We decided instead to go for a wander around part of the old estate at Ilam instead, which I am glad of really, as even down in the valley, the wind was incredibly strong.
Ilam (eye-lamb) is a gorgeous little Peak District Villiage that sits close to the Staffordshire / Derbyshire border.
Just around the corner is the amazing Dovedale Gorge.
Here's the view you are treated to as you draw closer to Ilam and Dovedale ... just look at that beautiful flat topped hill on the right, called Thorpe Cloud ! I'll be walking up there sometime soon ... I bet the views from the top are just amazing !
The houses here are just adorable ! They were apparently based on the Swiss Chalet style and built by the then Lord of the Manor .. here's a pic ..
We parked up near here, then took a wander up to the hall ... Now I'm not usually one for fancy houses and formal gardens, but it was very pretty up there.
We took a peek inside the church ( Church of the Holy Cross ), which has some Saxon stonework in the graveyard and a fantastic Saxon or Norman ( apparently the jury is out on that one ), font ... here's a picture, it's a beaut !
This was a beautiful tomb in the church ...
Anyway .... as always happens up here, it started to rain, so we sat in a lovely stone archway, drinking coffee for a bit until it cleared up again ... it was a lovely spot ... just us two around :)
Then we went for a lovely wander along the river for a while :)
Most of the way there was a proper path, but it got a bit slippy in places though, hehe.
Oooo ... and we saw our first snowdrops of the spring by a cottage along the way !
We walked back into Ilam along the road ... it was SO windy !!! The noise it made, rushing through the trees was truly thunderous !
It may have been a bit damp and rough, but we were rewarded with a beautiful cloud racing sky !
There was a wee uphill walk on the way back, which of course Rob made me walk up as fast as I could, LOL, but hey ... we have to fit a hill in somewhere ... even a little one !
We decided it was too rough to bother going on another walk elsewhere really, so we went for dinner at the caff down at Wetton Mill ... oh I do love that place ! Their coffee and cake are just the BEST !
We rounded our day off with poking about for some properties that might be up for rent, then called it a day :)
Well ... we didn't get the walk that I wanted us to do, but I still had a lovely day :)
No beads to share from this walk I'm afraid ... I am busy with tax returns and sorting out my new website, but the beads will be back ASAP .. have no fear of that !
Les xx
Oh ... some text doesn't appear to be displaying properly ... I hope it's just me ....
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