Staycation Matlock

We had a bit of a broken night. Firstly it was freezing. It was raining when we got back from across the street at the Druids Inn.

As a side note I can thoroughly recommend the pub for its food, friendly welcome to us and Reggie.

For half the night we shared the bed with him. Then he went and either slept on the sofa or the floor in the lounge. Back again about 6.30am.

So as we were up we had breakfast and set off for our first port of call, Bakewell.

We parked on an island in the river Derwent. It's a big island.

The river was a raging torrent and earlier in the week had burst its banks. The flood barriers in evidence all along the walkways.

Of course, with no great sense of direction we walked the opposite direction to the town. As I had forgotten gloves on the trip we saw a Farm and Country shop - Torne Valley Limited, Haddon Road, Bakewell.

A real Alladin's Cave. Anything you might want they seemed to stock. Plenty of gloves. I bought a pair. They are really good and warm.

From there we retraced our steps into the town centre, and the pedestrian area.

We had a tour round to check out the Bakewell Pudding shops! There are a few and we decided on Bloomers of Bakewell. Claire went in and did the deed. I can blame her for any weight gain! 😁

We also had a couple of small pork pies. Lunch!

After a coffee where we sat out in the freezing cold as we didn't see the "dogs welcome" sign on the door, we returned to the car but not before another turn along the river side and the park.

Next stop Matlock.

A short trip down the A6 and into Matlock. A wait on the outskirts of Bakewell where they are replacing streetlights with eco ones. I wonder how long they will take to pay for themselves?

Then more roadworks just north of Matlock. These took longer. The reason? The were digging a layby for the bus to pull into.

Matlock itself is sort of okay. It doesn't have the spa town reputation of Matlock Bath just a mile or so away down the Derwent.

We parked up in the car park of the railway station. We had run out of cash and so I used my card. Seemed to work okay.

We ate our pork pies. Lovely.

Then set off for a walk. Firstly across to the station. The building now saved and used by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust as a café. A coffee between us and then with only 20 minutes left on the parking we walked down to the main town.

There are so many fish and chip shops! One part of the main street there are three next door to one another.

We had time to try and capture the sun glinting off the gondolas of the cable cars going up to the Heights of Abraham. I assume it was closed because they didn't move. The photos on the Moto don't look as expected. Rubbish in fact.

Once back in the car we set off back to The Stables. We took the roundabout drive to avoid the traffic jams at the roadworks.

It started to snow quite heavily on the way. At one point we could barely see where we were going. It has settled on the hills but not much around here.

When we got back it was only 2pm. Claire went to get the WiFi password and I took Reggie down the garden for his widdle.

Then it was time for a cup of tea and to eat one of the Bakewell Puddings.