Saturday 18 May 2019

A Day Out in Derbyshire

Mick took a day off work yesterday and though the weather was supposed to be turning, we decided we'd still have a day out. I'm glad we didn't stay in because, even though there was a bit of wind about, it turned into a lovely day.

We set off in the car without a thought in our minds as to where we'd end up but as we got going we soon decided that we'd head down the M1 and visit my mum's county of birth, Derbyshire. We spent our tenth wedding anniversary in Matlock Bath and have never been back to the village since so we thought we'd start off here.


Matlock Bath was developed as one of the country's first tourist destinations. People have been coming here since the late 17th century when the spa waters were discovered but its heyday was in Victorian times when it became known as Little Switzerland by the poet, Lord Byron.


It's set in the gorge of the River Derwent and the main thoroughfare snakes along one side of the river. Along the other side is a riverside path known as Lovers' Walks.


As the sign tells us, Lovers' Walks is known to have been in existence prior to 1742. As well as the pathway by the side of the river, there's another along the cliff top, though we didn't venture there, my head for heights wouldn't allow that.


It was a really peaceful walk along the side of the river, we only passed a few people, though many of the shops in Matlock Bath were closed, many places only opening on weekends and bank holidays so I doubt they get a huge influx of visitors during the week.


There were boats for hire on the river, though again, closed on Friday. Not that we'd have hired one ourselves, we had Archie with us and though he has been on boats in the past, I'm not sure he'd have appreciated being in a small rowing boat.


You can see how steep the cliffs are which surround Matlock Bath. The Heights of Abraham is a tourist attraction which consists of a hilltop park accessed from the village by cable cars or a steep zigzag path.


There's so much greenery about at the moment.


I love this time of year when the foliage is all new, the colours really zing.


This goose stood and posed whilst I took his photo. He had a mate with him but she wasn't so brave.


Looking back from where we came, we crossed the river here and made our way back along the other side.


We only stayed for an hour as we wanted to visit some other places but we certainly enjoyed what we saw of Matlock Bath.

On our way to our next destination we came across a sign for Caudwell's Mill & Craft Centre so we decided to stop and take a look.


It's in a beautiful position, right by the river.


As we made our way to the mill, we passed a field full of gorgeous sheep and lambs.



This lamb stopped and watched Archie, though Archie wasn't at all interested in him.


Caudwell's Mill is a historic roller flour mill which is powered by water from the river Wye. The present mill was built in 1874 by John Caudwell but one or more mills have stood on the site for at least 400 years. You can take tours of the mill but we declined as we had Archie with us.


Also on the site is a shop selling flour, biscuits, ice-cream and other specialist foods, a gift shop and a cafe. There are also artisan craft workshops on the site, though some of these were closed yesterday.

We didn't stay long before we were on our way again. I'll tell you where we went afterwards in my next post.

50 comments:

  1. What a pretty place, I bet Archie enjoyed all those steps! You were really lucky to have such a good day for your trip. Such a wonderful part of the country.

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    1. Archie didn't have to endure those steps, my nerves wouldn't have stood for the cliff top walk so we stayed by the river. Derbyshire is beautiful, we're not all that far away so it's nice for a run out there.

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  2. What a lovely day out. It's years since we've been to Matlock too. I'm looking forward to your next post and where you went next. best, Jane x

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    1. There's more to see in Matlock Bath so I'm sure we'll go back there, the walks are really lovely, it's a beautiful part of the country.

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  3. -happy sigh- Such beautiful, beautiful country side and village!

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    1. Derbyshire, like Yorkshire where I live, has such picturesque villages and gorgeous countryside and views. We're so lucky to have such beautiful places to visit.

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  4. Matlock Bath is a lovely place, used to go when I lived in Derby. My next door neighbour, 30 years ago,worked on building the cable car ride. I used to like the illuminations in the summer.

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    1. I think they still do the illuminations so it would be nice to visit for that. You wouldn't get me up in that cable car ride, it makes me go dizzy just watching it.

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  5. I love Matlock Bath, it's so pretty.

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    1. It's very picturesque, I can see why it became a tourist destination.

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  6. Last time we went through Matlock Bath it was full of bikers( and fish and chip shops).We obviously didn't see the good bits.

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    1. What a shame you just passed through without taking a look around, it's such a beautiful place.

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  7. It is so gorgeous. I think I need to move there, I could be so happy walking by that lovely river. thank you for taking us along.

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    1. I think it's always so calming to walk by water, it was so peaceful there, and very beautiful too.

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  8. Love Matlock Bath - we're about 30 mins from there. We go to Buxton a lot - a bit further away from us but a lovely ride out through some beautiful countryside.

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    1. The countryside in Derbyshire is absolutely stunning. My auntie used to live near Buxton but it's a place I've never been to, I shall have to include it on the itinerary when we visit again.

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  9. Lovely Jo & now I'm trying to remember if we passed through near there on our way to Crich. It was certainly worth your visit & am now wondering where you are off to next. Take care.

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    1. It's a lovely place and certainly worth seeing if you're in the area again.

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  10. What a lovely day out you had. I really enjoyed seeing all of your photographs and learning a little about the places too.
    I do agree the greenery at this time of year is lovely to see.

    Looking forward to reading, and seeing, where you went next …

    All the best Jan

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    1. The greenery is stunning at the moment. It's lovely to have flowers blooming but the foliage is every bit as striking when it's new and zingy as it is at the moment.

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  11. A beautiful place to visit, the different shades of green look beautiful. That sheep looking at Archie is cute. I'm glad you enjoyed your day. Take care, Cathy x

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    1. The sheep were just so cute, there's lambs in all the fields at the moment. We enjoy our visits to Derbyshire, though it's somewhere we don't go all that often so it's like discovering somewhere new each time we go.

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  12. The river walk looks so beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. What a lovely way to spend your day. X

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    1. It was a lovely day out and though we didn't spend all that long in Matlock Bath, it's somewhere we could spend longer and we'll go back again at some point to discover more of the place.

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  13. Sounds like a wonderful day out. It has been a long time since I visited Matlock Bath so it was a joy to take a stroll along with you from my chair.

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    1. We spent our tenth wedding anniversary in Matlock Bath and haven't been back since, that's nearly nineteen years ago now, so it was lovely to visit again. I don't think we'll leave it so long next time.

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  14. What a lovely visit, so green and verdant. It looked super down by the river.

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    1. It was lovely, so calming and peaceful. It's amazing that these walks were created so long ago and we're still enjoying them to this day.

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  15. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. It's certainly looks and sounds like a wonderful area to visit at this time of year. xx

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    1. We always enjoy visiting Derbyshire, there's some lovely places there and the scenery is breathtaking in places.

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  16. What a wonderful day out Jo and totally well deserved. Thank you for sharing....this would be a day I would really love to have.

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    1. I think it's the simple days out which are most enjoyable. The walk along the river was really lovely.

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  17. Matlock Bath sounds like (and looks like) a wonderful place to visit. I think I've come across it on a TV programme at some point. I must visit some day.

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    1. It's a really lovely place with lots of interest for such a small place, we totally enjoyed our visit.

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  18. I love all the lush green and those wonderful steps. What an interesting day out. Looking forward to hearing more.xxx

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    1. It was such a picturesque walk by the river with all the new greenery, so peaceful.

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  19. It looks a very pretty and serene place, , glad you enjoyed your lovely day out, hope you are ok xcx

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    1. It was a lovely day out, we both really enjoyed it.

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  20. It really is so green every at the moment. Your pictures and your walk look lovely, I've never been to Matlock Bath, it looks like a beautiful area for a weekend away.

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    1. It's so long since we've been to Matlock Bath that I really didn't remember much about it, it was lovely discovering it all again.

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  21. Lovely photos. The last time we went to Matlock bath the street was full of bikers. It must be really different when they're not around.

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    1. It was very peaceful on Friday. There weren't many people around at all, just how we like it.

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  22. What a lovely place - looks so peaceful and must have been doubly so as you went on a quiet day. I can just imagine the gents and ladies, walking down this same path - it's wonderful that the path is recognized and it's history is being preserved.

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    1. It was nice to go midweek without the crowds, it felt as though we had the place to ourselves. I must admit that I did think back and wondered who had walked the path before me, I'm getting more and more interested in history as I get older.

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  23. Matlock is so lovely, I do hope the woodland walk gave you some peace and its therapeutic properties brightened your day.

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    1. The woodland walk was a real tonic. I think water has such calming properties and it was a lovely day out.

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  24. We went out into the Derbyshire countryside yesterday which I'll blog about when I've sorted photos. We seem to gravitate into that county as we live on its border. We didn't get as far as you did although I did think about going that way. Matlock Bath and Bakewell are attractive towns to visit. The countryside is beautiful at this time of the year. I was looking for a place that sells nice yarn, but didn't get to an outlet on our drive as we went into villages rather than towns.
    I'm sure there are yarn shops in Bakewell. We did briefly visit a countryside garden centre - I can't resist and I needed a new weatherproof planter anyway. I'm glad you had an enjoyable outing.

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    1. Mick works in Derbyshire quite a lot now, he's there today, but he's not in the picturesque areas which is a shame. As you say, it's beautiful at this time of year with all the new greenery. I don't know of yarn shops in Derbyshire but we did pass quite a few garden centres.

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  25. I don;t think I've ever been to Derbyshire... maybe as a child, but I certainly don't remember. Matlock Bath looks lovely, all that greenery! And there's not much that beats a walk by the river. Knowing that it's not busy during the week is good, both Andy and I hate crowds, perhaps I can persuade him...?
    xx

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    1. The places we've visited in Derbyshire are lovely, and especially Matlock Bath. I'm sure it's somewhere we'll visit again in the not too distant future.

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