The Peak District

Once back from our housesit in Lisbon it was full steam ahead for our sits in the UK.

After sits in Kent, Bristol, Sussex and the Cotswolds we headed to Belper in the Peak District for a pre sit visit. We took our camper van as we hoped to spend a few days exploring the area.

After a peaceful overnight at a lovely "freebie" at Barnsgate Manor where there were horses, donkeys, angora goats and views of the South Downs to die for we enjoyed a breakfast of toasted tea cakes al fresco before making the journey north. 

It was a long day and we were glad to arrive at the Caravan Club site in Belper. There were some lovely views from the campsite itself and the usual first class facilities you expect from a CC site.

Next day we met our clients and stayed for a spot of lunch with them before making our way to Clover Fields, a campsite not far from the village of Bakewell.

We had a fish and chip supper and some champers to wash it all down!

Next day the good weather continued although it was quite cool out of the sun. We planned to cycle some of the Monsal trail so made our way to one of the starting points just outside of Bakewell. We enjoyed a lovely ride through some pretty scenery and had Bakewell tarts at a cafe along the way!

We strolled around the village of Bakewell at the end of our ride and also took a drive to Chatsworth. It was a lovely evening, sunny and pleasantly warm.

All the more surprising when the next day we woke to rain and temperatures in the low teens!

As the weather forecast indicated more of the same we decided to cut short our stay in the Peak District and make our way south. We found a freebie site at Dovecote Buttery which had a super organic shop selling local produce and there was also a cafe where we had a cream tea!

We were the only campers there so it was a quiet night save for the wind and rain!

In the morning we took advantage of the PYO and picked a kilo of raspberries before leaving for a Camping & Caravan Site in Crownorough and near to our next assignment.

The journey south was trouble free and the campsite walking distance to the local town where there was also a very nice Indian restaurant where we went for a scrummy curry in the evening.

We had a full day before we had to leave so we took the opportunity to walk in the Ashdown Forest. The views were wonderful and it was nice to stretch our legs after so much driving and walk off the extra calories after so much eating!