I've been away. Admittedly it was only for a weekend but I seem to be behind with everything now, including blogging, so this will be the first of a few catchup posts. 

During the May bank holiday weekend we went on a birthday bash with a big group of friends to the Peak District. Now this isn't very far from where we live, although it took about 50 or so minutes to get there, unlike some of our party who were travelling from Suffolk, Bristol, Leeds, Lincolnshire and so on. We ventured into the county of Staffordshire to stay at Hamps Hall in  the village of Waterfall which is not very far from Ashbourne - think of popular Peak District places like Dovedale, Tissington, and Ilam. The first day we walked along the Manifold Way which used to be a railway line and is now a walking and cycling track. Not ideal for walkers with all the bikes whizzing by, but the wild flowers and blossom are absolutely stunning at this time of year. It did start out as a bit of tea shop crawl as we stopped twice for tea, but then headed back over the hills to our accomodation. The rain held off (mostly), and our total distance was clocked at 10.4 miles. I was wearing a brand new pair of boots so it could have been at bit disastrous, not to mention painful (for me)  but the boots were super comfy.....phew. No photo's of the walk though - too busy chatting!

The next day we went to Sudbury Hall, a National Trust house south of Derby. It is a beautiful house and also has the Museum of Childhood. The museum had toys of yesteryear - we were all saying "Did you have one of those?" "Can you remember this?" The house itself was impressive, as much for it's age and the condition of the interior. I thought the mouldings on the ceiling in the main hall were brilliant - I'd love to try making something like this in textile form. Hmmmm, must tuck this thought away for a time when I have more time.

Our last morning we went for another walk, this time on the Tissington trail. This is another cycle/walking trail and was far too busy with the bikes so we escaped the trail and headed back over the fields through Tissington village.  I loved the boot planters - a bit past their best for walking!