uk roadtrip part 7: lyme park



On our way from Hathersage to Manchester, we had such a marvellous afternoon at Lyme Park (yes - Pemberley in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice, for those of you who are interested in that kind of info :)). We met up with Rachel there for what we thought would be some touristing around the house and grounds, but which, as you can see, became more than just traditional touristing. :)



Liam and Rachel before the transformation! :)



This is the entrance hall - isn't it lush? As we were going in, Rachel told us that pre-pandemic, you were able to dress up in regency era clothes at Lyme Park, but that she didn't know if that was possible now. It was already afternoon when we got there, so we decided to go up to the dressing room right away.


Turns out that yes - you were absolutely still able to dress up! It was delightful, they had a room full of clothes and accessories, and volunteers helped us pick out the things (and told Liam in what order to put things on - he had so many layers!). And then we were able to walk around the house and grounds in the clothes!!!

It was JUST SO DELIGHTFUL. And SO FUN. It's actually hard to describe what was so cool about the experience - it's "just clothes" after all - but just walking around looking and feeling like this was so ... not ordinary.


I cut the feet off of all the photos as we were wearing modern shoes and it kind of detracted from the feel of the photos. :) (There were shoes we could have borrowed, but you're not allowed to go outside in them, so we chose our own shoes this time.)


Rachel is the cutest <3


We snuck into the orangery for some photos too.


I MEAN


HOT STUFF

We had to hurry back to the dressing room after only a little while, as that room had an earlier closing time than the rest of the house. But next time we'll plan better, and arrive in the morning, and spend all day just floating around the house and gardens in these clothes! And I will take millions more photos! (These were kind of rushed, and you know I always want to take my time. )


So after returning the clothes (and swooning some more over Liam because like ... I don't know what this magic was, but all the friends I showed the photos to agreed that "you all look great, but Liam! It's like he was made for these clothes!") we did the more traditional bit of walking around the house and looking at all the beautiful rooms. I wouldn't mind a library like this ...


... with a reading nook like this.





Wallpaper goalz


A decent view from one of the windows.





"... for the health, education and delight of the people" ... I love that. What else can one want?


Then we had scones with jam and clotted cream. Obvs.


Goodbye Lyme Park! You're lovely. I'll come back soon.

uk roadtrip part 6: hathersage



After Swing Revs, we went to Hathersage! In the Peak District, that is. During our last long UK trip, last summer, we sprinkled two hotel nights - one in the Lake District, one in Northumberland - into the trip, and it was SO great. Being hosted with friends and family is wonderful - and spending time by ourselves is also wonderful, especially in the middle of a long trip like this. So we figured we'd repeat that this time. We knew we were heading to Manchester after Leeds, so the Peak District made sense. And Hathersage? That's just because we lived at Hathersage Road when we lived in Manchester, so that was a name that popped out on the map, and then I found a cute hotel there. :)


The drive there was quite moody! Just look at that tower ruin in the distance!


Here's where we stayed!


The George was a great find, I'd totally go back.


But first an afternoon snack at the tea room next door. By afternoon snack I mean something like pancakes. Liam apparently means a full English, for the second time that day. :)


Then I went out for a little walk while Liam rested.




It wasn't my best choice of walk. Very muddy. I had boots on so it was fine in that sense, but it's just such slooow walking.


Should you really be on that side of the fence, friends? :)


When I got to the stepping stones I realised the water was to deep for me to cross safely (or at least I would have wanted walking poles and my actual proper hiking boots like when crossing fords in the mountains). That was stupid, I should have thought about before I crossed the bridge much further down ... So now I couldn't go back across, and I wasn't very keen on heading all the way back to the bridge I crossed an hour earlier.


So in the end I left the path and walked up to the nearest road and called Liam, who came and picked me up. :) I could have walked the long way back, but I would have missed dinner, and I decided it wasn't worth it. Don't make my mistake, hikers! Remember that water levels are higher in spring ...


Anyway, we made it back in time for dinner and I was HUNGRY.


But happy!


We had veggie Sunday roast of course, and it was fine but maybe a bit bland.


And then we plonked ourselves promptly into bed with Percy Pigs and watched Grand Designs. :)


Good morning!


The hotel breakfast was lush.


I had time for a quick walk after breakfast. Hathersage is a really cute place! And this little walk in the sun definitely made up for the gloomy, muddy path I'd chosen the day before.



Loved this sign.






After my walk it was time to get going on our next adventure ...


... which took us past this view ...



... and through this pretty neat pass. And then we ended up at Lyme Park! But more on that next time!

Angelique Kidjo | Agolo