spending the weekend with old things.
Aug. 27th, 2012 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gfrancieSaturday it was deemed that no travel would be done by car. Instead we took the kids and climbed up a considerably steep hill to Peveril Castle. (or at least the remains of said castle) I had told Senor Onion we would see a real castle and he was totally wowed by this idea. I suspect he might be a future history nerd of one kind or another. (this will likely make his Aunti Kiki's heart burst with joy) As we climbed this hill with a switch-back trail, we noticed some sheep hanging out like it wasn't a big deal. This seems to be a theme in this part of the country. The sheep are pretty free-range and where there is grass (no matter how remote, steep, and potentially danger-making) they will be there. Eventually we reached the top. It was worth the climb for there were all kinds of interesting ruins and a heck of a view. The basic history is that one of William the Conqueror's bastard children (of which were there many) was given the land, he built this castle high up on this peak. (prior to bastard Normans populating the joint, it was one of those bronze/iron age forts, because those folks like everyone else liked a good high point to watch for enemies) There was originally an outer and inner bailey. To access the inner bailey, (where we were) there was a wooden bridge that went across a considerable drop. (near a cavern) Useful for dropping enemies over I bet. Then Henry II came about and said, "That... I will have that." And he founded a keep -which still remains. By the 1300s, they were using the place as a source of scrap, so it has been a ruin for a good long time. There are spiral staircases, the remains of a new hall, a fireplace, and a couple of garderobes. You can always amuse children with the sight of ancient toilets. The kids climbed over things, looked for treasure (this is what happens when you read Famous Five books to Senor Onion) and generally have a lovely time. Later we went and found an American diner to eat at for lunch. Mostly for the giggle factor. There was the hope that they might have a half-way decent milkshake. Oh England, you try. You do try. I watched the girl make the milkshake and I wanted to get up and offer some notes. Also the burger had too much pepper but that is just a habit of the country. It is slightly tempting to send a page of notes. "here is how to do it. Trust me. I grew up in a restaurant, and I also grew up with the finest soda fountain ever. The end."
Then we wandered about to see what there was to see. Castleton has a lot of gifty/jewelry shops because Blue John is a serious thing. There are also many pubs, places selling ice cream, and shops with gear for climbing/walking. All the trademarks of a quaint village shackled to tourism. We found a stream and followed that for a bit. Streams will always provide entertainment to children. The stream lead us to a larger one, which in turn lead us to a small farm that had animals to pet/feed. They also had a farm shop but that was underwhelming. They did have a lot of kittens which Senor Onion fell in love with. KITTIEZ. The sheep were incredibly friendly. I am not saying the animals were abused but they did have the look of not getting a lot of down time from the attentions of visitors and some of them looked a bit more... dirty than a number of farm animals I typically see. (and I am freaking surrounded by farm animals in my present living situation) It is one of those situations where I wonder if I am being too sensitive or if it is one of those things where one should say something. "Hey one of your donkeys needs to have its hooves attended to, and your rabbits need more shade, and you should rotate the animals a little more so that some of them can get a rest from visitors."
The rest of the afternoon was fairly relaxed and devoted to the business of doing not too darn much.
Sunday we got in the car with the intention of getting some medicine for Miss Biscuit as she had a fever and for once I forgot to bring something. Her fever disappeared and then we ended up in Bakewell, along with everyone else in the world. The kids were kind of on edge. It was one of those experiences of trying to organize ourselves. We took them to lunch and ordered them their favorite thing to eat, it arrives and they both announced that they didn't want to eat that. FINE. Mr. Jenner and I ate our meals and decided to ignore their less than civilized attitude about food. Afterward we looked in a few shops, picked up some medicine (just in case) and then bought a bakewell tart. IN BAKEWELL! Sometimes you just have to. There were a lot of interesting looking shops, a museum devoted to items from the forties, many cafes to eat in (including one devoted to German cuisine.) We also walked along in a garden and along a river. We spotted trout in the river, and watched the assorted ducks and geese floating down the river. This was likely the calmest and most delighted the children were in Bakewell. Note to self: just take the kids to a damn river and give them stale bread, forget seeing things. Eventually we made our way out. I would like to return again for a wander, but next time sans children. Once back in Castleton, we took the kids out for a walk and some ice cream. We saw the loitering chickens and lots of elderly people coming back from walks up in the hills.
The weather hasn't exactly been sunshine and lollipops but one expects this in England. So you bring coats and boots and learn to have a few plans for the day. Today we started off going to the pavilion gardens in Buxton. (a Georgian spa town) The weather began to fall apart pretty quickly. What a bother. We went inside and had a look at the conservatory. A lot of plants and a fish pond. The fish pond kept the kids pretty amused for awhile. There was one fish in there that was named Boris. It seems he was a sort of rescue fish who was born with a curved spine. Occasionally he will float to the bottom and will be upside down. There is a sign saying "it's okay, he is fine. Just a little wonky." Come and see Boris the disabled rescue fish in Buxton. Just beyond the cafe, there was a book fair. A number of interesting stalls. Senor Onion was interested in some of the older books. Miss Biscuit was royally ticked that there weren't any Maisy books in sight. We took her to the cafe as there was a play area for children. Mr. Jenner was the ever kind sport who hung out with them while I had a look at the books. I ended up with some Beatrix Potter books for the kids, the first Harry Potter book (since we lack that, and I am sure we will need to have that on hand for Senor Onion at some point. Plus BOOKS) and I found a Vera Brittain first edition for a reasonable price. (she lived in Buxton, so she is hot stuff there.) This was timely as I just finished reading my book last night, so I needed something else to read.
The rain was being a bit blech and it kind of ruins a walk around the park (even if you have umbrellas) so we decided to hop in the car, get mildly lost and find the ice cream farm.
YES, ICE CREAM FARM. I saw a sign for it when we were driving along in the dark to the holiday place and for awhile I wondered if I hallucinated it. But I found it. Blaze Farm is in Cheshire and you drive past all the remote stark hills and then there is this fun place. We and many other parents of small children ended up here today. Bank holiday Monday, the desperate need to do something in awful weather, and a lot of grumpy people under the age of seven. Let the fun begin. The place has some nature trails but it was pouring so we decided to go and eat first. They have a couple of tea rooms. We found the one where everyone brought their grumpy children. It was a bit like an unmedicated manic-depressive convention in there. SO HAPPY OMG ICE CREAM OMG NOT WHAT I WANTED THE WORLD MUST END!!! Much weeping. Much laughing. Much feeling. Come here if you have feelings to feel. The food was comforting and warm. Somehow Miss Biscuit decided to skip lunch and have pink ice cream for lunch. Don't even ask about how this happened. Sometimes I just decide to skip taking the hard line and say, "we're on holiday. You want to eat ice cream for lunch? Knock yourself out." Though she kept weeping until the ice cream arrived. It was pink. As requested. I had to help her eat it because it seems to be my job to neaten up ice creams. I have presented papers in Geneva and Montreal on ice cream neatening and young children. Look it up. I also ate a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich, and drank a big pot of tea. They bring your tea with an extra thing of hot water to warm your cup before putting in the actual tea. A bunch of aristocrats here. Senor Onion who ate his lunch went for broke by having TWO scoops of ice cream. He chose coconut and caramel toffee crunch. He's turning into Mr. Adventure when it comes to choosing ice cream flavors. Mr. Jenner and I chose to share a dessert. We had a warm fudge cake with two scoops of ice cream. I was in charge of choosing ice cream. We had orange chocolate, and vanilla. Now vanilla may seem... vanilla BUT it is a fact that vanilla is a difficult flavor to execute well. It is. It is always a good measure of a place's ice cream making skills. How is their vanilla? Their vanilla was quite nice. The chocolate orange was really good, it has bits of candied orange peel in it. A nice detail. I somehow found myself helping Senor Onion with his ice cream. He would ask me to tidy it. So I had quite a bit of that. Then I had some of the ice cream with Mr. Jenner. I ended up eating five flavors of ice cream. I can tell you A LOT about the ice cream at the ice cream. I also felt sort of worn out by the end.
What do you do after all that ice cream? You meet the animals who may have helped in the production. The farm had an area with animals to pet. It should be noted that these animals looked to be in very very good condition and seemed a lot more relaxed. The barn had juvenile pigs, a goat, a donkey, three calves -including one that was very very young, a lot of free-range chickens, and some sleeping cats. I loved the calves. They kept licking everyone. Miss Biscuit found a Mother hen and her chicks. She kept wandering around after them, petting the baby chicks, and squealing, "BABY CHICKENS" There was a very friendly cat who came up and demanded love. He even rubbed herself up against the cows. She will get her love anyway possible. After a quick wash-up, it was time to return home. The drive back was rainy but still beautiful. To see these bare hills in the daylight gives it a different impression. It is less creepy. It still has a sadness about it, and you can see how writers might have been inspired by the sights. It would be fun to walk around there on a less damp day.
We have a few plans for the next few days. We have to keep creating a couple of sets of plans for the varied weather. Maybe tomorrow we will see a cave or two, and a plague village. PLAGUE VILLAGE!!!! I wonder if they have some sort of tea towel?
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Date: 2012-08-27 08:28 pm (UTC)Whispers: actually, the hot water is meant to go in the teapot - it's to make the tea go further - or make it weaker for those who like it weak.
One year, we went to the theatre in Buxton, and there were some people in front of us who'd come to the wrong theatre - they were supposed to be in Stockport -
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Date: 2012-08-27 08:35 pm (UTC)Stockport? Haha a slight detour.
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Date: 2012-08-27 09:28 pm (UTC)Back home now, but our day took a very dramatic turn when Florence went very white and parted company with all her lunch. I suspect a germ, and a lucky escape for the Jenner family on this occasion. But I am going to see you VERY SOON and I just can't believe that you are writing about places we know and visit!!
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Date: 2012-08-27 10:36 pm (UTC)See, this is a bit of good luck. I hope Florence feels better soon. I HATE being sick like that, so she has my sympathy.
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Date: 2012-08-29 08:11 am (UTC)07795 184645 is the mobile number I'm using this week.