belper, Whatstandwell, Matlock Bath, and Matlock. All of these towns are situated beside the River Derwent which provided power to the first industrial scale cotton mills. I do love the area and it's nice to drive through it again.
We took a drive up past Darley Moor and checked out the Darwin Forest Country Park where Pete and Lynn frequently go for holidays (and would have liked to have taken us if we had more time). We drove on to Rowsley and had a bite to eat at Caudwell's Mill - a working 19th century flour mill.
Pete couldn't believe that he'd never taken us to Chatworth House before, so we took a drive along the road towards Edensor. We only caught a glimpse from the road, but we could see why it is one of Britain's favourite country homes. Many of the local villages (for example Edensor and Heath) are maintained by Chatsworth House, with the traditional 'Chatsworth Blue' doors and window frames signifying the properties leased from the estate.
We carried on up the road to Eyam, best known for being the "plague village" that chose to isolate itself when the plague was discovered there in 1665, rather than let the infection spread. It felt quite surreal walking around the village and reading the signs on the houses declaring who died there and when - many families losing parents, spouses and most of their children. We also walked around the church which contained a few artefacts from history: a Norman font, and Anglo-Saxon font and a Celtic cross amongst others.
Next stop was Bakewell. I wanted to see what a traditional Bakewell tart was like (although the locals prefer to call them Bakewell puddings). We found a shop called 'The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop' which claimed to use the original recipe, and we went in and bought a couple. I also spotted a enticing Pork Pie which I couldn't resist.
It was getting late, so we started making our way back to Breadsall. We stopped at Matlock Bath for a walk and to take some photos. While walking up the street, I was surprised at how many Fish & Chip shops there were. Pete suggested that if we wanted a good chippie, that we go to Belper. Unfortunately, the shop that he recommended appeared to be shut, so we went to the nearby Georges Tradition - winner of the UK Fish & Chip retailer of the year award. After a good feed, we concluded that their reputation was well deserved!
After dinner, we popped home for a quick cup of tea before picking up Rob, saying goodbye to Charlie and Lucy, and heading down to The Brewery Tap where Craig was waiting for us. The Brewery Tap had a great system where you could order a rack of five different beers produced by the Derby Brewing Company (1/3 pints) with a bowl of locally sourced cheese. We ordered a couple of racks and sneakily passed around the pork pie. It was a great way to bring our trip to an end.
