Jewels of the Peak District National Park

This week we enjoyed a visit from one of the SP's cousins and her husband whom I had never met before and he hadn't seen for about 45 years.
They reside in Scotland and came down to Lancashire, in their moho, to visit her parents before crossing into Derbyshire to visit us.
After so many years there was a lot of catching up to do, reliving of childhood memories of time spent together and a renewed interest in the family's ancestry to compare notes on.
A box was unearthed and out came masses of old family photographs, birth, death and marriage certificates, all curated and handed down by my mother in law, to be copied and shared with other family members living around the UK.

Many stories were exchanged, (I certainly learned a lot about my in laws) there was much laughter and of course a few tears too.

We enjoyed visiting the gardens at Chatsworth together and they brought back a beautiful Chatsworth rose for our courtyard garden as a reminder of a lovely visit.

Yesterday the SP and I drove over to medieval Haddon Hall, a former residence of the Dukes of Rutland and now the home of the current Duke's brother, for the Early Summer Mercatum artisan market.
Despite a few spits and spots of rain and gloomy grey skies we enjoyed strolling through the grounds (like Chatsworth Haddon Hall itself is not yet open to the public following Covid - 19 guidelines) admiring the many varied crafts for sale.
Displaying a variety of skills we discovered wood turners and carpenters, photographers, soft furnishers, jewellers, cake makers, gin makers and organic veg sellers.

an amazing topiary in the gardeners garden
it's a hog!

A vintage yellow upcycled Citroen van and a very posh, state of the art, street food truck situated beneath the towering walls of the Hall were offering tasty artisanal food and beverages and soon had socially distanced queues (lines) of early morning visitors and exhibitors.

As a keen photographer myself I couldn’t resist bringing home some samples of the work of two artists that I met at the Mercatum, Phil Sprosson and Emma Clinton.

Highland Cow
by
Phil Sproson who lives and works in
the Peak District National Park

Sweet Peas in a jar notecards
by
Emma F Clinton
Fine Art Photography and Haiku Poetry

Linking once again to Mosaic Monday.
 # 90 this week!
Go Angie!
@ Letting go of the Bay Leaf

is summer here yet?

Although lockdown has eased a lot since my last post the weather has conspired to keep people indoors, which considering the enormous crowds that filled cities and towns across the UK when pubs and bars were allowed to reopen on the 4th July (Independence Day in more ways than one) has been a good thing.
Walking in Whitworth Park has now become a thing for us, we try and get down there at least a couple of times a week. There's always something new to see, on Friday we spotted artists by the lily pond.

Another good thing happened on Sunday when the sun did eventually show his face and my sister , nephews and niece to be came for a (socially distanced) visit.
Because they now all live together in one bubble they were able to come and see us and our new home at last.

We sat out in the garden for lunch until the lure of Formula One racing on the TV brought everyone indoors. Luckily we were still able to socially distance ourselves in the sitting room, they had a sofa and we had a sofa, no problem.
The big news from here is that I was finally able to go to the salon and get my hair cut!
As this was to be my first visit to a hairdresser in the UK for decades and the first post lockdown cut I chose the Toni & Guy salon in Buxton.
I knew I would be in safe hands there, their Covid 19 safety measures were faultless. A pared down appointment system (basically one in one out per stylist) disposable PPE kits for clients, staff were all wearing visors and here were hand sanitizers at reception, stylists workstations, in the loo and by the back wash area.

and I kept the curls!

A couple of final photos to share with you today, homemade lasagne from the Senior Partner's fair hand and a simple salad conjured up by me to go with it.

Ain't life grand!

Linking this post to Mosaic Monday #89 

with the intrepid (jungle fighter) Angie 

@ Letting go of the Bay Leaf

a walk in the park

Since we moved to Derbyshire in March we've not been able to go out and about to discover what our new county has to offer.
Now that lockdown has been almost completely lifted in the UK the Senior Partner and I have decided to begin discovering our new surroundings.

On Friday, still staying quite close to home, we went for a walk through Whitworth Park which is just down the hill from us in Darley Dale.
It was so interesting to walk around and see the pretty flower beds maintained by volunteers.

Here's a quick precis of Whitworth Park's History which I read about on the Whitworth Centre's website .
The Whitworth Institute and Gardens were opened to the public in 1890.
Sir Joseph Whitworth was a very successful Victorian industrialist who lived with his second wife Lady Louisa in Stancliffe Hall, Darley Dale.
They were married for 13 years and had great plans for improving the area. However, it wasn't until after his death that Lady Louisa was able to expand on her good works by disposing of his estate to the benefit of Darley Dale and surrounding parishes.

Today the 10 acre site includes a children's playground, including a zip wire (!); a football (soccer) pitch; tennis courts; cricket pitch;  Crown bowling green; ornamental pond; a monument and boating lake although the boathouse no longer stands.

After a good stroll around we decided to sit on a park bench for a while and admire the scenery, all was well until M'selle Fleur heard, from way across the park, the shot of a nail gun being used on a house renovation project. Away she flew towards the boating lake with the SP in hot pursuit, there was no stopping that girl so I headed in the opposite direction and managed to grab her by the collar as she rounded the bend. Panic over, and once again attached to a lead, we three proceeded slowly back to the car park.
Have you been on any new walks/hikes this week? Any adventures along the way? Would love to hear what's new in your neck of the woods.
Meanwhile, I'll link this post to Mosaic Monday #87 hosted by Angie @ Letting Go of the Bay leaf.
See you there!