Sunday, June 26, 2016

At Cromford

Last Wednesday, whilst we still had some vague feelings of hope and before the dreadful news that we woke up to on Friday, we set off to the village of Cromford in Derbyshire to meet some friends.  We had coffee and then a wander around the fascinating Scarthin Book Shop.  It is a wonderful shop in the village opposite the mill pond.

 I took the photo above through the second floor window of the shop.  The flowers are in the window box on the outside.

The bookshop is very 'higgledy piggledy' with many floors and levels and books stacked high over the staircases.  It also has a hidden cafe which is behind a set of bookcases and which serves wonderful vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food.

 The carved table and chairs outside the shop were interesting too.

 We made our way to Cromford Mill where we were going to have lunch.  It was quite busy but we were served very quickly with the jacket potatoes and salad we had requested.  We then had a walk around the mill.  I've shown you the industrial buildings before so this time I concentrated on the flowers that were on sale and on display.

 The 'Pallet Gardens' were lovely and I enjoyed the detail in them.

 This pallet garden was near the cafe in the Mill Yard.


 They were on display as part of the Celebrating Cromford Weekend but we didn't have the chance or time to look for any of the others around the village.   It is on until early July so maybe we will get a chance to go back and find them.

This one was on display outside the Hartington Cheese shop which was by Wheatcroft's Wharf on the Cromford canal.  We'd had Hartington Cheese on our potatoes and very tasty it was too.
We walked along the canal towpath for a while.  It was warm and sunny and the narrow boat Birdswood was full of people as it made its way along the canal.

 Sometimes this narrow boat is horse drawn

 It was good to be out in the fresh air 

 But all too soon we had to head back to the car park as the parking tickets were running out.

 We had a lovely day.  I do love Cromford.

I'm going to take a short break from blogging.  I'll be back soon.

28 comments:

  1. The pallet gardens look like such a good idea and very inspiring. I love the mill pond and the book shop too. Thanks for showing us around Rosie. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I liked the pallet garden idea and I want to go back and look at the others if we can get there before they are dismantled:)

      Delete
  2. Sounds like a lovely day. I love Cromford too but haven't been for a while and I do try to avoid Scarthin for financial reasons, hehe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bought one book in the second hand bit as the topic was one I knew a friend would like. I could have spent far more:)

      Delete
  3. It looks a beautiful place especially with the mill pond. You were lucky to be there to see the gardens. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was an extra treat to see the gardens:)

      Delete
  4. I stayed in Hartingdon for a very, very happy week with my Uni friends-LOVED that cheese shop! Th bookshop though- why did I not see that!?!?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The bookshop is in Cromford and the little cheese shop belongs to the one that is in Hartington. The book shop is wonderful I'm sure you would love it:)

      Delete
  5. What a lovely post with the photos of flowers and boat rides and the book shop. It must have been a most enjoyable outing. Wishing you a beautiful week ahead.

    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are so lucky to have these places not too far away from us and on roads we travel to visit relatives as well:)

      Delete
  6. Hi Rosie, that looks like a wonderful bookshop and a great place to browse. Stunning flowers too and wouldn't it be lovely to be taking a trip down that canal? A less crowded narrowboat would be my preference. Enjoy your blogging break. Marie x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The narrow boat did seem very crowded and I was worried about the water voles which live at the other end of the canal, I hope th boat doesn't distur them too much:)

      Delete
  7. i love an old book store with leaning shelves and tons of books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'd love the book shop, Janet lots of little nooks and crannies and plenty of places to sit and look at the books:)

      Delete
  8. I daren't go in Scarthin Books - it costs me a fortune!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He He, yes it does encourage purse opening doesn't it? I did purchase one book for a friend:)

      Delete
  9. A lovely post and photos. Cromford looks the most interesting place to visit especially the bookshop!! :) I loved the carved seats and table too and son would love to visit the cheese shop. I'll make add it to my evergrowing list of places to visit - it would make a good family day out. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a great place to visit with plenty of walks, industrial history, cafes and of course the book shop. It is well worth a visit:)

      Delete
  10. I did enjoy looking at Cromford - what a lovely place it seems to be. I especially love the look of that bookshop. I could quite happily spend hours there. The flower displays look beautiful, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a lovely day out, so peaceful browsing in the bookshop and walking along the canal towpath:)

      Delete
  11. That book shop looks like a fascinating place to explore, I bet they have very interesting books! Enjoy your break!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Amy. the bookshop is wonderful and the little cafe good too. I hope not to be away too long:)

      Delete
  12. The 'Birdswood' had finished for the day when I saw it a couple of weeks ago. Cromford has a lot to offer doesn't it? I love the Scarthin Book Shop - time I had another visit there I think. Enjoy your break but don't be gone too long!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a great place with so much to see and do. I like the idea of the trip on the Birdswood but it looked a bit crowded for me. I won't be gone for too long. I hope:)

      Delete
  13. The pictures are gorgeous! I would love to visit the library as well.

    Sandra xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sandra. Glad you enjoyed the photos:)

      Delete
  14. I don't know what it is about it but I love the funky painted boat! very psychedelic!

    ReplyDelete