(Lori - Sept 19-20)

We've just spent two nights/one day in the Sheffield area, staying with the parents of Andy & Joanne West. They've been very kind & gracious - I especially loved the big hug Mary gave me upon arriving Monday night (hours later than we had expected!)

Sheffield itself, home to the knife company, is rather a big city with lots of red brick homes in subdivisions & cul-de-sacs. There are still loads of parks & green spaces everywhere. We spent the day yesterday roaming around in the Peak District, which is a national park with many castle ruins and hilly public footpaths for walking along.

We explored Castelton, a small hamlet which has an excellent tourist interpretive centre giving history of the area. Although we didn't investigate, there are several caves & caverns in the area. What we did explore was Puervil Castle - the ruins of which lie on a hill high above the hamlet itself. It was built in the late 1000's/early 1100's for William, the illegitimate son of William the Conqueror. It later became a royal place of interest for visiting, though not frequent (it is off the beaten track being more northerly than the other favourite royal haunts like Bath) . It's position gives a wide view of the valley below, so that intruders or any hostile armies or peasant uprisings can be seen well in advance & the lords or other royals can be alerted. When its military advantages were no longer useful, the Castle became a hunting lodge. Over the centuries, it fell into disuse & by the end of the 1400's was abandoned. The best thing about these ruins is that you can walk all about & up the winding staircase in what's remaining of the "keep" ( a tower used for protection & lookout) and touch anything of which you are curious! The view from the top was spectacular - as we sat enjoying the panorama before us the clouds lifted from the surrounding mountains (which are among the highest peaks in England, but are approximately half the size of Grouse Mountain)

We hiked down into the village for tea - and a steak slice for me (a type of yummy pastry packet with sliced steak & a bit of gravy inside.) Fortified, we moved onto Digsley, about midway up the Peak District on the west side. The draw here was a sprawling estate now part of the National Trust, called Lyme Estate. It would be more recognizable to many as "Pemberley," the home of Mr Darcy in the BBC series of Pride & Prejudice. We parked and walked up the landscaped stairwell to the main entrance, only to discover Mr Darcy himself was not home to receive us;however, the housekeeper invited us to perambulate the gardens! It was absolutely lovely - the home belonged to the Legh family, who had it in their family for about 600 years, til 1996, when they gave it to the National Trust "for the enjoyment & education" of many. We had arrived just after the last admission before closing, so were not able to stroll the extensive grounds - which the map indicated were far reaching indeed- but contented ourselves walking through a couple of the landscaped gardens close to the house, and of course, drinking in the tranquility of the lovely lake (which is in back of the grand home, not the actual front.) Despite the lateness of our entry, I was able to run (truly, run...) round the far side of the lake to snap a photo of the breath taking view that captures Elizabeth's admiration as she & her aunt & uncle drive up to the estate to have their own poke around! How fun!

Our drive back to Sheffield through the valleys & winding roadways in the Peak was lovely - only challenging when we neared Sheffield & somehow got turned around in our directions. We were only a little lost (as we knew we were close to home), spending about a half hour, in the evening darkness, navigating our way - we only stopped twice for directions - but people were very helpful! A satisfying dinner at a pub capped the evening. The interesting thing about this pub was that it is part of a pub "chain" - the food was good, but the place itself was like a large family restaurant. Indeed, family specials abounded, and we sat with Wallace & Grommit for our meal (well, actually, only their photographed likeness.) We walked back to the Wests, where Mary made us a comforting "cuppa" before we turned in.

Today is promising to be another beautiful day for rambling. As I write at 7 a.m. the birds are twittering their morning greetings & the sun has risen (though last night's glorious sunset did hint today would be great weather!) We are off for a couple days in the Lake District, which we hear is also fantastic!