Whilst we were in Buxton we took a drive to Castleton, a very pretty town with lots of stone cottages, a stream running through and a lovely bridge.
We did a couple of the local walks and then drove to Mam Tor, a rather lovely hill for hiking up. Even the drive in was pretty special.
The walk up was not overly difficult, but once up there I had a bit of a nervy turn because the wind was extremely strong and I had trouble holding myself upright. My hood is blowing up on its own, nothing to do with me. I also had a little problem with my walking poles and I couldn’t make them long enough, although they were the only thing stopping me taking a nosedive at several points. However, the views were absolutely magnificent and we were really lucky because the rain held off until we were back in the car.
We called into Sheffield, and I really enjoyed it. We visited the Register Office and looked at all the silver on display, and I found the sole survivor of the 120 police boxes that used to be dotted around the area. I was hoping to get inside as I was convinced it was tardis-like, but no luck!
We also came across the World Snooker Championships (or some such thing) and I did take a photo, but decided that men in black with sticks didn’t add much to the story!
Once we left Sheffield we headed to Leeds, calling in at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is well worth a visit. This is a semi-circle of Chinese zodiac signs, but I’ve forgotten who the artist is, so now I feel bad.
I am a Dragon, and people seem unsurprised when I tell them this!!
I’ve decided that my rain hat makes me look like Vera (from the tv series), but after posting this thought on IG and receiving lots of love for the Vera hat I’ve decided it’s quite cool. It certainly keeps the rain off my glasses and I don’t think I’m ever using an umbrella again. The hat doesn’t blow off and I feel really comfortable in it. I used the Angela Lea Escape hat pattern. Luckily it is graded for small and large sizes, as I’ve also made this hat for Mark and our head sizes are polar opposites! I made it from the same fabric as my raincoat, lined with cotton from Crossgrain Fabrics and it is warm as well as keeping me dry.
The sculpture park is set in 300 acres of gardens, which are beautifully landscaped and maintained. I was so taken with the espaliered cherry trees. They obviously fruit and each tree was labelled with its type, being ornamental, culinary, etc. Some of them look very old and gnarly.
Although I enjoyed the sculptures very much, I must admit that the buildings enchanted me. This is the camelia house and here is Mark in his rainhat and the raincoat I made him. In fact every single item of clothing he is wearing was made by me. His hat is made from the same fabric as my raincoat and I put a leather band round it and lined it with fine wool tweed.
As we drive along I spot things and instantly make Mark do a detour. We passed this village and there was a weeping willow and a swan creating the perfect storybook setting. By the time we had turned round the swan had swanned off, but I was rather taken with this idyllic setting. This is Ashford in the Water – even the name is romantic!
As we headed into Leeds I examined my prejudices about the city. I did not think I was going to like it very much, but on the contrary, I loved it! It is a marvellous mixture of magnificent old buildings and (mostly) tasteful new ones.
There are a number of Victorian arcades in Leeds and I had to explore them all. The details are exquisite, and most of them are home to some very high end shops.
They are beautifully maintained
And, for the most part, the outsides are as beautiful as the insides.
We spotted the Leeds city market on our travels, and it was like a moth to the flame – I am striding rather determinedly into that building.
It was hard to photograph the inside but this gives you an idea.
A new fun fact for me is that this market is where Marks and Spencer began with a “Penny Bazaar”. It was a 6 x 6 trestle table and Michael Marks manned it two days a week. The clock in the above photograph commemorates the 100 year anniversary of it opening.
It’s grown a bit, but not much.
I counted four fabric stalls, a haberdashery shop and a wool shop. Not bad for a market. They also have a Janome shop in there.
Mark found ye Olde Traditional Pub, of course! I was a bit upset that those flowers are plastic, and then obsessively checked all the hanging baskets around the place and decided that about 50% of them are real. 
Some flowers that aren’t plastic are these beautiful cherry blossoms. This is just down the road from our apartment and I love that pink confetti carpet.
I have so much more to tell you, but this post is plenty long enough, so ta-ra for now (see, I’m even learning the local language!), I’ll be back soon…