* A MINI BREAK IN DERBYSHIRE*

Fabulous tour PP! Derbyshire has so many lovely things to see and places to go! Haven't been for a few years, so this reminded me what I've been missing!
Lovely blog...and glad you had a nice break, you needed it after your sad loss. Hope you returned in good heart.

oh carole, what a fab place to go, i love the old fashioned hotels, so cosy, the old houses and gardens are stunning, i dont know which is my favourite as all equally beautifull, so glad you both enjoyed your break, i enjoyed your tour very much, so very pretty :o)

Pansy judging by this blog and your fabulous photographs you obviously had a grand time,I,m really pleased for you and bet you and hubby are feeling relaxed and more at peace now,I enjoyed seeing and reading about your trip,its a long time since I visited that area and now you `ve got me remembering and wanting to go again.Thanks for sharing .......

Thank you for a wonderful blog and beautiful photographs Pansy. It's obvious that you had a lovely time. So glad you enjoyed it all.

Fantastic blog, PP, Derbyshire looks beautiful. I agree with you about the fish - it is rather large! Love the Dancers though. Glad you had such a good time.

A well deserved treat,and well explained thankyou :)
We spent many a happy school holiday at Bakewell and Chatsworth not staying but going for days out on the bus.
So glad you both enjoyed your trip :)

So glad that you enjoyed your break away.....Some beautiful photo's, and I hope your trip helped a little towards your sad loss..

Oh Carole , I'm so pleased that you had such a wonderful break away , you both deserved it .
These are some of our favourite places , it's lovely to see the photo's , the only place we haven't been to is Haddon Hall , we never seem to have the time to stop there after going to the other places , it will have to be a must on our next trip up that way it looks beautiful .. .x

Lovely blog and photos, thank you :) It's a lovely part of the country isn't it, and the gardens are spectacular:)

Glorious pic's of beautiful places. Hope you've come back feeling much better :-)

Thank you Pansypotter for taking us with you on your little holiday, some beautiful flowers and scenery, I have passed Chatsworth many times on the M1 often wondered what it looked like inside now I know. Love the ducks too and the weir reminds me of the place where you use to walk with the gander along the canal.

Thanks Pp I have been to Derbyshire many times as it is'nt far from where we live, the spa town Buxton is very picturesque, and Bakewell is also home to the famous 'Bakewell tart' Mmmmm yummy.
But above all Chatsworth house is the jewel and it is a shame that the whole house was not open, but did you know that the river Derwent was moved slightly in the mid 1500s, it was done by a crating a series of reservoirs that doubled as fish ponds just to put the gardens in. The cascade and fountain is all worked by water pressure alone, its done by a series of man made canals and gulleys that originate from high up in the hills.

Interesting, Bob...they certainly knew how to make their gardens to impress in the good old ( rich! ) days!

OOOO Don't call it a Bakewell Tart, they're very funny about that ( in Bakewell particularly )! It's a Bakewell Pudding ( known to the rest of us as a Bakewell tart!!! )

Thank you PP I've really enjoyed the tour, we certainly have some beautiful places to visit in this little island of ours :))))

What lovely places to visit. Thank you for showing these photos. Wonderful and I enjoyed seeing them.
The room inside your hotel looks so cosy and homely - lovely. :o)

Lovely blog PP and great series of photos you certainly seemed to cram a lot into your mini break and the gardens are beautiful - agree the British Legion one is lovely .

Hopefully that fish is a temporary sculpture perhaps one leaping up the cascade like a salmon would have been more in keeping.Of course if they d been following Goy regularly they should have asked Noseypotter ..he d have got it right .

Many years since visited area and Bakewell pudding eating compulsory with lots of steaming custard surprised no icing and no cherry on top .. lol Mr Kipling a lot to answer for .

In Buxton I recall a Victorian glazed arcade ? that was looking very sad but plans to restore hope they completed it ..

Thanks for sharing brought back memories hopefully this lovely break has enabled you to come home refreshed .

Note to self - dont read blogs before work ..

.... lethal isn't it Bb ?

Lovely blog Pansy :)
Beautiful pictures !

Beautiful blog of an area I'm not familiar with - you certainly packed a lot in, I'm so glad you shared it with us. The Dancers remind me of someone.........who can it be? Oh, the one on the right is me!

WOW!! Just wow! Amazing how much you packed in! Great pics too! Thank you!

Oh Carole, what a wonderful few days you had. Thank you so much for sharing these, what wonderful gardens and interiors. It is so lovely to take an armchair trip in beautiful Derbyshire. I do hope that it lifted your spirits a little.

First of all I would like to thank everyone for all your lovely comments and I am very pleased you enjoyed the Blog

Bscott glad you liked the little tour, Yes Derbyshire is a beautiful place so much to see and explore, will certainly be going back soon. You are right about the Bakewell Pudding, perhaps it the reason Mr Kippling calls his cakes Bakewell Tarts and puts icing and cherries on top, so he can't be said to be cashing in on the famous Bakewell Pudding Lol

Sanbaz There were so many lovely sights to see but if I had to choose my favourite it would be Haddon Hall its unforgettable.

Linclass. Great break and certainly worth a return trip.

Toto Yes we had a great break and lots of lovely memories to keep

Aster Hello and pleased to meet you , what a beautiful place to spend school holidays, wonder if places have changed much since you were last there?

Gee Great break! getting back to the fish there were many other sculptures that I felt were totally out of place in that particular surroundings very few I could relate to they were all for sale and done by different artists, but yes I did like the Dancers reminded me bit of the paintings that Beryl Cooke does!

Milky Loved it problem is got the bug now, looking at more brochures!

Amy What wonderful countryside and heritage we have, if you do get to go back to Derbyshire make Haddon Hall your first stop you wont regret it, its unbelieveable sends shivers down your spine!,

Crazy di I agree the gardens are spectacular and there are so many more to see, we will be back!

Sue B Enjoyed it all so much planning another one now lol

Morgana The riverside walks and ancient old bridges were delightful and I have never seen as many Birds altogether in my life, Had some scones left but can tell you they were gone in seconds !

Bobg yes I have read about the Emperor Fountain it was designed by Joseph Paxton in1843, it is said that the water fountain as reached as high as 300ft it is now regulated 90ft to protect its workings, what an amazing feat of engineering!

Grindle Makes you appreciate out wonderful English countryside and Heritage doesn't it!

Hywel The hotel was very, very good cozy and comfy and food to die for,would like to go back in the winter when they have great roaring fires in the wonderful old fireplaces Mmmm

BB We did enjoy the break , just makes you want more [Im planning already Lol] The glazed shoping arcade you mentioned was the Cavendish which we went into, it has been completly refurbished now and looks very smart and chic and the fantastic stained glass roof looks amazing. The sculptures at Chatsworth were a temporary feature an exhibition by individual artist and the prices were sky high I must be old fashioned the marjority I felt were totally alien to their surroundings. But have to admit did like the Dancers at least you could see what they were susposed to be!

Louise pleased you have enjoyed the blog

Wagger Funny you should say that about the Dancers it must be the reason I like it too very familar! lol

M,P, thanks for your comments, Love your new atavar

Pam Glad you enjoyed your armchair tour, lovely place sorry I didnt take more pictures of the interior of Chatsworth but didnt get t know you were allowed until we were almost out, Same at Haddon unsure if its allowed, but never mnd next time !!!

LOL, PP! Its one of my baby pics!

Like it! I have a few in sepia!

I dont have any in Sepia, but a lot in black & white!

You can never mention Bakewell without the famous tart (or the correctly named pudding). Just like Yorkshire and pudding !! The Puddings from Bakewell are nothing like the horrible mass produced spongy things from supermarkets. I have a local recipe which is almost identical to the original pudding,of course they always say there is a secret ingredient :) It has a very gooey filling and buttery pastry.
Our son took some down to Wiltshire to his workplace, they were very surprised how different it was.
We were there last September PP and thankfully it hasn't changed too much:)

Thats great to hear it has been restored PP as looked as if would be rather special and at least they didnt demolish it ...

Love the pic Madperth ..I have the most embarrassing one

Oh PP was Polly a cheeky dog full of mischief ?

So put it up, then!!

Polly was very mischievious and full of fun in her younger days also very fiesty and would take on any dog she didnt like the look of, no matter what size lol

Oh lol spent my time taking down from the hall each time I went home ...only for Mum to hang it back up again.

Would knock take it off the wall as I passed then give her a hug ..its still with my Dad .

Its strange PP but in a nice way ..you recall that pick of Polly in the campion on Bempton cliffs ?

I ve been restoring a garden in Campion close and every time you put on a pic or a blog I seem to be working there was there again today.

The house not been lived in for 5 years so you can guess what hedges and lawns looked like ...keep thinking of Polly and the Campion but its hard work so think you could wait a few days for your next pic think Polly having great fun sending me there ..x

Lol! Which one are you? I can never tell! LOL!

Well she is being her mischevious self BB and haunting you , think I might get some Campion next year and maybe she will come and play tricks on me!

Sorry PP dont regard as being haunted just laughing at me ... I have some pics that you might like to see ..we had 4 dogs and when things reached their inevitable end I was the one sent to vets being the man ..yes I was stricter with them but they knew I loved them.The good cop bad cop routine ..

We have no dogs now PP as really think we need to be retired before going through this again ..all our animals rescue pets Jane wonderful at gaining the trust of animals that been badly treated.

All my animals have been rescues/strays too! I went through a year of finding kittens & puppies in bin bags!!

Seeing Haddon Hall's boar, maybe the next pet should be a topiary one!

BB guess it is her idea of fun! will you PM your address so I can send you the picture, and Yes I would love to see your pictures, I can understand you not wanting anymore pets until you retire, its my belief if you have a pet you do need to be with them night and day. We got Polly when I took early retirement, Harry was still working so I was with her 24 hrs a day until she died, which is why we were so very close.

MP Good for you, Its so very sad that so many pets are ill treated or abandoned, Cannot imagine how anyone could be so cruel to put any animal in a bin bag, credit to all the kind people who give such animals a good home.

Orgratis Hope youve got a big garden the Boar was huge, there was an Elephant too which was even larger!

I dont understand the mentality of people who would mistreat any living being! Off the soapbox Marie!! LOL!

Totally agree with you Mp, Any room on the soap box for me, andI think many others on Goy!

Yes, hop on,, its a BIG soapbox! Lol!

I don't know how I missed this! So pleased to hear you had a lovely time. The pictures are great. We were there in August and reading your blog was like having my holiday all over again so thank you for that. It is a lovely area.

Loved it Irene hope to go again in Spring xx

I want that tree sculpture!

MP it was called the Squirting Tree and is a permanent featture at Chatsworth think about all the underground work involved noooooooo couldnt stand the upheaval!

But it'd be worth it! LOL!

MP your're a braver woman than me Dunga Dinn lol

I like guddling!

What a fabulous set of photos from a mid week break. Of all the magnificent impressive buildings, I liked the ornate bandstand best. I thought the choice of a pig for the topiary and the inappropriate siting of the fish were fun. I wonder if that is why they put the fish there perhaps? The dancers statue was a most lovely finale except it looks shiny - is it new? It made me think they were wet otherwise it was a perfect ending to a brilliant blog that I much appreciated viewing. Thank you.

Thanks Gardeningfr for all your lovely comments, The Dancers was my favourite sculpture too and it was new, it was an exhibition of modern sculptures in the groundsd, they were all for sale, but way out of our reach!

Thanks for the further information. There is nothing in the photo by which to judge the height of the dancers statue for certain but to me it looks slightly larger than life perhaps 7 to 8 feet. Unusually the lady looks very slightly taller than the gentleman and they look a more normal size in width than the skinny people normally found in statues. How tall do you think they are?

Gardeningfr From what I recall I would think the Dancers were at least Seven to Eight feet tall, and of very ample build, so a very good guess lol

Thank you. I can see a rope square around the statue but hope that did not stop you giving him a hug. Were you able to get your arms around him and where is the photo capturing the moment?

What would I want to hug a chunk of cold stone for, when I have my own live hunk of man lol

I am sure it is no match for the real thing in hug terms but I still think it would have made for a funnier photo, your family would probably all have had a laugh about it and I would have a better perspective to the size of the statue.