National Trust Hardwick
I have had a frustrating time recently, dealing with British Airways (BA) and our National Health Service (NHS). Nothing was that complicated or difficult but owing to BA’s and the NHS’s internal systems, messages were not acknowledged or acted upon. I spent a lot of time on hold when I tried to call. When I got through, the person I spoke to did not understand the issue and worse, could not offer any way forward. I was always returning to Square One. If natural intelligence is this poor, no wonder there is talk of us humans being replaced soon with Artificial Intelligence.
Anyone reading this will have had this kind of experience with other organisations (banks, utility companies). The phrase is sometimes I want to scream or sometimes I want to tear my hair out or sometimes I want to bang my head against a wall.
Well, sometimes it’s best to take yourself away for the weekend and forget about everything for 72 hours.
I like England when the sun is out, the shops are interesting, the restaurants open, the hotels comfortable and the walks gentle. Our long weekend in the Peak District was quiet and restorative. Here is what we did on Day One of the trip.
In summary: National Trust Stoneywell, Hardwick and Stainsby Mill, David Mellor Design, short walk to Chatsworth House, overnight in The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow. A few photos are below.
Stoneywell (National Trust)
This Arts and Crafts-inspired cottage is named for the stone well which provided the house’s water supply until 1961. The house is filled with many hand-made items of furniture worthy of being displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The guided house and garden tours are very informative. As only a limited number of visitors are allowed in daily, you do need to book ahead for a visit.
Detail from a walnut coffer (by Joseph Armitage, circa 1912) in the master bedroom which features 11 carvings depicting a tree, shrub or flower. One of these carvings, of an oak leaf on its right-hand side, is a design that Armitage used in his winning entry to design a logo for the National Trust in its 1935 competition.
Hardwick Hall (National Trust)
There are two buildings to see here, plus extensive grounds. Hardwick Hall is largely intact and contains magnificent tapestries and a grand portrait of Queen Elizabeth 1 (circa 1598-9).
The views from Hardwick Old Hall are worth climbing the many steps leading to the top. This older house was left to disintegrate as apparently it was fashionable at the time to let a house turn to ruins if you had other houses to live in.
Stainsby Mill (National Trust)
We just made it to the mill before it closed for the day. The volunteer who showed us around and who explained the workings of the mill was himself a miller. Sadly, due to bureaucracy, Stainsby Mill no longer mills flour.
As I do a lot of baking, mills (flours, actually) are of particular interest to me. In fact my own surname in Chinese is the character for wheat / 麥.
Otterton Mill is close to where my mother-in-law lives, and I regularly shop online at Shipton Mill and Doves Farm. Marriage’s is another mill that sells its own flour online, with an inspired website domain name.
The best compliment I had from one of our children was (upon walking into the David Mellor HQ in Heathersage): this is like walking into mum’s kitchen. I first encountered David Mellor’s Covent Garden shop as a student in the mid-80s. Everything was beautiful, functional and also very expensive to me at the time. It is a joy to see the business last so long.
More photos of our visit in the next post. There is an on-site cafe, and we had Bakewell Tart as the village of Bakewell is close by.
Dinner, bed and breakfast on our first night was at The Cavendish Hotel, Baslow. This is part of the Chatsworth Estate, so we took a walk up to the Chatsworth House (closed by the time we got there) before dinner. Number of steps done today: 13,083.
