Ireland was in a 5km lockdown with schools closed so it seemed like a good time to jump ship and head to Derby to visit the Towler’s. Drove from Ballyvourney to Belfast for the overnight ferry on Feb 17th. It was a bumpy, rocky crossing so not much sleep was had. When we docked in Liverpool we got coffee and a bacon sambo at a local café and drove on to Derby.
The boys settled in quickly and reunited with all the teddies.
The UK also had restrictions in place but didn’t seem as strict as Ireland. We did lots of trips out to explore the Derbyshire countryside and discover new walks and trails. A local favourite was Alvaston Castle. It was close enough to walk to and it was interesting to leave the housing estates and traffic behind and arrive at fields with horses and sheep grazing.
Matlock Bath, a short drive away, is a small town in the Peak District, popular with bikers. It’s near Cromford where we sometimes visit Figshaws butcher shop and Scarithin books. A nearby canal walk leads to Lea Mills home of the John Smedley factory shop.
In Bradgate park we had a lovely walk across the hills, stopped for coffee and walked back along the path. It was a great day except that the football rolled away from us and into a pond while we photographed a swan and it failed us to retrieve it.
The COVID 19 crisis reminded us of the story of the plague. A trip to the nearby plague village in Eyam provided us with an educational homeschooling opportunity.
The bubonic plague appeared in Eyam with the arrival of a bale of cloth sent from London, where the disease had already killed thousands of inhabitants. Contained in the bale of damp cloth were fleas carrying the plague. As the pestilence spent through the village William Mompesson, intervened. Believing it his duty to prevent the plague spreading to the nearby towns of Sheffield and Bakewell, he decided the village should be quarantined. The villagers agreed to stay there to prevent the spread of the Great Plague. In all 260 people died in Eyam. We visited the church where a stained glass window depicted the story of the town. We saw some of the gravestones and plague cottages.
Mother’s Day and grandmothers day!
Many parks around Derby to explore. Darley park not far from St Mary’s church and Markeaton park with the big playground were two highlights.
St Patricks Day, trip to Markeaton Park again with a picnic lunch
Another day another walk, this time to Elton to visit Robin Hood’s Stride, a rocky tor.
March 24th : Attenborough Nature Reserve, nice looped walk around the lake.
Morning time means home school time upstairs. Following the Scoil Abán Naofa school work from afar, including some French and PE. The teds even got involved in our Joe Wicks workout!
Afternoons mean fresh air and adventure. Nearest park is Alvaston park which has a big lake, lots of football pitches and a playground with a training area and zip line.
Evenings sometimes involved a barbecue, even in March when the temperature was unusually high!
Trentham Gardens near Nottingham was a nice place for a day out. We walked around the large lake and then spent time in the playground and on the zip line before enjoying a picnic lunch on the lawn.
Shea came to Oxford for a day with Mark and I. He was interested in seeing the architecture and the setting for the TV show ‘his dark materials’.
Drove up North to visit Simon and Su in Newton Ayclyffe. Stopped at Knaresborough on the way back. Lovely town with an aqueduct across the river and a castle with nice gardens.
On April 3rd we celebrated Gwen and Noel’s 56th wedding anniversary. The weather was lovely so we sat outside and toasted them with champagne, then we enjoyed a lovely lunch and some cakes from birds bakery.
Easter Sunday was another relaxing day enjoying the sunshine in the garden and an egg hunt! Then it snowed on Easter Monday! Tuesday and Wednesday we went for some walks in nearby parks. The trip to Crick was nice, we walked to the top of the Crich Memorial Tower, built in memory of the soldiers who fought in WW1; and enjoyed spectacular views. Then we walked through the wood and finished up with fish n chips for lunch in Matlock Bath & ice creams.
On April 9th we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. We exchanged cards, the same ones! And then went to Chatsworth house for the afternoon. As we drove there the death of Prince Philip was announced so it seemed appropriate to visit a place connected with the royal family. We enjoyed a walk around the lovely gardens, a visit to the farm shop and later had a great Indian take out from Tandoori Nights with the rest of the family.
April 11th. We drove to Nottingham to Fosse Park where we met Liz, Daniel and Lucas for a walk. The park was lovely, we took a walk, the boys played football and played in the playground. Then it snowed!
On April 12th the pubs in England reopened for outdoor drinking/dining. After a garden visit from Andy and Heather we headed to the Lodge to try it out.
Weekend away to Hadrian’s wall April 14th. First stop was to photograph the Angel of the north.
Vindolanda was a Roman Fort near Hadrian’s Wall. It’s now lies in ruins but offers a picture into the past. The site is currently being excavated and there were archaeologists working on a dig and answering questions while we were there.
We drove along the mountain road which had some nice views of the wall and stopped at another Roman fort. Then we drove back again to walk along some of the wall.
We spent two nights staying in an animal sanctuary. We had a cabin which was lovely if not a bit cold! There were several animals in the paddock outside. The place came equipped with wine for the adults, sweets for the kids and a bucket of fruit to feed the animals. When it got dark outside we played charades and read books before bed.
The following day we we went to Alynwick Castle. Some scenes from Harry Potter (and Downton Abbey!) were filmed here. We learned some craft making and the boys took part in broomstick training. We all did archery too which was fun.
A short drive further north, nearly to the Scottish border, brought us to Bamburgh Castle. We had a quick stroll on the windy beach and the took shelter in the sand dunes!
On the way back to Derby the following day we stopped at Whitley Bay near Newcastle. We had a lovely walk with Matt while Shea climbed along all the rocks and kicked his football. We had some fish n chips for lunch by the water.
April 17th we took April to Lichfield. It’s the weekend so friends free to meet up. We called to see Greg and Jenny for hotdogs in the garden and then walked over to the park to see Mark and Hazel for coffee. A quick photo of the cathedral and we were off again.
With outdoor dining open for business we decided to treat the family to lunch at the Clock Warehouse. Very nice setting by the canal with boats passing by through the lock.
Then it was off for another weekend to see a bit of the country a home school excursion! We drove north again. First stop was Whitby Abbey. The ruined abbey on the hill was inspiration for Bram Stoker while on holiday at the seaside resort when he was writing Dracula. In the nearby church and graveyard we found tombs which inspired the novel.
The views of Whitby Harbour were spectacular from the high vantage point. We wandered down to the town and got ice creams on the way. We saw a statue of James Cook and Whale bones forming an arch.
We stayed in a nearby working farm for two nights. The cabin was lovely with a big deck. The boys had great fun feeding the sheep and chickens. They collected eggs too which we were given to us as a gift when we were leaving. We had burgers on the grill for tea and in the morning a breakfast basket was delivered to the door.
A day trip to Scarborough from the farm was great. We walked along the prob and the beach, had fish and chips, avoided the seagulls, had ice creams and walked up to castle to visit the grave of Anne Bronte. We listened to an extract of one of her novels ‘the tenant of willed hall’ while there.
Hairylambthewanderyears 