My husband K got up at 6:30. Unfortunately, he didn't wake me until 6:55, which was decidedly late. He went off to breakfast, while I got dressed and washed up for the day, as there was no time to come back to the room after breakfast.
I went down to join him and our daughter J in the large breakfast room at 7:25. I managed to get down a decent breakfast before we left at 7:41.
It was really a good thing that the train station was so close. At 7:44, we were waiting on platform O. The good people of Stockport were not really up and about at that time.
At 7:54, we were seated in the 7:55 train to Norwich. The train was far more colorful than the Welsh one we'd ridden yesterday.
They've been repeating this safety message on each of the trains and in stations that I did not understand until I saw it on an electronic sign in the train. Even then, I had to be quick to take photos. I think you will be able to supply any missing words. It was the "Sorted" that confused me. I kept hearing it as "Sort it".
At 8:34, we got off the train at the very busy Sheffield station. We managed to find a restroom before heading out of the building. Outside, there was a really nice fountain with a water wall on the other side of the walkway behind it.
We walked up the hill to the Sheffield Interchange, which was a very clean, modern bus station. Electronic signs told you the "gate" to wait at for your bus. At 9:10, we were on bus 218 to Chatsworth, as J had planned out. Since K's credit card has a fee for overseas use, I paid the Ł2 a piece for our tickets.
The bus had the big windows of a tourist bus, which made it easy to take in the town as we passed through it, as well as countryside, villages, and farms with sheep. Positively bucolic, even if it was grey and chilly.
At 9:55, the bus dropped us off in the bus area near the Chatsworth House. This had been used for the front of Pemberley in the 2005 Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice. We'd had tickets to tour the inside, but a few weeks ago, they contacted J with the apologies of the Duke of Devonshire. With regret, they had to cancel indoor tours this week, because a filming company offered a lot of money to use the house. The Cavendish family cannot afford to keep up the house and grounds on their own- Devonshire isn't that rich. So, they agreed to the filming with an eye to using the funds to repair a beloved cascade on the property. While we were sorry to miss the inside, we saved Ł15 each and had more time for the gardens. We are suckers for gardens.
This is the side of the house that faces the parking lot and is probably the entrance for guests, based on that gate. And the sheep? They are the view across the road.
J showed our tickets at the gate, and, since she'd paid for them, was given a nice souvenir book of photos of the gardens. We immediately saw proof of the filming. We never saw any actors.
To our left, we were greeted with the verdant hillside and views of our first destination: Flora's Temple. As we headed up, I noticed that the greenhouse was stepped, which made sense on this hillside. The flowerbeds were all boxed in and slightly raised. To the right, was very tall hedge.
There were no paths. So, we just walked on the grass to get a closer view. The flower groupings seemed to have no rhyme or reason. Just a riot of flowers- hydrangea, daylilies, teasel, roses and more.
They had their fair share of weird items, too.
We had a rather artsy view of the house from the edge of this garden.
As we came up to the entrance to the greenhouse, we encountered this fun chair made of coins. There were also some plants that we were unfamiliar with - bush lily, loosestrife, and smoke tree.
On the greenhouse window, we found this amazing piece of information:
Inside, we found some interesting plants and flowers, such as the passion flower.
One felt obliged to take a photo of the house, whenever there was a new view.
We came upon the Cascade, for which they'd closed the house to tourists in order to earn funds to fix it. When it is running, it is probably impressive.
Inspired by a trip to Switzerland, the 6th Duke and his gardener created a rock garden. Not some little thing with stones. No, these were often huge formations held together with concrete. There were lovely flowers and exotic trees such as the sequoia. There was a stream that flowed from the waterfall over Wellington's Rock, which got its name from the visit of the Duke of Wellington in 1843.
I was quite amazed by the size of the snowball bush ("hydrangea") flowers. I realized that a photo would not convey the size. So, I put my hand next to one.
We passed through a charming stone arch to the area that used to hold the conservatory. The Great Conservatory had stood from 1840-1920. Coal was used to keep it warm. However, it was needed for the war effort during WWI and many plants died. The 9th Duke thought that replanting everything and heating it was too much in the time of postwar posterity. So, they blew it up!
In 1962, the 11th Duke and Duchess had a maze built in the spot of the old conservatory. The goal is to reach the center.
In going down the hill to a lower level of the garden, we passed through the Serpentine Hedge. This is the best the photos will show. My knees did not like the stairs.
Below us know, where views of green grass, rolling hills, sheep, etc. Pretty darn bucolic.
Turning right, we walked along a tree-canopied path. Just lovely!
The Canal Pond was to our left and the roar of its gravity-fed Emperor Fountain got louder as we went. There was much discussion of how to handle photographing it and the house. The wind was blowing such that the spray was coming toward us. Getting soaked did not strike us as a good idea. But, the photos we got aren't bad. We could even see the family name-Cavendish- in Latin on the upper part, when we blew them up.
We passed through a hedge into an interesting circular garden with a pond in the middle with lily pads in it. Around the pond were more of those interestingly shaped trees that I think are English yew. There were also some sculptures by Wendell Castle that doubled as benches. The sculpture nearest where we came in was called Above Within Beyond, whereas the simpler one on the far side was called Temptation.
We visited the Sensory Garden, which was a place to listen to sounds that the garden made, before heading to the Cottage Garden. Here we found lovely flowers along with an apple tree that was anything but trimmed. It really felt like the garden of and English cottage.
Then, we made our way to the Kitchen and Cutting Garden. Here was grown produce that would be used in the main house and the restaurants. Hence, "Kitchen". As for "Cutting", this was were all the flowers used in the house were grown. Volunteers from the local garden club tended both areas of the garden. K had a good conversation with one of them, when he stopped to ask her to identify a plant. The sculptures at the entrance were really very clever.
We starting at the flower area. Such flowers! The vases in that house must be just gorgeous. All I could hear in my head was a snippet of a song from grade school: "How many kinds of sweet flowers grow? In an English country garden. We'll tell you now of some that we know...". I kept wishing I remembered more of it beyond a couple of the kinds of flowers named.
The produce area was really interesting to me, because I'm not used to seeing garden crops. I've never seen cauliflower growing and couldn't get over the size of the leaves. The strawberries were smaller than I'm used to seeing. Some of the plots were a little sparse. The gardener told K that the spring had been quite wet and that delayed planting. Big surprise-they use scarecrows!
I tried to figure out why they planted flowers near the greenhouses. Was it because they just like them? For aesthetics? Because strangers roam around? I couldn't decided, but they looked nice.
Next, we hiked up hill to The Stables around 12:20. We chose the Chatsworth Restaurant for lunch. It was like a cafeteria, in that you walked along a line picking out food and paying a cashier at the end of the line. We got a Homity Pie plate, which came with salad and fries for Ł 15.75. We also got an Egg Mayo Roll for Ł6.75, crisps (chips) for Ł 1.75, and Coke and Diet Coke for Ł3.65 each. There was also a coronation chicken baguette for Ł7.50, Lemon and Blueberry Cake slice for Ł4.95, and Millionaire Cake that was the same price. It was a lovely meal in pleasant surroundings indoors.
After lunch, J and I headed to the shop at 1:12. K sat in a chair outside. Since Chatsworth is supposedly the inspiration for Pemberley and the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice (J's favorite) was filmed here, they really leaned it to in the shop. They also turned some of the old stalls into little areas dedicated to various goods. We did come home with a few things, but, not Darcy's bust, unlike J's friend.
Purchases made, we stopped by the restroom on our way to the bus. At 1:45, we were waiting at the bus stop in the car park (parking lot), when the sun appeared.
We saw folks across the road picknicking and sheep beyond. But, there was one sheep who seemed to be considering asking for a handout.
At 2, I paid Ł9.50 2 passes for the hop-on-hop-off bus through the Peak District. When we were on our way at 2:04, I got this great view of the house and its sheep.
Due to some issue with the line, we could not go as far as we'd intended and wound up getting off at 2:30 at Surprise View. There were quite a few cars in this car park, but few people visible. They must have been hiking. We crossed the road to go through a gate to the field. Signs remind folks to keep the gate closed, because while they let you hike around, they don't want their cattle out. So not what would happen in the States.
As part of this trip, I wanted to see what Lizzie Bennett would have seen had she existed. The Peak District, which is now a national park, was part of the trip with her aunt and uncle.
The views were not breathtaking, but quite enjoyable. We were in an area that was not an open field like we'd have our cattle and horses. The ground was quite uneven and there were no signs that cattle had been here in recent memory. The field did provide wonderful vistas. So, perhaps that is why this stop is "Surprise View".
While a national park, this land was the Longshaw Estate. Far in the distance, I could see the manor. Luckily, I have a great zoom on my camera.
Not terribly far away, we saw an outcropping of rocks. This reminded me of the rocks Lizzie climbed up in the 1995 BBC mini series. So, we decided to hike out there. The field had lots of wild flowers.
You really can't beat a boulder with flowers at its base.
There were several groups out at the rocks. A man was photographing his daughters doing various poses up on the high rocks. It was difficult to not get them in a photo, but I managed it. The rocks, or rather, boulders, were smooth and well-weathered. They would have been perfect stones for a giant to skim across a lake. They also lent themselves to dramatic photos. I really like the last one here.
In backing up to get a photo, I managed to fall on my pride. Really should have watched where I was walking.
A couple of final shots before we headed back to the fence and gate. Interesting promontory in the last one.
The trek back to the entrance was uneventful. We reached a gate that was closer than the original and used that. The gate was set such that you could just get through it. I don't know if it was to keep out bikes and motorcycles or to keep livestock in.
Now, instead of walking across grass in the field, we were on a narrow elevated dirt path along the row. J fell this time and, unfortunately, got a little cut.
At 3:05, we were on the bus on the Blue route back to Chatsworth and arrived at 3:35. It was a bit warmer than earlier, but mostly cloudy. We took the opportunity to use the restrooms outside of the gardens, before getting on the Red route for Bakewell at 3:50. It departed five minutes later.
We were let off at 4:12 in front of the Bakewell Visitor Centre. They had a shop and this turned out to be our best shot at getting postcards and stamps. During a chat at the register, we found out that the last bank branch in town had closed. They are basically moving to on-line and the use of cash has declined.
When we left, we found ourselves in a charming old town, seemingly made mostly of stone. The Rutledge Hotel is reputed to have hosted Jane Austen, who revised some of Pride and Prejudice while staying there and had visited Chatsworth.
At 4:50, we'd reached our intended destination to visit in the town- The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. There were people in the shop portion, but we were here to eat. We were happy to learn that the restaurant was still open and we climbed the stairs. There was no one else in the room and they seated us in the first table. I can't say that the service was very friendly. It wasn't nasty, but I had the feeling they felt put upon having us show up now. We ordered a Coke and 2 Diet Cokes to drink along with our Original Pudding Large (Ł13) and Original Tart Large (Ł8). Both were of the sweet variety and a small pitcher of cream came with them. The shop's website explains the difference:
The
Bakewell Pudding originated right here in Bakewell back in the 1800s.
It was created following a mishap by the cook at a local inn, who
misunderstood the recipe for a strawberry tart and ended up topping her
creation with a soft set almond custard ... This is the recipe we use to create the only original handmade Bakewell Puddings from today.
The
Pudding is the original creation; an indulgent dessert that has stood
the test of time. It comprises a buttery puff pastry case, topped with a
layer of seedless strawberry jam and finished with a soft set custard
of eggs, sugar and almonds. Our customers only have to try the Pudding
once for it to become a firm favourite!
The Bakewell Tart, on the other hand, was developed as a variant of the Pudding later in the 20th century.
The
Tart's base is made from sweet shortcrust pastry, which is then layered
with seedless strawberry jam and finished with a pale, fluffy
frangipane sponge filling of eggs, almonds and sugar.
The Bakewell Tart is best-known for being finished with a layer of white fondant icing and half a glace cherry, but we also produce varieties topped with toasted flakes almonds, lemon icing and chocolate icing. We even create a seasonal mince pie-inspired version!
We liked both, but I preferred the pudding. I think it was the fondant that was not what I wanted.
When we left at 5:30, the shop was closed. We took some time to walk to the park by the River Wye. Interestingly, to us, was the fact that there is a Wye River in Maryland, Keith's and my home state. The park was called the Riverside Garden. It was so pleasant to take in the Bakewell Bridge, which is a scheduled monument. Lots of birds on the river and the water near us was rather clear and not deep. Houses along the park were separated from it by a charming stone wall.
We headed back to the bus stop and at 5:50 we were on the #218 bus back to Shcffield. It cost just Ł2 each. At about 6:00, it made a stop at Chatsworth to pick up more folks. Then, we were off again.
At 6:55, we were off in the bus depot at Sheffield. We had a very nice view of the train station and its water features as we walked down a sloped walkway.
At 7:04, we were at Platform 8A for the 19:11 to Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Picadelly Circus. Our ticket was scanned, which it hadn't been for a while. We were on board at 7:10 and it left almost immediately. It was an uneventful trip.
When we arrived in Stockport at 7:55, we were surprised, but not shocked that J's bag still hadn't arrived. We were in our rooms by 8, where she contacted British Air yet again. I, meanwhile, had a bout of indigestion.
My phone claimed 12,798 steps for 4.2 miles and 2 floors.
No comments:
Post a Comment