Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We drove up from London to Manchester on 23/8/10. Mr GPS kept giving us alternative routes which we accepted so it took a little longer than expected....thank you Wendy and Diana for being so patient and feeding us at the end of our very long trip. Mike did comment that having a GPS was like having another voice in the car chipping at him..LOL. I think if we had changed the voice to female we would have got here quicker ;-)
Day 1
Our first stop was at Chatsworth House where the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live. An incredibly beautiful house and garden...with an interior full of beautiful art and furniture. Afterwards we sat in the rain and had a picnic.
We then went to a village called Eyam, famous for its association with the bubonic plague. We saw the house where the plague first hit and the church where the locals had gathered prior to the plague hitting. While there we watched some locals preparing the village Well Dressing. (An annual tradition to give thanks for the supply of water from wells.) We then drove to another village called Taddington whose Well Dressing was already complete....incredibly detailed and done with only natural materials in clay.
Day 2
Today we went to the National Coal Museum in Wakefield. First up the boys got to make a coal kart using straws and balloons...some were successful and some not! It was fun anyway. We then got to go down into a coal mine...140 metres down. We all put on our hard hats and took our lights...our guide showed us how mining has been done over the years. It was great fun and we all enjoyed the tour.
After tea Wendy and Diana had arranged for the boys to go for a ride on a Clydesdale horse. A really fun way to end a great day.
Day 3
We went off to the Quarry Bank Mill in Styal Estate, Wilmslow today. Another look at times past; spinning and weaving cotton. The boys got to have a go at weaving, dying fabric and writing with an ink pen. They also got to see how the children dressed, what they ate and the hours they worked in the 1800s. We had a fun day and finished off by having a meal with Wendy and Diana. Thank you both so much for your hospitality and for spoiling us so much. We were sad to leave and we promise....we will return :-) Could you also pass on our thanks to Stella and Ian, and Lionel and Laurie.
- comments
Oomp & Gram Hi once again. Everything looks to be a lot more relaxed for you in England.Gives you time to prepare for the next phase of your journey. We are spending our first day alone today, Andrew, Tania & kids left for home yesterday (saturday). They all seemed to really enjoy their time in NZ, kids included. Most of the first part of their holiday was spent in Auckland and traveling down thru the island. The last 7 days were spent looking around Wellington and relaxing. It was the usual crap seeing them off at the airport, someone should invent a standard seeing off routine ranging from 1 for short time holidays to 10 for god nows when we will see you again. We could then wave goodbye shouting out the appropriate number. I'm pleased you all enjoyed the coal mine experience but you wouldn't get me going that far underground. We are looking forward to hearing about and seeing photos of your seafaring journey on the canal. What a great way to travel to see part of the country. The boys looked to be enjoying their horse riding, watch out the next thing on the list of things to get when they get home isn't a pony. The dinner at Jamie & Ryans went down very well. A great time had by all. We didn't last the full journey but I believe there was a bit of karaoke after we left. Give our love to everyone over there (family only)we will be in touch again soon, whether by blog or skype (ha ha). ps. I see Lamb Chop has made his reappearance. O & G. xxxxx
Catriona Hi Oomp and Gram Well we've survived the canal boat. Some of us found it harder than others.....me in particular. It was very cute and fun to start with but I did miss the hot showeres, unlimited water and hair dryer. The boys all had fun....Jack and Ben did the locks for Mike and they were very helpful when mooring the boat, using the ropes to pull us in etc. We went through Bath yesterday which was lovely and today we're driving back to London via Stonehenge. Glad to hear Andrew and Tanias stay went well...bet the time passed really quicky for them. Lots of love to all xxxx