Staycation Matlock - Day 1
Set off a little before 11am for the proposed 4h30m drive north to the Peak District and our stay for the next 4 nights at the Stable at Druids Farm in Birchover. With the car packed up we set off on a route to avoid the Dartford Crossing. This entailed the M20/M26/M25/M40/M42. We had a stop for Reggie to have a pee and we got a coffee. Plus a Slimming World busting biscuit. Both between us. Once we got onto the M42 after pretty much a cruise-control run from home, it all ground to a stop, then stop/start. Nissan Navigation seemed to try and avoid the traffic and instead took us up some dead end seeming road. In the end we made it to the M42 further up. Southbound was solid for miles. We made a second stop at Tamworth Services. A chance for all three of us to have a widdle, and for the humans to get something to eat from M&S. We then had a magical mystery tour via Burton upon Trent and then to Derby. The back roads to Birchover took us along quite a few roads where we sa...