Yesterday I was very tired so wasn't out for too long, but long enough to give Eyam Hall and Gardens and the Museum a good going over. The Craft Centre was - OK. I got a few decorations for Christmas - two nice wooden night light holders (I have some Christmas fragranced night lights at home) and some red stars for the Christmas tree as well as a book about Eyam Hall.
I was puzzled at first. Eyam Hall is a National Trust property and I was sure it wasn't last time I went. Turns out the family handed it over about five years ago. A shame in a way, but it is quite a responsibility to keep up and, as a NT member, I got in free. Because of that, I decided to have lunch there and got a very substantial toasted cheese and bacon sandwich which must have been very salty because I was downing water all evening!
If you don't know the story of Eyan, the plague village, you can read it here.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/stuart-england/eyam-and-the-great-plague-of-1665/
and here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35064071
I vaguely remember watching a programme about it decades ago and the story stuck in my mind, somehow.
On the way home I stopped off at the Derbyshire Craft Centre (not the Eyam one) and it was rubbish - just a gift shop, not a craft centre in any way. Shame.
A few photos.
Whisk for half an hour? My arm would drop off! Taken in the kitchen.
This would have had a cast iron range in it.
Someone etched a poem to his beloved in this small window pane. Graffiti! Vandalism!
Gorgeous hand made lace.
The colours on one section of tapestry were as bright as if it was newly made because for most of its life it had been hung back to front!
Today I plan to go to Thornbridge Hall Gardens.
I'm not sure how well my stupid ankle will stand up to a lot of walking around and the weather may have the final vote on this, but it should be good, even at the end of September.
I was umming and ahing about eating out this evening but it's never much fun on your own so I think I will pay one more visit to the Farm Shop. I wanted to go back to buy some little family gifts anyway. Might be steak, might not - I will see what they have. They do have some 'ready meals'.
Eyam has been on my list of places to visit for ages but I never seem to get there. The same for Chatsworth and a few other places in the area. Maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteThey are well worth a visit, especially if you're interested in History. Chatsworth is, of course, magnificent and the gardens and woodlands are lovely. Eyam is a village and much more approachable, but both have stories worth the hearing and plenty worth seeing.
ReplyDeleteJ x