Bank Holiday escape

What a bank holiday weekend.  I didn't want it to end, as it was such a good time.  My partner had been on about going to Chatsworth as he really enjoys that sort of thing, and as I’ve never been, thought it would be an ideal escape for the pair of us.

As he lives north of me, it made sense for me to drive up and pick him up, which wasn’t an issue for either of us.  OK – it was for me – I had to get up at 06:00 to leave at 07:00 as I was picking my partner up at 08:00.

Good thing I did leave early – I managed to get lost.  Damn sat nav.  But, once I got to my partner’s house, it was quite easy to get back en-route – especially as he took a different route to the sat nav – one that avoided the town centres until we got to the Ashbourne road.

The trip was reasonably uneventful and we stopped in Buxton as the pair of us needed a break, and something to munch.  We went into The Tradesman's Entrance, and had a “late” breakfast.  It was really good, and quite reasonable, and I have to admit that it served as a good stopping point.

Then it was back on the road to Chatsworth House.  Now I’d seen the signs for Chatsworth numerous times when I’d been going to the Peak Shopping Village at Rowsley, but never thought to go there.

Well I am very glad that I did. It’s beautiful.  OK – the house is undergoing major restoration (should be finished November next year according to the website Chatsworth House - The Masterplan) but that didn’t detract from the beauty of the house.

The house and gardens are well worth visiting, and like an idiot, I didn’t take my camera with me.  Doh.  But, the website does have some beautiful photos on it, and certainly explains it better than I ever could - Chatsworth - The House.  Whilst we were inside the house, the heavens opened, and I have to admit that I was very glad that we had decided to do the inside tour first - I would have hated to be walking around the house squelching.

The gardens are also something very special, and again, I am kicking myself for not taking the camera.  The scenery was spectacular (OK – slightly spoilt by the scaffolding and the modern “art” that was in the gardens – but otherwise it was something special. 

There was one feature that my partner wanted to show me – and it was a gravity powered water “fountain” called “Revelation.  The detail was incredible, and the information that I managed to find (courtesy of a plaque by the sculpture / fountain) stated:

Moved by the weight of water and gravity from the lakes above, the inner sphere is filled with water causing it to descend.  This makes the outer leaves close over it as if protectively holding a secret.  A syphon then discharges the water. The lightened sphere rises. The leaves open out to reveal the preciously held secret before the cycle begins again'.

This YouTube video shows it far better than I can describe it - Revelation video

Main gate to the Stables at Chatsworth House

Then it was up to the Stables.  This area has been converted, meaning that it was a sort of shopping / eating area.  OK – the usual complaint (damned expensive on the food – the drinks weren’t too bad) but at least we managed to find somewhere to sit and plan the next part of the journey – to our overnight stay.

That wasn’t too bad – apart from the sat nav getting confused again.  (Easier to blame the sat nav than my not listening to the directions as usual!)

Dinner wasn’t bad, and it gave us a chance to have a break and plan the options for the following day.  Namely the Blue John Caverns.

Now the route to the cavern is spectacular – if you’re not driving.  And more to the point, if you go the bus / coach route, it’s a darn sight easier.  However, I decided to go the car route, and wished I hadn’t.

It was damned narrow in places, and I did most of the drive with the door mirrors folded in on the car.  But, once we’d parked we decided to have a quick coffee at the Blue John Café. The coffee was pretty good by my standards, and certainly reasonably priced.

Then it was the walk to the cavern.  It’s down quite a steep slope (but the scenery makes up for it) and the entrance doesn’t look anything special…  Now I did notice that there was a sign advising people that the cavern wasn’t suitable for pregnant women, people with cardiac problems or respiratory issues.

I know my partner didn’t spot that bit about the respiratory issues (or if he did, he didn’t mention it) and we then headed down into the cavern.  Now as he’s taller than me (OK – I know that’s not difficult when you’re just over 5ft tall) but it meant he had to duck down in places and I didn’t.

It was well illuminated, and in places you did get wet, as it’s a limestone cavern.  Again, I wish I had taken the camera with me, bit daft of me, but I suspect that the photos wouldn’t have shown very much – other than a lot of mist!

The fun started on the way back up.  It’s a deep cavern – like about 300 feet down type deep, and it’s a steep slope.  Not too bad on the way down, but the way up….  Well that was where I should have heeded the warning about the respiratory issues....

Yep – I had an asthma attack.  About 150 feet below the ground.  Not fun, I will admit, and my partner was worried about me.  My blue inhaler kicked in, and I will admit to thanking my lucky stars that it did so, as I really didn’t fancy the cave rescue option.

So I sat quietly for a bit, and then we headed back to the car.  My partner was a real sweetheart, and he went to the café to get a coffee whilst I sat in the car trying to plot a better route to the main road – preferably one that didn’t use the horrible route I’d driven in.

My partner offered to drive, as he was worried about the after effects of the asthma attack.  Now had it been the 207, I would have had no objections, as it was the older car – but the 208?  No chance in hell.  Call me a control freak, but there was no way I was relinquishing the control of my new car to anyone.

We found a route on the map showing a road heading towards Sparrowpit (or Sparrowspit as my partner insisted on calling it!), meaning that we avoided the really grotty road in, and it meant that we could start heading back towards Ashbourne and home.

Now as the pair of us hadn’t eaten, we decided to find a pub en-route home so we could have a break and something to eat. Now as my partner knew the area pretty well, I trusted his judgement on the place to eat.  And as we got closer to Ashbourne, there were fewer options, until we spotted the Bentley Brook Inn.

Once we’d had a very late lunch (OK – an early dinner) it was back on the road to my partner’s home, and then onto home for me.  I dropped him off, and he made me promise that I would let him know that I was home OK, as he admitted that he worried about me driving such a distance.

I got home OK, and admitted that I was wiped out. Needless to say my partner was less than impressed with me, and made sure that I knew how he felt – even to the extent that he told me that the next time we went away for the weekend, he was driving and that we would explore no more caverns...

If anything, this weekend has brought the pair of us closer, and made me realise just what a gem I have found.

Guess I should call this quits – I do need to get some sleep.

Back when I get the inclination…

Karen

I tell myself
Hey only fools rush in and only time will tell
If we stand the test of time
All I know
You've got to run to win and 
I'll be damned if
I'll get hung up on the line