Wet and Windy at Lyme Park

The unpleasant weather continues. The strong cold wind brings with it rain and sunny intervals. It's definitely not a day for long walks on top of Mam Tor and along the Edale Valley.  Instead, we decide to visit Lyme Park which is a country house surrounded by a 17 acre garden with roaming deer.

Lyme Park was used as the backdrop in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice. You can go inside but you can't take photos so we've only got external shots. There are many rooms each with its own history, portraits and antiques from 1600's to 1800's. There was an interesting exhibition on about Mary, Queen of Scots who was supposed to have been imprisoned there for a few months.  Lyme Park was also supposed to be the place where plans where made to get rid of the monarchy.

Tomorrow we are heading for Snowdonia in Wales and there is a chance of snow!

Our next campsite, Beddgelert, has no WIFI so I will update when I can.

Apparently, there is a river running through the campsite and there is a possibility in seeing trout and otters. So, the fishing rod and binoculars are coming out for sure.

The Devil's Arse

On the map there are quite a few attractions around Castleton. We visited there a few years ago one Christmas. At the time we went for a walk following our guide book. This time though we decided to check out the caves and if we had time, walk up Mam Tor which is an impressive large hill.

We started by visiting Peveril Castle which was built just after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is now a ruin but you can enter the keep.

By the time we left it was lunch and we decided to grab a sandwich at a nearby deli/cafe. They had a cabinet full of cakes and starring at me was a huge custard slice with icing. The custard was over an inch thick! I had to have it and it was delicious.  And Zoe thought so too.

We ventured over to Speedwell Cavern and went inside. We had to put on hard hats and descend 106 steps down to a small boat. Eight of us got in the boat and the guide led the boat down a very narrow and low 400 metre man-made tunnel. The tunnel was mined 200 years ago as lead mine.

Next we went on to the Devil's Arse or rather Peaks Cavern which is a natural cavern and caves where rope makers lived there their entire lives making, erm, rope. I volunteered to help make some rope, which seemed very simple and I got to take the rope home.
The Devil's Arse got it's name because the Victorian's believed that caves lead down to Hell and there's a small area which when it gets flooded as the water drains away air gets trapped and for about 10 minutes you can hear the devil farting! It got renamed to the Peaks Cavern because Queen Victoria paid it a visit once and there was no way the Queen would be seen in the Devil's Arse.
We liked this tour. The cavern and caves didn't have the best structures and there weren't any stalactites but the guide was brilliant and very informative and some of her stories were amazing.

On the way back we went through Winnats Pass which is a very beautiful rocky gully. The road was a bit steep and I had to rev the nuts out of Herman in 1st gear to make it up.

By the time we got back to the campsite the wind and rain had picked up and our neighbour's awning had been completely destroyed. There were poles bent and scattered everywhere and the canvas was torn and flapping wildly in the wind.

Poole's Cavern and Buxton

Some stalagmites

Completely different day today with regards to weather; misty, cloudy and some rain. The previous night we found it got really cold while sleeping so we decided to have the heating on last night but at some point in the early morning I had to turned it off because it got too warm to sleep. Outside, Herman must of been glowing white hot.

Because of the pending wet weather we decided to take a short walk to the Poole's Cavern. It had it's fair share of stalactites and a stalagmites and whole load of history which involved the Victorians being their usual brutish selves by blowing up natural columns and generally damaging the place.

Zoe enjoying an ale or three

Afterwards we decided to walk in to Buxton and get a bite to eat at a pub but along the way we saw signs for the Peak District Annual Festive with included a beer festival. We arrived there and also discovered a tent selling hog roast baps. Result. After a few real ales and a pig buttie we headed back to the campsite and Herman in glorious sunshine. The weather folks had got it wrong again. We chose to walk back a different way since the signs posts were heading our way but they took us a very long way round and the small map of the area was pretty useless too.

Arrival in the Peak District in Herman

Misty Morning in Bicester

Having arrived Friday night at Brook Farm campsite (see long grassy field) near Bicester in the dark with a bright full moon and starry sky we awoke early to beautiful misty morning with clear blue sky and nobody around.

What's that noise?!

To get to the farm we had to cross a railway line and in the morning we decided to stop for a photograph!




Saturday morning the drive to the Peak District was uneventful and we arrived at the Grin Low Campsite near Buxton in time for lunch. Being October lunch was a fry up on the BBQ including sausage and fried egg.

Zoe at Soloman's Temple

A BBQ fry up with Herman in Grin Low

Grin Low is beautiful campsite set against a rocky cliff surrounded by rolling countryside. Nearby is Solomans Temple which is a small viewpoint tower built in 1896. It was on this walk where I had realised that I had forgotten all of our maps and walking guides for the Peak District and Wales. Which, of course, is what we've planned to do. Never mind the AA road atlas will have to do.