A school October holiday meant we had 3 days to spend in the Peak District. I imagined lovely walks in the stunning landscape, followed by Bakewell puddings. What I hadn’t planned on was named storm Babet and the area we were visiting near Chesterfield badly affected. Thankfully the cottage we had booked was unaffected. We stayed not far from Matlock and Bakewell in a rural little hamlet.
I managed to negotiate the debris filled, waterlogged roads, until we turned down a tiny country road to lead us to our destination. That is when I stopped the car, handed the keys to my Husband and got out to swap seats. A ‘puddle’ was right across the road and at that point I’d had enough. Minutes later we pulled up in front of our cute cottage, a former Sunday school and in we settled for a few days.
Despite the weather we still had fun. Here’s what we got up to:
Heights of Abraham – Matlock
A cable car ride takes you to a 6o acre estate with two caverns, woodland trails and exhibitions. As you can see from the photos the view was a little more magical than anticipated with the swirling fog! The caves were really interesting and we had a lovely lunch with a view. We enjoyed our time but suited to younger families who can enjoy the playgrounds. Having said that the eldest still tried the slide!
Top tip – there’s a 20% discount for NHS workers. We pre-booked for lunch as it gets busy.
Matlock Farm Park
Just up the road from our cottage was Matlock Farm Park, so we braved a wet walk on local footpaths to get there. A little wilder in places as the foliage was higher than our heads!
The farm park was all decked out for their Halloween festival. We enjoyed wandering around to see the animals, including my favourite alpacas. You can even walk them. Tyrone my alpaca was not impressed with my halter skills and didn’t really fancy a photo. In the woodland was a Halloween trail with spooky characters. Despite us not being the aimed at demographic, the actors still tried super hard to stay in character! Definitely one for young families.
Tips: We paid £54 for a family ticket.
Haddon Hall
Haddon hall is situated just outside Bakewell in Derbyshire. It’s a stunning historical house that you enter having walked over a little bridge over the river Wye. The house has a medieval banqueting hall that is said to have hosted Henry VIII and a medieval chapel with fresco’s dating from the 15th century. We enjoyed a wander around and the fantastic guides really brought the place alive with their knowledge of the house.
Tips: Blue Light card holders can get discounted entry. We enjoyed lunch in the stable block at Haddon Restaurant with lots to choose from and some amazing looking cakes.
Our few days away might not have been the lovely walks we had planned, however, we did find things to do and enjoyed our time in the Peak District. We’ll just have to go back with the walking boots another time!
I’ve received no incentives from sharing our adventure. If you visit let me know!