We left York on Wednesday morning under overcast skies and headed south on the A1. On the way to our hotel in Chesterfield we stopped at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire.
Although originally built in the 12th century, the Little Castle that is seen today was built in the 17th century by Charles Cavendish and his son William who completed it as a “Pleasure Palace”.
Some of the ornate rooms have been restored and give a glimpse of his life. Cavendish was a passionate horseman and had an indoor equestrian centre attached to the stables. The buildings for the horses were as large and grand as for the people living here.
The rain had started falling during our visit here and it made today one of the least pleasant weather wise although it did not stop us enjoying the castle.
On to our hotel for the night which turned out to be a beautiful early 1800’s building with large gardens that hosted many weddings (including one today). It was only rated 3 star although our room was much nicer and larger than our previous night’s 4 star accommodation. After dinner in their restaurant and an early night we were awoken by the fire alarm at 3am. Turns out the groom set off the alarm by mistake!
No rain on Thursday so we drove into the Peak District and had lunch by the stream at the medieval market town of Bakewell. After admiring the many stone buildings and resisting the Bakewell tarts and puddings we then stopped at Ashford-in-the-Water to see the well dressing. In this ancient custom unique to Derbyshire, 6 wells in the town are “dressed” with artwork made with flowers or petals.
