On the Thursday before last (27th July) we headed up to the Peak District with the kids, our trusty tent & our friends H & I. We had decided to see a different part of the country; normally we had down to Dorset, but we've kind of exhausted free & cheap days out there, so we decided to try somewhere new.
We hoped for good scenery and warm weather; one out of two wasn't bad. We stayed on a campsite outside Ashbourne (Callow Top) which was brilliant. The fields were well-kept, the facilities were clean, and the bars were reasonably-priced. There was an outdoor pool which kept the kids occupied when we weren't out and about, and if it had been down to them I'm sure we would have stayed on the campsite for the entire stay, and they would have stayed in the pool for the whole five days.
We got off to a bad start, in that I forgot to set the alarm for Thursday morning. TW had agreed with H&I that we would set off at 05:00, so I should have set the alarm for 04:30. Unfortunately I went to sleep before setting the alarm, and so we didn't wake up until ten to six. Still, we were on the road by 06:10, so that wasn't too bad. We were at the campsite by midday, and set up at a leisurely pace. We had a Tesco delivery booked for 3pm, and that raised a few eyebrows when it arrived, although quite a few of those were raised in appreciation.
On Friday morning we took a walk into Ashbourne and had a look around; it's quite a nice little town, although it seems to be swamped with heavy lorries. I was speaking to my Dad and he suggested that the drivers may be attempting to avoid the M5, but for whatever reason the number of large lorries certainly seemed disproportionate. We got back to the campsite, and then the rain set in. It rained for the rest of the day, while we tried to stay dry in H&I's trailer tent. The weather was a bit wearing; if someone had suggested we leave the tents where they were and we check into a Travelodge, I would have bitten their hand off. But we persevered, and the weather for the rest of the stay wasn't as bad. Unfortunately, though, because of the way we'd pitched the tent, there was a lot of water caught between the tent footprint and the groundsheet, to the extent that the tent seemed to be floating atop a lake, and water was coming up through the groundsheet and soaking the carpet. There was nothing we could do at that time, so we slept on it.
Saturday morning the weather was better, and the lake under the tent had dissipated, so things looked better. We moved the tent forward and removed the footprint to let it dry and give the remaining water a chance to soak away. We decided to actually visit a couple of peaks on that day (otherwise what would be the point of visiting the Peak District?) and so we drove to Mam Tor. We took a bit of a wrong turning and ended up driving through a beautiful, dramatic gorge - it was worth taking a wrong turning to see that, and TW at the time said that this was the sort of scenery she wanted to see in the Peak District. Mam Tor is a two-hour walk from Kinder Scout, which we were thinking about walking to, but it was already 1pm by the time we got to the top of Mam Tor, and I didn't fancy getting back at 5pm. In addition, we weren't properly prepared, I wasn't wearing proper walking boots (The Eldest had appropriated them) and we didn't have enough water and snacks to see us there and back. The views from Mam Tor were breathtaking enough though, so I don't feel that we missed out. Maybe next time...
Saturday evening everything was fine, except that H managed to slip down the step from her trailer tent into the tent, and she caused some ligament damage. H&I had to spend Saturday night in Derby A&E while we looked after their kids and had a barbecue. Saturday night the rain came down again, but we were fine overnight, and there wasn't any water ingress this time.
Sunday we visited the stepping stones at Ilam, which was quite the walk after the previous day's exercise. The stepping stones were the culmination of a lovely walk along the river, although I found it a bit unnerving having to cross them - but that was the only way around. After that walk, we headed back to the campsite for some lunch and then drove into Derby. The girls were silent for the 45 / 50 minute drive, and I think they were just worn out from the hike up to Mam Tor the previous day and the trek to the stepping stones - and back! We went to Go Outdoors first for a good look around - there's nothing like going to a camping store while you're camping, it's like camping². Then we hit Pizza Express, and that was when the girls perked up a bit. They probably just needed refuelling...
On Monday we stuck around the campsite, and in the evening we had fish and chips from Ashbourne. They were delicious. And then on Tuesday it was time to head home...
It was a good holiday, despite a few unfortunate events. H's ligament damage being the most inconvenient of those. The flooding of the tent was up there, and we managed to burn the clutch in our car on the way to Callow Top as well. I lost track of which day was which - always a good sign that I'm relaxed, and the campsite was brilliant. The scenery was memorable, and I'd recommend the area, it's lovely.
TTFN.
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