What with it being July and all we decided to wander up to the centre of England - Derbyshire and the Peak District. Specifically the Derwent Valley, as K wanted to have a good look at the textiles mills and associated history in that area. The Derwent Valley Mills have been designated a World Heritage site. The valley itself runs for about fifteen miles from Matlock Bath to Derby. It contains some of the world's first 'modern' factories as well as many mill complexes.
Monday
We left home at about eleven o'clock and headed north on the M5 motorway. Stopping at Gloucester Services (shiny and new - also buried in the hillside) to use the loo and get a bit of fuel. The weather wasn't great, mostly overcast with the odd bit of rain. We were heading for the Ashbourne Camping and Caravanning Club site, which is between Ashbourne and Belper. We had decided not to take the bikes as the weather forecast wasn't great, and so we intended to use the van to get about. Stopping at Tamworth (where we used to live) for a short break, we casually made our way to the destination.
We arrived just after three thirty and were assigned a flat and level pitch fairly close to the amenities block. One of the great things about having a motorhome is that it takes just a few minutes to get set up. We have watched people arrive in caravans who have taken, quite literally, two hours to get themselves to a state where they were ready to do something other than set up. If you are of the camping fraternity you will know that watching people arrive on site can be a major occupation. It can be quite fun seeing all the paraphernalia that some people feel that they need to bring when they are away. This time we saw someone with a six foot tall birdcage set up in their caravan awning. Not the first time we have seen birds. I remember a particularly vocal parrot waking us up at five thirty am on a trip to Dorset once. All we needed to do was plug in to the mains, and that was it - something of a disappointment for all the people watchers around us.
It turns out that although the camp has several good walks around it - of the hiking variety - there was no where that the casual walker could really saunter off to (the nearest pub - The Nag's Head - was over a mile and a half away). We didn't want to drive off again - having just got there, so we sat and planned what we would do for the next day until it was time to eat. I had brought quite a bit of food with us, so we dined on pork, new potatoes and broccoli. Then we read some more, watched a recorded file from my laptop, then went to bed.
Tuesday
A gentle start led us to leave the camp by about eleven o'clock. We headed towards Belper, then took the road to Wirksworth. We were heading for Cromford, and the Masson Mills built by Richard Arkwright in 1783. As we passed through Wirksworth K spotted a sign for the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway - so we had to pay a visit.
We found out that there were trains running that day - down to the station at Duffield, where one could connect with the national rail network if one chose so to do. We thought that just a round trip might be fun - so we bought some tickets (asking the price first might have been an idea, mind - £26.00), and wandered around waiting for the train to go. Off to platform two, and into the 1957 carriage that would take us to Duffield.
We had to pass through several railway crossings - each one opened by hand by one of the guardsmen from the train. The trip took about half an hour - but really about twenty minutes when you add in waiting for the crossings.
When we arrived at Duffield it decided to rain very hard, so after a brief sojourn from the train, we re-boarded and sat to have the packed lunch that we had brought with us. Half an hour went by, then we headed back to Wirksworth.
Returning to Wirksworth, the sun came out, and so we wandered around, looking at the old rolling stock, and at exhibits that the railway society had in old carriages.
Back in the van, avoiding the large puddles, and on to Cromford down country roads - to find that there was no way that I could get the van into Masson Mills car park, so I drove on to Matlock Bath and waited in the van whilst K went into the Tourist Information Centre to ask about motorhome parking. As it turns out, we ended up parking close to Cromford Canal, and walked the ten minutes or so up to the Masson Mills complex. We were interested in the working mill - not the attached shopping complex, so we paid our three pounds and took up the self-guide leaflet to start the tour.
It was well worth the money - and we spent a long time walking around and looking at the equipment and environs. Amazing technology. I was particularly impressed by the Jacquard Looms - seeing examples of what they could produce, and being able to get 'up close and personal' with the machinery was amazing.
Lots of other amazing machinery - the bale breaker, the carding machine, the doublers - all still in working condition - and still being used! There was free wifi in the mill, and most exhibits and machines had QR codes on them which, when scanned, led to a site with lots of extra info on what you were looking at. Very modern, very good.
We left the mill just as it was closing and nipped next door into the complex cafe for a coffee and some cake (blueberry muffin for me, lemon meringue tart for K - she left the pastry base - what with it not being gluten free).
The weather was holding, so we strolled back to the van and decided which way to return the the campsite. Going via Belper seemed an idea, so that's what we did. We sat outside in the sun for a while before showering and eating etc. As the rain came back and settled in for the night (and all of the next day, as it turned out) we nestled in the van, listening to episodes of 'Old Harry's Game' yet again.
Wednesday
As the rain didn't stop until about five o'clock in the afternoon, we effectively had a 'day off'. Stayed in and around the van all day. K did lots of sewing and listening to Jane Austen stories. I played around with the van's TV aerial system - trying to get a signal. I tried every combination of lead, direction, booster, device - to no avail. It's not that I wanted to watch TV - we never do when we are away, the screen has a built in DVD player - we sometimes watch DVDs using that. It's just that I wanted to get a signal. Once achieved, I would have put it all away again, happy. I didn't achieve it - so this makes me determined to take the aerial system apart we we get home to look for problems. Maybe looking up how the 'Status' aerial booster is supposed to work may help.....
When the rain did stop, the skies lightened, and we sat outside for a while. These are from a nature walk within the Ashbourne campsite:
Thursday
Decided to spend the day at the National Tramway Museum at Crich, so after breakfast etc. we set off and wound our way through some interesting country roads and villages until we reached Crich. All thoughts of how inappropriate the approach was for us in our van were dispelled when I saw that there was a coach park - with coaches in it. This means that they must have also negotiated the twists and turns of the roads leading to the museum. We found a space at the end of the coach rank, and made our way to the entrance. For the entrance fee (£14.00 at the time), you get unlimited free tram rides, and free entrance for a year, should you choose to return.
The site itself is an old quarry. Here is some info taken from Wikipedia about the site: 'George Stephenson, the great railway pioneer, had a close connection with Crich and the present tramway follows part of the mineral railway he built to link the quarry with Ambergate.
While building the North Midland Railway from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds, Stephenson had found rich coal seams in the Clay Cross area and he saw a new business opportunity. Crich was already well known for the quality of the limestone and Stephenson recognised that he could use the local coal and limestone to produce burnt lime for agricultural purposes, and then utilise the new railway to distribute it. Cliff Quarry, where Crich Tramway Village is now located, was acquired by Stephenson's company and to link the quarry with the limekilns he had built alongside the new North Midland Railway at Ambergate, Stephenson constructed a metre gauge line - apparently the first metre gauge railway in the world.
While building the North Midland Railway from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds, Stephenson had found rich coal seams in the Clay Cross area and he saw a new business opportunity. Crich was already well known for the quality of the limestone and Stephenson recognised that he could use the local coal and limestone to produce burnt lime for agricultural purposes, and then utilise the new railway to distribute it. Cliff Quarry, where Crich Tramway Village is now located, was acquired by Stephenson's company and to link the quarry with the limekilns he had built alongside the new North Midland Railway at Ambergate, Stephenson constructed a metre gauge line - apparently the first metre gauge railway in the world.
In the period after the Second World War, when most of the remaining British tramways were in decline or actually closing, the first event in the history of the National Tramway Museum took place. A group of enthusiasts on a farewell tour of Southampton Tramways in August 1948 decided to purchase one of the open top trams on which they had ridden. For the sum of £ 10 they purchased number 45 – now the doyenne of the tramcar collection at the Crich Tramway Village. From this act of faith – at the time there were no heritage railways, museums tended to be of dull glass cases and the idea of amateurs running a tramway or railway seemed incredible – grew the idea of a working museum devoted to operating tramcars. From the original group developed the Tramway Museum Society, established in 1955, incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1962, and recognised as an educational charity in 1963. Over the years, the Society has drawn its members from men and women of all age groups and all sectors of the community, working together in different ways to create the tramway museum.' (from Wikipedia)
It was an interesting place - and would be great if you had children with you - as there is lots to do and see. The tram rides themselves are about a mile long, and take you past some stops - one near a bandstand with picnic tables and a lawned area, one near an explanation of the quarry and how it once worked - with implements and machinery from the time. The turnaround point (where you have to move your seat backs to the other position), is close to a walk up to the hill above the quarry - from where spectacular views over the surrounding countryside may be had. we didn't do this, but stayed on the tram. We had two return rides on the trams, a look at the various exhibitions that they have there. We also looked at the tram sheds, and visited the workshops, where the restoration of trams is still taking place.
All of the buildings currently in the museum have either been built from scratch, or taken from somewhere else - with the exception of the Smithy's Forge buildings, which was there when the quarry was active - repairing and making the tools for the quarrymen. We had lunch in the Red Lion Pub - and I had a pint of 'Tramway Ale' - especially brewed for the museum. The Pub itself used to be in Stoke on Trent - but when it was due to be demolished for a new road system it was taken apart, and rebuilt at it's current site.
After a look at the printing shop and it's presses, also on the site, the old fashioned sweet shop, the Assembly Rooms - which had been moved brick by brick from Derby, and the Restaurant, we returned to the van (via the gift shop) and made our way to Belper, hoping to have a look at Strutt's Mill.
Being brave and parking in the car park next to the mill, we ventured in and spoke to the lady at the desk - the time was about three twenty, and she told us that they closed at four - so it would mean taking things at a bit of a rush, and without a guide.
We decided to return the next morning, and so went for a stroll Through Belper River Gardens, which were very nice, and then through Belper itself, in search of wine to accompany that evening's meal.
Friday
We arrived at the mill about twenty minutes after it opened, and took the people there by surprise, it seemed. We paid our,very reasonable, entrance fee and sat to watch a short film about the history of the mill. This information can be found by following this link. After the film, our Guide, Barry, took us on a tour of the mill and explained at length about the history of the mill and of Belper, and showed examples of the machinery and devices involved in the creation of cotton thread, cloth, and artifacts.
The construction of the mill was very innovative, and these features were pointed out to us. For more information, follow the link in the paragraph above. Things like terracotta pot floors and 'fireproof' construction, as well as a way of using steel columns resting on stone piers of locally quarried limestone. This catered for the vibration set up in the mill by it's machinery, and the columns could be 'tensioned' by driving opposing steel wedges set up at the base of each column.
At the end of our trip to the mill we paused in the gift shop, where K bought some old bobbins, to chat to the very friendly people at the reception desk. Then we drove to a car park near the start of the Cromford Canal, where we sat outside on a bench and had lunch in the sunshine. The canal was built in the 1790s to provide transport from Cromford and it's surrounds. It is now a site of special scientific interest for its entire length.
After lunch we wandered into the Cromford Mills Complex, built by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1771. It was the world's first successful water powered cotton spinning mill.
The site is currently under development, and the Arkwright Society have a 'master plan' as to how things will go. We had a wander around Cromford itself, looking at some of the buildings that came into being as a result of the siting of the mill here. We had a drink at the Greyhound Hotel, which Arkwright had built in 1778 to accommodate businessmen and the many visitors to his mill. It incorporated a bank, and a clock. We also found some ancient pigsties, the village lock up, the pond, and a street of houses built by Arkwright for his workers, with extra windows on the top floor to provide light for weaving or spinning.
Returning to the van, we headed back to the site, where we sat in the sun for a while and contemplated the day, and the fact that we would be heading home tomorrow.
Saturday
Up and out by ten o'clock. We set course for Packwood House - a National Trust Property that, whilst not exactly on our way home, was close to our route.
It was very good, and we spent a while looking around the house and gardens before having lunch in the cafe. Interesting yew trees which had been sculpted to look like pillars - but I saw them more as Sentinels guarding the lawns - from what I don't know.
Upon leaving we made good time, and arrived home at about five thirty.
