Romantic cottages for two in the Peak District

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Additional attractions with Privilege Card

There are some new attractions added to the list of treats available with the Premier Cottages special privileges card. Amongst them are Renishaw Hall, Thornbridge Hall Gardens (new discounts), Hassop Station Cafe, Village Green Cafe Eyam, Carsington Water Sports and Leisure, Hartington Cheese Shop.

Bikes for our guests to use

Monsal Trail has been voted the UK’s favourite cycle route. We have 2 bikes and helmets that our guests can use. Monsal is just one of the many safe cycle routes around here.

Dining Secretly in Sudbury Open Prison

Carrier bag from Sudbury open prison

John bought a bird feeder which came in this bag

Having written recently about the fantastic food at Fischer’s I though perhaps I would redress the balance slightly and let you know about a very nice lunch we had recently at the Secret Diner, in Sudbury (Derbyshire) Open Prison.

Just for your interest, Sudbury is a Category D open prison for males which I gather means it will usually be for non violent short term or prisoners at the end of a long sentence. Prisoners can wander freely but have to show up for roll calls etc; we do quite often hear of prisoners absconding from Sudbury, and whilst that might be foolish, it can’t be very difficult to do. When we visited, it did look as if there was a fence of sorts, but nothing too off-putting if you were determined to get out.

Anyway, the prison has quite recently opened a restaurant, in the grounds but just outside the fence. The building is an old Nissan hut, but clean and attractively decorated. The Diner doubles as a staff canteen and is only open from 11.30am to 1pm on weekdays. It’s probably advisable to ring to book – the number is 01283 584000 and the postcode for Satnavs is DE6 5HW.

Lunching at the Secret Diner

The very sound idea behind the Secret Diner is that it provides an excellent opportunity for prisoners, who can put the training and experience they receive to good use when they get out. I couldn’t tell who were prisoners and who were staff, but it didn’t seem to matter in the slightest.

You won’t be surprised to hear it is not exactly fine dining; one sits at formica tables and queues up to be served but the food was more than acceptable, very plentiful, with lots of choice and all extremely reasonably priced. We went with a crowd of Parwich friends and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the occasion. We were almost embarrassed it was so cheap, and although the staff were extremely pleasant, we weren’t allowed to leave a tip although it was suggested that if we wished we could donate to some charities they support, including the local branch of Riding for the Disabled, which we were all glad to do. We had a three-course meal, with coffee and it came to well under £10 each.

After lunch several of us visited their Farm Shop, where they sell vegetables etc that the prisoners grow, and things they have made like bird feeders and nesting boxes. I was very taken by the fact that there also several dozen pairs of identical black men’s size 8 shoes, being sold for £2.50 each! No other sizes, no other colours… That was an unanswered mystery and if anyone can ever solve it for me I shall be grateful.

Fantastic Food at Fischer’s

This summer, to celebrate the 2012 “proud to be British’ campaign many local businesses offered real bargains of some sort; one of the most generous and most enticing offers we cam across was the £20.12 lunch offered by Fischer’s, Baslow Hall.

Beautiful gardens at Baslow Hall

The food is delicious, the gardens are lovely

Now, Fischer’s, for those of you who don’t know the area yet, is the only restaurant in Derbyshire to hold a Michelin Star; their head chef, Rupert Rowley, recently won Silver in the Taste of England category at the national Visit England Awards for Excellence 2012. The restaurant is in a beautifully restored country house surrounded by lovely gardens, in Baslow, the other side of Bakewell, about half an hour’s drive from Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns.

£20.12 lunch at Fischer's

John enjoying the pudding

We went in the summer, and loved the whole experience. The food was pretty amazing too! We have just heard from them today that it was so popular that they are going to continue the offer throughout 2013. They are now offering a special “2013” menu, available from Monday to Friday, 12 noon-1.30 pm at a cost of £20.13 for two courses, and £25.13 for three courses between 2nd January to 29th November, excluding 14th February.

Fine dining at Fischer's

Fischer’s, Baslow Hall

This is already fantastic value – but wait for it – in addition, Fischer’s are partners in our Peak District Premier Cottages Privilege Card scheme, which entitles all guests staying with us to a 10% discount on top of the very generous offer. Mention it when you book, and be sure to show them your Privilege Card on your keyring when you arrive!

Obviously, you may well decide to stretch the budget to include wine, or coffee afterwards, but you don’t need to, and will be under no (external) pressure to do so. I must say we did, and then had a very relaxing stroll round the gardens to make the whole occasion a very special one indeed.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Below is a sample menu to give you a flavour of what you might expect. Tables need to be reserved in advance by ringing them on 01246 583259 or emailing: reservations@fischers-baslowhall.co.uk.

“£20.13 Lunch”

Duck Liver Parfait
toasted brioche, Fischer’s chutney

Nasturtium Cured Salmon
tartar, pickled kohirabi, horseradish snow

Confit of Duck Leg
rosti potato, honey & orange sauce

Pan Fried Cod
roast cauliflower, curry spices & granola

Toasted Marshmallow
Haygrove strawberries, tarragon custard

Warm Chocolate Pudding
damson ice cream, caramelised hazelnuts

Two courses £20.13

Three courses £25.13

Our dishes may contain nuts, raw eggs & unpasteurised cheese.

Books!

This post leads on really from a great idea we saw and shared on our Facebook page (look for a post actually headed ‘Great idea!’ with a pic of a red telephone kiosk stuffed with books) for a book exchange that apparently some villages are setting up in their now redundant telephone kiosks.

We do keep both our barns well stocked with books as all guests will know. We keep adding to them – one way of reducing book overload in our house; the vital difference to this book exchange in a telephone kiosk idea is that many of our books are personal favourites so we don’t want to lose them. Anyone is welcome to take a book home to finish but we do appreciate them being returned.

It gives us enormous pleasure to know how much pleasure these books give to so many of our guests and we have had many a discussion outside or over the occasional glass of wine at the kitchen table and sometimes carried on in Facebook! I am very grateful to one of our guests who recommended the DoveGreyReader, to quote ‘a Devonshire based bookaholic, sock-knitting quilter who is a community nurse in her spare time’. I do recommend her blog: she writes so knowledgeably and well – just how she manages to fit in all she does every day beats me.

I belong to a small informal group of friends that meet once a month in each other’s homes to discuss a book we have all read the previous month, chosen by each of us in turn. It is a great way of reading books one might never otherwise have chosen or even come across and we all appreciate the discipline of ‘having’ to read a book that at first glance we would have instantly rejected. ‘You can’t tell a book by its cover’ is very true! I have hardly ever not enjoyed a book by the time i have finished it -I can think of two, over 20 years! But funnily enough, our best discussions are always when opinions vary and someone has really not enjoyed a book, or aspects of it, as much as others have.

We have a very varied reading list, including a graphic novel, poetry, classics and the latest ‘short listed best sellers’ (aren’t they all?). Occasionally we have decided on certain themes such as nothing newer than 50 years ago, and the Christmas choice is always a difficult one. We invite the spouses along to this, on the understanding that they must have read the book in return for a slap up meal which the five of us all produce. We find some of the men somewhat reluctant to branch out of their comfort zone, whether this be histories, action, biographies or advanced engineering manuals so we always hope to find something reasonably interesting to at least the majority – not easy.

After an unsuccessful choice we do find one or two instances of wise noddings, and ‘I agree’s which strangely are not often backed up by any original comments, amd that’s not just the men. Last Christmas we read ‘Parrot and Olivier in America’ by Peter Carey which should have catered for most needs but several of us had found it hard to appreciate. I think perhaps I should read it again. The year before, ‘Blood River’ by Tim Butcher was enjoyed by all, helped perhaps by the fact several of us know Tim! Much earlier on, ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ by Stella Gibbon provoked some interesting discussions/disagreements.

Recently we have found ourselves really loving the early 1900s era, including Nancy Mitford, Vita Sackville-West, Patrick Leigh Fermor and Elizabeth von Armin to name but a few. Over the years, perhaps ‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt stands out as a favourite, and Madame Bovary.

The current read is ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ by Laura Esquivel.

From Orchard Farm to the Gate in Brassington in 90 seconds

A quick 90 second flit over the hills to Brassington to one of our very favourite pubs, The Olde Gate in Brassington. Now, there’s a challenge – can you do it in less? See below…

In fact the walk takes an hour at a reasonably vigorous rate but this speeded up video will show you the route in a minute and a half. Many of our Tom’s and Douglas’s Barn guests – like we ourselves – love nothing better than to walk over the hills for lunch at the Gate, and then back again (only don’t go on a Monday or a Tuesday because they won’t be open!). Before they go for the first time our lovely guests usually – trustingly – ask us for the best route; we then go into elaborate detail and after the first ‘turn right then immediately left over a stile’ their eyes glaze over and you can tell you there are already lost even before they have set off. They consult maps and always get there in the end, but sometimes by a less than obvious route.

This August Bank Holiday our son Nick and (English) daughter Ruth (as against our Australian daughter, Sara) came home for the weekend. Nick arrived a day earlier than his sister and we confided to him our problem and he immediately offered to do a video. Needless to say we accepted with alacrity, so much so that I did not think of changing into more elegant walking gear than my unironed ‘work’ trousers and an old cotton top.

Off we set, without any to-do and certainly no time to think of a more fetching outfit. It soon turned out that his idea was that I should be filmed from behind, as I stride purposefully out, clearly negotiating each turning in the route. I fancied pointing out the beautiful views and the particularly attractive farm one passes, but Nick felt this would be nothing but a distraction when the whole aim of the exercise was to get to the pub, order a pint of Pedigree and decide what to eat from the list of Specials.

I was allowed a sneaky ‘cuckoo’ at the Cuckoo Gate not far from our house for which I am grateful. We love that echo!

This is very much a first, tentative attempt to provide a visual route map. We would receive any suggestions and advice gratefully, and above all, please let us know if it gets you to the Gate without a hitch, even if not in 90 seconds.

Where to Stay? More Tip Top Tips

Parwich in the Peak District

Is there such a thing as a perfect holiday venue? Last Saturday’s Guardian Money section dedicated three pages to the top ten place to retire to, with a special emphasis on air quality, crime rate, life expectancy, good neighbourliness, health and various other aspects that not just retirees hope for; not surprisingly, the Derbyshire Dales made the Top Ten.

It’s a lovely area to live in too! And, for much the same reasons, the Derbyshire Dales is a lovely place to visit. More and more canny souls are finding this out as they happily abandon all ideas of a foreign trip abroad in favour of a ‘staycation’ (ghastly word!) in this country. Just think, no precious holiday hours wasted in crowded airport terminals, no endlessly traipsing through this queue and that to get your luggage, your passport and yourself checked, no hours in an airless cabin with your neighbour on one side coughing over you (is he going to be sick?) no customs and no foreign currency to get to grips with at the other end…and so on.

So – for the sake of convenience and familiarity we’ve plumped for the Derbyshire Dales as the area of choice for your holiday in this country. But where? Let’s narrow it down to the Peak National Park – not such a silly idea after all – it’s an area renowned for its beauty, plum in the middle of the country so within the easy reach of many people.

Having decided on the area, what kind of a holiday are you looking for? The Dales can accommodate you all, with a wealth of caravan parks on offer, farm holidays, luxury spas, hotels, B & Bs and even tipis. Obviously, there is no right or wrong; it will depend on personal choice, and the purse. Booking a carefully chosen holiday cottage for two, can be the perfect answer for many. You are creating a home from home, beholden to nobody: you have complete privacy, you can eat when you like, what you like, you go out and return whenever it suits you.

However, it’s not quite as simple as all that. There are holiday cottages and holiday cottages, and standards and expectations vary enormously. Research is crucial, but part of the fun. I’m assuming you want quiet and peaceful, but of course you may not and a bolthole in the middle of Chesterfield or Derby could be much more your style (but perhaps not if you’re reading this!). The perfect property for you may take some finding but near-perfect matches will exist and we would recommend starting with Premier Cottages ‘the best of the best’ and also Alastair Sawday (many properties are in both). Friends are another good source of recommendations, if you feel confident that their tastes are similar to yours. And the final test is TripAdvisor where you can see what other guests have thought; don’t forget that someone else’s criticism might flag up a plus point for you – ‘no fast food joints for miles around’ might be nuls points for some, would it be for you?

Is the cottages star rated? Does that matter to you? Do you need underfloor heating? Disabled access? Will they accept children? What about dogs? Are the owners on site? Having made a short list from your research, check out their websites, the atmosphere and the photos. Finally, check their availability – it’s no good getting excited if the cottage is fully booked for the next 18 months…

The advice up until now has been general and I hope helpful. Now I must acknowledge an interest, serious bias in fact. There are no doubt many others but I can say very confidently that either Tom’s or Douglas’s Barn can give you a whole week in peaceful, completely comforting surroundings, where for once your time is your own, to do with as you please rather than what your family/boss/business colleagues/accountant demands. (In fact, come to think of it, we could do with just that ourselves and if the weekend in Douglas’s Barn in September (21 to 24) doesn’t go we may do exactly that!)

I am getting more and more wistful as I write. How many of us have said, ‘Oh, if only we had the chance, I’d like us to go off all on our own for a few days, try canoeing, research our family history, go on some wonderful walks, finish writing my novel, plan our wedding, make a patchwork quilt, spend evenings at the opera, watch old movies, sort my photos, cook some lovely meals, spend all my time reading outside in the sunshine…’.

Guests in Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns have done all of these things, and more, but my list was getting too long. Interestingly, we have quite a lot of guests who choose to come on their own, and for many this is the ultimate luxury! For others the luxury is the chance to spend uninterrupted time with their spouse or partner, appreciating the chance to escape all the other demands that can come between you.

What to Do? Tip Top Tips for Our Guests and Others


Parwich Hall and gardens

There is so much happening always, it is hard to pick out the top top tips. However, it is really important to point out that this Saturday, 9.30 – 5.00 it is the Manifold Show at Ilam. This is our really favourite show, and conveniently very local. It is small, friendly fun and not too commercial although of course there are stalls selling everything from Barbours to pots of honey. There is also a slow tractor race, lots of vintage tractors, carriage driving and racing terriers! A couple of years ago we took Liza and Harry, some very great friends of ours, there and before we knew where we were Liza had bought two rare breed hens and a cockerel which also came to spend the weekend with us and woke all and sundry at dawn the next morning.

Fischer's, from the gardens

Next Saturday, 18th August, it is the Ashbourne Show which we also love although it is much much bigger and slicker, but not too much so. At the end of the month – the weekend beginning Friday 31st August is the Chatsworth Country Fair which is very big and slick – ‘one of England’s most spectacular annual outdoor events’, full of wonderful events from the Red Arrows to sheepdog trials, ferret racing and parachuting – very well worth a trip if the weather is good.

Not until next month but I have to put it in, Robert and Alice Shields are opening their gardens at Parwich Hall in aid of the Friends of the Peak District which should be a lovely event especially if the weather is good and if you’re staying here it is only a few hundred yards away so not far to go.If all this activity has worked up a bit of an appetite, a real top top tip is to book yourself in at Fischer’s for their 20.12 Luncheon. We can vouch for this personally and cannot recommend it too highly. You can of course add another course, and wine…but you need not if you wish to keep to budget. Needless to say we did not. Afterwards you can stroll in the lovely garden and admire their organic veg patch or if the weather is obliging, just sit in the sun and feel happy that you came! The offer goes on until the end of November. We shall certainly be returning, several times.

A Quiet Country Walk in Derbyshire

Super Saturday it really was! Gripping television and inspiring performances by our athletes including Jessica Ennis who comes from Sheffield. We watched entranced, together with no doubt most of Britain unable to tear ourselves away even to write a blog post (sorry) but now I have successfully wrenched myself away from the tennis doubles, having had the satisfaction of seeing Andy Murray romp through to a singles Gold medal apparently easilybeating his old rival, Roger Federer apparently (they make it look so simple…).

Our daughter Ruthie came up from London, which she reports as buzzing with excitement and a real atmosphere of goodwill and happiness whilst the roads and tube stations are pleasantly quiet and crowd free! We met her at Derby station, and before we allowed ourselves to start watching the games we stopped off at the Gate in Brassington for a delightful lunch, eaten in the sunshine in the garden almost on our own (was everybody else already watching the box?). I had Goats Cheese en Croute, with Pears and Walnut and truly delicious it was. The photos here have none of John’s expertise as I simply pressed and clicked with my mobile phone camera. without much thought of anything other than capturing the moment.

Ruthie and I decided to walk back home, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine and working off just some of the large lunch we’d enjoyed. We left John to take the car back, but he had his camera with him so he was happy about that. Those of you who know the walk will recognise our route, turn left out of the pub, and turn right when if you go straight on it takes you to Bradbourne…

Having turned right and rounded the bend at the top of the hill, we saw a herd of 25 cows and heifers on the lane, munching happily on the verges. We could see no open gates so hoped that by walking gently on we might be able to encourage them to return to the field they’d obviously escaped from.However, they set resolutely off at a spanking pace and we soon realised they’d need to be intercepted before they got into the B5056. The B5056 may only be a B road but it carries a fair amount of traffic bound for Longcliffe and Bakewell, and the lane meets it between two blind corners.

We rang a local farmer, who didn’t know whose cows they were but said he’d ring around. We waited anxiously but nothing happened, and becoming seriously concerned we rang the non-emergency police number. Waiting for them we climbed over gates onto a field at the side of the road and walked briskly along hoping we’d be able to get back onto the lane in front of the cows and at least encourage them away from the main road. At this stage two men rushed up in a truck and between them (90% and us10%) we managed to get the herd into a spare field where they propped up an gate against the entrance.

Feeling pleased with our little adventure we carried on down the now cow-free lane to the B5056 where we waited for the non-emergency police person to turn up. Having given them my name we did not fancy them turning up to view a field of happily grazing cows looking quite at home albeit in a strange field – but they weren’t to know that – and would no doubt have put my name down at the top of their list of nut cases who make fake calls to the police!

They did turn up, forty minutes after we rang. The action was all over by then, but they were very appreciative, probably only realising then that there could have been real mayhem had the cows got onto the road (on the bend between two blind corners) with cars piling up against them from both directions.
thanked us and drove off up the lane to inspect.

Then the heavens opened! It is the first time in all the years we have been walking to the Gate that we have got wet, but we certainly got rained upon this time. However, it wasn’t cold and buoyed up by our adventure, the good lunch and fresh air it didn’t matter, and John was at home with warm towels on the Aga, tea and cake (and the Olympics) at the ready.

The icing on the cake, so to speak, was our friend Aida from next door, who popped in later with a tray of the most interesting looking mushrooms she’d bought as a present for us from Wirksworth Farmers’ Market. Conceding that they were photographically beautiful, John wasn’t sure about the wisdom of eating them until Ruthie concocted the most delicious and delicately flavoured pasta and mushrooms for supper from our River Cafe cookbook which he ate with the greatest of gusto and absolutely no restraint whatsoever and lives to tell the tale.

And now we settle down snugly and totally inert to watch Hussain and others stretch themselves physically. Perfection!

If You Can’t Make The Olympics

Our Friend Trevor sailing on Carsington

We’ve had a wonderful royal birthday, we’ve had the Silver Jubilee and now we have the 2012 Olympics. What a year for the British! And people who have never shown the slightest interest in sport of any sort now turn out to be secret rowers or divers who in spite of amazing natural aptitude never quite made it but are wafting lyrically and knowledgably about the various events and hint at all the what might have beens, if only….

In spite of all the dire warnings about ghastly traffic and crowd problems our ‘children’ in London say that so far the city itself seems incredibly quiet (and at least two of the people who might have swelled the crowds are staying here, in hiding, in Tom’s Barn, so maybe that explains it).

Meanwhile, for those that are fired by the current enthusiasm, we can’t exactly offer you Olympic venues here in Parwich and locally. However, in spite of this, there is plenty of scope for physical activity apart from the obvious walking and cycling. In the village itself there are two excellent tennis courts, with floodlights if you want to play at night, which can be hired for a small hourly sum. You’d need to ring Karen Wigley on 01335 390 253 to book. At the weekend they may be quite busy but there’d probably be some spare slots and lots during the week.

And talking of tennis, to digress for a moment, I have had a reminder on my online calendar for weeks to let me know that today, 1st August is the day one can order an entry form for the Public Ballot for Wimbledon next year. I have sent off for ours already and am hoping that 2013 will prove lucky for us. We have got tickets a number of times, but not recently. It is always a wonderful day out, and even if you get an early date, who knows, you may well be watching the eventual winner.

And back to our future guests, for those who may be wanting to do something more physical slightly further afield, there is a good if relatively small leisure centre in Ashbourne and you will find information on the website about all the local sport facilities – from squash and tennis courts to swimming pools and bowling greens!

At Carsington, which is about five or six miles from here one can hire bikes (ordinary and electric), go canoing, sailing, windsurfing or simply walking round the lake where there are hides for birdwatching. The Sailing Club website is here and the Carsington Water Sports centre .

Carsington is good for all ages, because those that don’t fancy being too active can potter by the water or have something to eat or drink in the restaurant overlooking the water. There are little shops there including a very good RSPB one, and an educational centre which our young grandson thinks is wonderful – it goes into childishly pleasing detail about the history and content of sewers and there is a collection of things like mobile phones and false teeth that have been flushed down local loos!

At Tissington you can go pony trekking and if you want something more demanding, try the Haddon House riding stables at Over Haddon for hacking and tuition.

If you’d like to consider fishing (an activity of a different sort). If you’ve never fished but fancy learning, how about trying a day’s fly-fishing tuition? (This is second hand information, from non-fishers so do your own research before committing!).

There’s golf, too of course – see here for a list of golf courses in the area and finally – how about an ‘extreme sport’? You could always consider hang gliding or parachuting although don’t say we recommend it.


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