Wednesday, November 23, 2016

At Bakewell

Having spent two or three days around home and not travelling very far we decided that if it was going to be dryer and brighter today that we would venture out a bit further.  The weather on the local breakfast news looked favourable so off we went to one of our favourite places the little town of Bakewell in Derbyshire.  I've taken you here in several posts before but it is somewhere I never tire of and I hope you don't either.

We were in search of a warm, winter shirt for Paul and new jar labels for the jars of  chutney we made over the weekend.  Dear friends from Nottingham visited us for lunch last Friday and brought more apples from their garden with them. You may remember I wrote about making plum and apple jam with the apples they gave us a few weeks ago, this time we made a spiced apple relish and some apple and prune chutney. 

We had a lovely wander around the town and I took a few photos along the way.

 The water in the River Wye was very high as we crossed over the bridge from the car park on the other side.

 
 It was frothing and cascading over the little water falls as it travelled at quite a rapid pace through the town, past Haddon Hall on its way to the village of Rowsley where it joins the River Derwent.


  It always seems that little bit colder down by the water, where the gulls dip and dive and look for food from passers by.

The metal bridge is festooned with love locks, I had read somewhere that these may have to be removed as they are undermining the structure of the bridge.  For the moment they are still there.

 In the centre of Bakewell are lots of little alleyways and courtyards full of interesting shops.

 We always enjoy mooching around them looking in the shop windows and sometimes venturing inside.


 We managed to get some labels from a kitchen shop


I bet this cafe looks lovely all lit up in the early evening.  I wouldn't want to sit outside  at this time of year though.

 Apparently Hulley's of Baslow have been offering bus services in the Peak District and South Yorkshire since 1921.

 The church of All Saints stands high above the main part of the town.  I wrote about it in a post on 26th August 2013 (link here)  It looks from the scaffolding around the tower as if restoration work is being done.

Many shop windows were decked out with Christmas displays and I was drawn to them like a child to the window of a toy shop.

 
These bears were my favourites standing in the door of a clothing shop.  We went in, we bought a winter shirt for Paul at an eye watering cost but as he's been looking for months for a warm, checked casual shirt that was two inches longer in the sleeve we felt it was worth every penny.  Most shops now stock only standard sizes and those that do offer a longer sleeve length only produce them in blue, grey or white cotton for business and working purposes rather than every day casual and leisure wear.

After that it was time to set out for home, we called at the bookshops at both Hassop and Brierlow Bar on the way home.  Hassop was heaving, mostly in the cafe section, but Brierlow Bar was quiet and peaceful much more conducive for looking at books.


28 comments:

  1. Gosh the water does look high, let's hope the rain stops for a bit to let it go down. Glad you had a successful day out and managed to get the shirt, it looks a pretty place but you'll have to go back to get some photos with blue sky! x

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    1. The skies were grey weren't they? The water was higher than I've ever seen it there too:)

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  2. I'd never heard about love locks until recently. They haven't found their way to Jersey yet. Lovely old buildings in Bakewell and I love the shop windows. I remember visiting Hadden Hall some years ago. It was wonderful. B x

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    1. I think the love locks thing started in Paris but I don't really know. Haddon is gorgeous and my favourite of the Derbyshire houses, we hope to visit for Christmas over the next few weeks:)

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  3. Bakewell is a town I need to explore - it looks a peach. Loved the Christmas window

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    1. Bakewell, Haddon and Rowsley are all wonderful Mike, Bakewell is fascinating:)

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  4. We enjoy visiting Bakewell too as we often go there when our daughter who lives in Berkshire comes to stay. There hasn't been an opportunity this year so it's interesting to see those love locks on the metal bridge. They weren't there the last time. That probably means it's longer than I remember since we crossed it as a way into town. It's fun to see the picturesque-looking windows decorated for Christmas. Glad you got your purchases and had a good day out.

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    1. Bakewell is a good visit at any time of year isn't it? I'm not sure how long the locks have been there but we came over the lower bridge and walked up to the blue metal one with the locks, I remember when there were only a few now there is hardly room for any more:)

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  5. You took us on a wonderful tour, I too am drawn to the windows especially at this time of year. The Christmas displays are always stunning in these little independent shops. The apple and prune chutney sounds delicious.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the visit. The windows in Bakewell are always a treat at this time of year. We tested the chutney and it did taste lovely:)

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  6. A wonderful post Rosie bringing back happy memories as we had a day in Bakewell a year or so back for my daughter's birthday trip. It must be a super town to visit at this time of year with all the Christmassy items in the shops. We enjoyed it there so much. Interesting to see the love locks are still on the bridge! I loved your post on the church too - it is one of the best churches I have visited and great to see your pictures of the Vernon tombs. They serve nice cakes in the church tearoom too :) Would love to go back to the town one day - such a shame that it is quite a trek from here :(

    Thanks so much for your kind words in your comment on my recent blog post. Just been to pick up the new car so now I am mobile again I feel much happier :)

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    1. We are lucky to be able to get to Bakewell in about 45 to 50 mins so it is easy for a day out or even a morning out. We drive across country via Ipstones, Hartington and Monyash. So glad you have a new car after your awful experience I do hope you enjoy being out and about again:)

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  7. A lovely look at Bakewell. I've not been there for many years but I do love to see it again. It's such a great place to wander around with the little shops and attractive buildings. I imagine it does look good at Christmas with all the displays.The river does look very high there at the moment.

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    1. Bakewell looks wonderful in most seasons but Christmas does bring out the best in its streets and shops. The river did seem very high, I don't think I've seen it looking so high or moving so fast:)

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  8. One of my favourite small towns - so pretty! The river is certainly higher than I ever saw it. Did you buy any bakewell tarts and puddings, I wonder? Best ever.

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    1. It is a lovely town isn't it? We didn't buy any Bakewell puddings this time although I love the little old shop that sells the original ones. They were offering evenings so you could learn how to bake your own pudding and enjoy some seasonal cheer as well, it all sounded very festive:)

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  9. I enjoyed your pictures! It was if I was traveling with you :)

    I hope you can stop by and consider joining in the 2017 PenPal sign-ups:

    http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2016/11/tea-time-penpals-and-snow-112516.html

    Colletta

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    1. Thank you Colletta I will pop over to your blog and see what the Pen-pal sign up is all about:)

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  10. Bakewell is one of my favorite spots in the UK. Love the three bears!

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    1. It is lovely isn't it? The bears were wonderful, proper brown bears, there were more inside the shop too:)

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  11. Bakewell looks lovely Rosie. I am sure I would fit in well there. x

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    1. I sure you would love Bakewell, Simone, lots of lovely things to see and so close to wonderful scenery too:)

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  12. I wish I could visit Bakewell on a week day when it's that quiet! I was there today and the traffic was awful and it was so, so busy! I was only passing through and didn't feel inclined to stop, as much as I enjoy a wander around the town.

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    1. It does get busy at weekends doesn't it? Now we are retired we can go at quieter times, we tend to go places in the week and stay around home at the weekends when everyone else is out and about. I do like a quiet life. I don't blame you for not wanting to stop. Hope wherever you were moving on to was quieter:)

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  13. I enjoyed your visit to Bakewell Rosie. I love those Christmas window displays too - your description reminds me of the story of A Christmas Carol. The river was so high - I understand that there has been a lot of rain recently. I hope that you are managing to stay warm and cosy. Marie x

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    1. Thanks Marie. It is going to get colder again over the next few days, hats, gloves and scarves are at the ready:)

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  14. You are lucky to have such pretty places to visit in your part of the world. I've enjoyed tagging along.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Thank you Amalia, yes we are lucky! Glad you enjoyed the visit:)

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