05-Oct-2025
Today, we headed out of this county, which has been our home for just over a week.
Our primary reason for being here is to visit family. But Derbyshire is a remarkably rich area, so there's always new stuff to experience, as well as the tried and tested to enjoy one more time.
Haddon Hall was undoubtedly the highlight of the week, but there were plenty of other things to savour.
Here are some firsts:
This was the first time we'd walked the whole length of Ripley's Greenway, once the site of a coalmine and railway
This is Himalayan balsam. We were thinking: Oh, how beautiful, and taking its picture, but actually it's a pest, and smothers local vegetation... You can't always trust a pretty face
This is a bit of a cheat, because IKEA is actually just over the border in Nottinghamshire. But this was our first experience of their excellent marinated salmon
First time at The Dog in Pentrich. The best Caesar salad ever, featuring (as I kept pointing out to my fellow-diners) REAL anchovies
Another pub that was new to us: The Excavator, in Ambergate
This is their southern-style fried chickenburger, minus the bun
And here are some not-firsts-but-always-enjoyables:
Early morning in Ripley
More of Ripley's fine red brick
Sussing out the new Christmas trends is always fun. Inflatable Santas are big, it seems
Come on, who could fail to find these guys adorable?
Christmas chillies, anyone?
Every year I find myself photographing these awesome trees in Ripley's Crossley Park
Traffic-light trees on another route through Ripley
Back in Denby Village, which is John Flamsteed country
Denby also does autumn colour and striking red brick
So, that was all in the bit of Derbyshire that's slowly becoming quite familiar.
Today, on our way to the Isle of Man, however, we popped in at another Derbyshire destination. Way north of Matlock, Bakewell, or even Buxton, sits Glossop. In a suburb of which, named Hadfield, one of my favourite writers was born. Drum-roll for Hilary Mantel (1952-2022), whose Wolf Hall trilogy absolutely awed me.
It's beautiful country up round here:
This is where we paused to picnic en route
First, we took a quick look at Glossop proper:
Fabulous lion...
The topography is stunning
Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022) was born just outside Glossop
And just along the wall is Mantel's mural, completed very recently
All in all, a very attractive town (although something of a martyr to Sunday traffic)
In Hadfield, slightly north and west of the centre of Glossop, you can still find the house where Mantel spent her first 11 years (see here for an account of some of her earliest memories of the area). The address is No 20, Brosscroft, which we tried to photograph discreetly, as it's still someone's home:
Hadfield is also the start of the Longdendale Trail. For 6.5 miles, this track runs along part of the former Woodhead railway, which once connected Manchester and Sheffield. We didn't have time to cover many of those miles, but it's definitely a scenic route:
So... Thanks, Derbyshire. You're always rewarding, and we'll certainly be back for more...