We arrive in Bishopthorpe and get our first sight of York

It isn't very far from Hope to York so we only had a leisurely two hour

Bailey pitched up at Foss Dyke CL 

drive today. The outskirts of Sheffield were busy enough to be a little stressful but otherwise everything was fine. Foss Dyke Caravan Club CL is at the end of another single-track-with-passing-places which are becoming Dave's favourite type of road (not!). This one is much shorter and less twisty and hopefully we won't encounter any racing Yodel drivers on it. We have the CL to ourselves apparently until Tuesday which is fantastic. There is some traffic noise, but we are surrounded by tall trees that mute it and the views are green in every direction - not far-reaching as at Hope, but it feels tranquil and we should be more sheltered from the forecast gales. The site is neat and tidy with electricity and water on each pitch - luxury! We did have trouble persuading a small flock of what may be turkeys to move out of our way on arrival. Dave ran at them and they ran off the track. They are still pootling about but are nowhere near as curious as the hens at West Stow.

Our view at Foss Dyke CL 

We drove into York to get our food shopping out of the way this afternoon and, further to my previous post, discovered a giant Go Outdoors shop next to Sainsbury's. They had the Craghoppers trousers upon which I had set my heart - but I discovered they are a really bizarre fit. Tight across my leg where the shorts zip off, yet clown-flappy around the waist! I'm glad I hadn't bought online without trying them on first. Fortunately this shop also had several other convertible pairs so I am now the proud owner of a pair of HiGear Nebraska Womens Zip Off Trousers in dark blue. Fingers crossed they are as comfortable when walking as they were in the changing room! I also signed up for the Discount Card which entitles me to great deals instore and online - and saved me a tenner today.

On a less positive note, I had an email from 38 degrees today about the

UK MEPs disappointing performance in the recent TTIP vote. "This week, we had a setback in the fight against TTIP, the dangerous US-EU trade deal. MEPs failed to scrap one of the worst bits of the deal - the part that would let corporations sue our government in secret courts."

I was pleased to learn that my MEP, William Dartmouth, did vote against TTIP, but the other four UK MEPs failed to take a stand on behalf of their constituencies. "There’s another, bigger, vote on TTIP less than two weeks away" and 38 degrees "are going to expose the MEPs from the UK who aren’t taking a stand. We can put their faces across their local newspapers - everywhere their constituents will see. MEPs won’t want to be shown up in front of their voters. Can you chip in £3 for local newspaper ads calling out the MEPs who voted the wrong way on TTIP?" If we’re going to get in next week’s papers, we need to start booking the advert space today." I have sent £3? Please will you too?

Walking from Surprise View above Hathersage

Today is our last full day in the Peak District and one on which we have

Pretty mosaic sign on house near Aston 

been able to spend an hour or so sat out on our comfortable chairs soaking up the sunshine with a good book in between bouts of packing and stowing. Tomorrow our UK tour continues northwards to York where we have four nights booked at a Caravan Club CL that is within cycling distance of the city. Neither bike has had much use here in Hope as the walking has been so fantastic. One walk about which I have not yet written began in the Surprise View car park on the road between Hathersage and Sheffield.

We had noticed yet another variant on local scenery while driving to and

Setting out uphill from Surprise View car park 

from Sheffield for the two great gigs we attended at The Greystones. Both Chris Smither and Slaid Cleaves were on good form and I am so glad we got to see them play. I'm not sure I would return to The Greystones if an alternative venue was a possibility though. The almost continuous stream of people going to the bar is very distracting, especially on the night when we were sat with the door exactly to our left, and both gigs were plagued by chatterers! I digress. The path from Surprise View is an easy clamber over tumbled stones and through wide expanses of heather to a ridge up above the road. Once there, the view is spectacular out across the valley and there are amazing huge stones too. They are described as cairns on our Ordnance Survey map, and looked naturally eroded rather than man-made.

Huge rocks above the valley 

Once up, we continued walking out through heather following a well-worn path that gave the impression of having been there for centuries.

Dave eating his ice cream in a stream - as you do 

We ended up at the head of the valley, fording a stream after taking advantage of a conveniently parked Peak District Dairy ice cream van! The vans were out in force until about 4pm when cold rain started to fall. Unfortunately, we were not far after our half-way point at that stage so got drenched and chilly on the return leg. The sheer cliffs of Higgers Tor to our left did look particularly dramatic against the dark sky, but I didn't want to risk my phone getting soaked while taking a photo. We did cut our planned circuitous route short, but still enjoyed seeing more of the wonderful variety offered by this part of the world.

I also did get to visit the Go Outdoors shop in Hathersage. It has quite a lot of stock, albeit crammed into a pretty small space. They only had a single pair of convertible trousers in a small size though so I was disappointed not to be able to get my new pair. I also tried the shop opposite and the sporting section of Manchester Debenhams to no avail as well. There were choices in men's convertible trousers, but not women's and the men's ones don't fit comfortably. We have googled ahead though and there is a Blacks and a Weird Fish in York so fingers crossed for success there. It would be just my shopping luck that fashion has dictated against me! I might have to resort to separate trousers and shorts instead!

Biscuits for cheese - Scottish oatcakes recipe

We are doing very well for interesting and tasty cheeses from the farm

Scottish oatcakes with apple slices and cheeses 

shop in Hope - cheeses that warrant more than just brown bread to accompany them - so I thought I would try to make a batch of Scottish oatcakes instead. There are lots of different versions around, but my recipe here was basically decided by the weight of oats I had left in the cupboard! I make porridge for myself most mornings. Scottish oatcakes look very different to Derbyshire oatcakes. The latter are sold locally and look like crepes or pancakes. We haven't had an opportunity to eat them though so I don't know for sure. Scottish oatcakes are crisp and crunchy.

Ingredients:
205g porridge oats
80g wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp demerera sugar
60g salted butter, cut into small pieces
8-10 tbsp just-boiled-and-still-hot water

Pre-heat the oven to about 200c.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Rub in the butter pieces until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the hot water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix in well with a palette knife. Stop adding water when you have a sturdy, but not sticky, dough.

Sprinkle flour over a worksurface and rolling pin. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 cm thick then press out circles using pastry cutters or whatever comes to hand. I used one of our plastic picnic wineglasses!

Lay out the oatcakes on a greased or floured baking tray and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until they are golden. Allow to cool before serving.

Scottish oatcakes will last several days in an airtight container. I made 21 from the dough batch and these did us for two lunches as they are quite dense and filling. Dave liked them warm with butter and they also paired well with these cheeses: Bowland which is a cheddary-type cheese, rolled in cinnamon and containing chopped apple and raisin pieces; Pendle Forrest which is a delicious smoked cheese; and Caramelised Onion Cheddar which is exactly what its name describes!

To Manchester! for murals, trams and The Car Man

In a change from hill walking, we jumped on a NorthenRail train today to

Blue tit mural in Manchester 

briefly visit Manchester. Our reason for going was the Matthew Bourne ballet, The Car Man which is playing at The Lowry this week. It is fantastic! Not as light-hearted and jokey as Sleeping Beauty which we also thoroughly enjoyed in Wimbledon a couple of years ago, but with the same level of inventive choreography, loads of stunning dancing and superb set design. This is now the third Matthew Bourne ballet we have seen and we were trying to decide if we have missed any or if that's all of them. A brief google later, we learn that, fortunately, we still have Edward Scissorhands and Lord Of The Flies to look out for. I do love his work! The Car Man does have strong 'adult' themes, so not really a half term treat for the kids, but if you aren't so encumbered, there might be some good tickets left in Manchester and the tour then moves on to Sadler's Wells.

We didn't have any sightseeing time in Manchester other than what

Steampunk style sculpture on
top of something 

flashed past the trains and the excellent Metrolink tram network, plus what we saw on the short walks between the two. I loved the blue tit mural pictured above and also this steampunk-style dragon. I didn't find out why either were created. Do you know? Dave got new paintbrushes in a dangerous shop called Fred Aldous - multiple floors of art and craft supplies for all budgets. They even had the scraping foil picture kits that I used to love doing as a child! We both liked the mix of ultra-new and vintage industrial architecture that we saw from the tram out to The Lowry. In common with many cities I guess, the old industrial areas are being reimagined as modern housing and flats. Some here are metal and glass towers and others are created within old factory walls. I thought this gave a real sense of energy to the city without losing its sense of heritage. There was quite a lot of work still being done, especially along the tram lines which must be irritating for those travelling every day. But it will look fabulous when it is finished! We have decided that we would definitely like to return to the Peak District again for another few weeks - perhaps next year. I would also like to return and see more of Manchester when we do.

On a different note, SumOfUs emailed me this afternoon with the below petition that, while it only affects El Salvador, a small country on the other side of the world, at the moment, could have far-reaching effects for all of us if El Salvador loses its fight:

"In just a few weeks, a World Bank tribunal could decide whether the tiny

Central American nation of El Salvador will have to dish out millions to a Canadian-Australian mining giant - just for rejecting a destructive gold mine. OceanaGold is suing El Salvador for a whopping $301 million under investor laws that allow corporations to shamelessly sue countries.

El Salvador has the right to reject the mine to protect its water and people - 90% of the country's water is contaminated already, and OceanaGold’s mine would ruin its last remaining sources of clean water. With a decision coming any day, now is the time to pile on the pressure. Let's raise an outcry the World Bank can't ignore, and convince it to throw out this deeply unpopular case."

Please sign this SumOfUs petition telling the World Bank to throw out OceanaGold's case!

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson / Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin / Here In Harlem by Walter Dean Myers

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of my Favourite Five Horror Stories for Halloween 2015 and one of my Top Ten Books of 2015

Buy the audio download from Audible via Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk
Buy the paperback from The Book Depository
Buy the paperback from Waterstones

Horror fiction isn't my usual fare, but when I saw a narration of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend in an Audible 2-for-1-credit promotion I thought I would give it a try. Written in the 1950s, the story is a classic and I assumed that, being of that vintage, it would not be as graphically gory as modern tales. In this I was right. There are flashes of horrific violence, but what made I Am Legend brilliant for me is its creeping dread and its overriding sense of loss.

Our protagonist, Robert Neville, believes himself the last non-vampiric human alive and lives an isolated existence boarded up every night in a home besieged by his hunters. My Audible version was narrated by Robertson Dean who does a great job. His world-weary tones perfectly suit Neville's predicament so it was easy for me to get past the unreal element and accept the world as Matheson created it. Set in the then future of 1976, the summer is not especially hot - was it in America or just Europe? - but the library contains actual books and I liked how Matheson has Neville take home volumes to study.

Without, hopefully, giving away too much of the plot for anyone like me who hadn't even seen one of the film adaptations, the flashbacks to Neville's previous family life are sad and reminded me at times of the panic and chaos of Jose Saramago's Blindness. The dog is particularly heartrending and I loved the final twist which is so unlike standard narrative fare that I didn't see it coming. Brilliant storytelling and I'm glad I took a chance on it. I think I will learn how to wire up a generator though - just in case!

Search Lit Flits for more:
Books by Richard Matheson / Horror fiction / Books from America


The Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite was recommended to us by Dave's daughter Carrie. He bought it for his Kindle account which I can access via Amazon's newish Sharing function for Kindle which is a great idea. This is my seventh review for the Read Scotland Challenge.

Like Midnight's Children, Lilly is born at the beginning of a new era - in her case the beginning of the 20th century. Through her eyes, we see the desperate poverty suffered by many people in Germany in the period from 1900 until the end of the Second World War. Another of my recent reads, Life After Life, touched upon this era and I was interested to learn more about it.

Orphaned very young, Lilly grows up in an orphanage under the care of her beloved Sister August, a Catholic nun. Befriended by an older girl, Hanne, Lilly is encouraged to climb the walls at night, selling roses in seedy bars before she is even ten years old. Hanne is the only other person who does continuously return to Lilly's life, whereas practically everyone else leaves her or she leaves them behind. Despite eventual good fortune, which is revealed through intriguing flash forwards before each chapter, this theme of abandonment and loneliness runs throughout the book and must have been the norm in a time that encompassed not only the two World Wars, but also the Spanish flu epidemic and a civil war, and the complete wiping out of the German currency caused by First World War reparation payments. Although the Nazi Party's actions will always be horrific, novels such as Lilly Aphrodite do allow some understanding of how a people could find themselves choosing such a path.

Beatrice Colin's research, inspired apparently by a great-aunt, was obviously thorough and her efforts pay off. Her prose brings Berlin alive and it is easy to believe in the characters she creates. I love the vivacity of her writing and will certainly be looking out for more based on the strength of Lilly Aphrodite.

Buy the paperback from Waterstones.



Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Walter Dean Myers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am very happy that the AudioSYNC programme of weekly audiobook downloads is running again this summer. Last year I got the opportunity to hear several books that I might never have heard of otherwise and it looks like that will continue this year. Not all the books are downloadable to the UK so my first two for 2015, actually from Week Three, included Here In Harlem, a poetry collection by Walter Dean Myers.

Myers created his collection by remembering the people he used to live alongside when growing up in Harlem and writing around them. Dozens of people each have a short poem or prose piece allowing us insights into their lives, beliefs, passions and friendships. Women, men, girls and boys, of all ages and occupations all line up to speak and, with the audiobook, thirteen different narrators bring their words to life over appropriate music and sound effects. Whoever added the music certainly did an excellent job as this makes the atmosphere real to the listener.

I found the poems themselves a bit hit and miss. Some had strong characters behind the words, but I couldn't always find the person behind others. Perhaps brevity was at fault because most poems only allow the speaker one minute to project themselves. As a whole though, Here In Harlem gives an interesting overview of the district in its jazzy heyday.

Buy the audio download from Waterstones.


View all my reviews on Goodreads

Lose Hill to Mam Tor - our iconic Peak District walk

On Saturday we chose to attempt one of the most popular Peak District

Looking out from near the top of Lose Hill 

walks, one which takes in Lose Hill, Back Tor, Hollins Cross and, finally, Mam Tor. Much of the land through which the walk passes is now maintained by the National Trust and we were able to do the whole nine miles directly from Bailey without needing to drive anywhere. This was particularly helpful as, unsurprisingly, everywhere was busy on the first Saturday of half term week with a Bank Holiday thrown in too! This was our first walk with lots of people around, we think, ever. It was nice to feel part of 'something' and the majority of walkers exchanged smiles and hellos.

The hardest part of the whole walk was definitely the long, steep ascent

Looking up Lose Hill wondering if
turning round already would be wiser 

up Lose Hill from Hope. We both needed to pause a few times to catch our breath although it was encouraging that we didn't look in any more distress than others doing the same ascent. We even overtook a group of teenagers! The uphill had started pretty much from our campsite - all our best walks start with ups - but with a gentler gradient, and then it got steeper and steeper. This photo is of the final incline, presumably paved to help against erosion, and I was considering calling the whole thing off! But, as you can see, Dave (in the white t-shirt) was already ahead of me and I wasn't going to let him beat me to the top! The views once there were outstanding and almost made the effort worthwhile. As you can see, we didn't have a perfect day so I guess we might be able to see even further without the haze. There is an engraved metal 'compass' which gives the distances to other hills and significant local places.

Compass on top of Lose Hill 

The walk from Lose Hill to Back Tor was gentle by comparison. We managed to outpace to the toddler who had made up almost entirely under her own steam. The path here is unevenly rocky and sandy again. The descent from Back Tor slowed me down again. It was nowhere near as scarily scree-ey as such paths can be in Spain and I noticed that my feet didn't slide inside my North Face boots in the same way as they had in my worn-out Karrimor ones so I felt far more stable.

It's Dave again!
The Back Tor descent 

I don't know why Hollins Cross is called that. There wasn't a cross at the top so maybe it is like Hope Cross and indicates an old crossroads here rather than a religious site. We were being joined my more and more walkers as we continued. Goodness only knows how busy it must get up there in July and August! Mam Tor was our final of the four hills. The name translates as Mother Hill and apparently this is due to one disintegrating edge which has fallen away to create a number of smaller hills at its base.

Mam Tor 

When the light is right, we can see this view from our campsite and have been looking up here for a week, looking forward to standing on the top but I forgot to try and see Bailey from up there. I doubt I will return to rectify this! In the ground on the top, I saw what looked like a metal bangle embedded in concrete, but it was so busy I didn't take much notice. On the way down though, I saw this metal reproduction of a pot fragment also embedded in concrete so I think they must be National Trust commemorations of archaeological finds. I don't know if there are any others.

Pot fragment on Mam Tor 

We passed Treak Cavern, one we haven't visited yet, on our walk to Castleton. We weren't tempted to stop but I did see this poem inscribed onto a bench seat beside the path just beyond the cavern gift shop. Thwe words are by Judy Meetham, about whom I haven't been able to find out anything, and I think the bench was installed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Peak District Ranger Service in 2004.

Bench with poem by Judy Meetham 

The day trippers in Castleton made the hills feel positively secluded. We joined in the fun by queuing at a shop doing a roaring trade in Bradwell's dairy ice cream. I can recommend the Rum and Raisin flavour and Dave enjoyed his Midnight Mint. The sun had come out by now and it felt like a proper Bank Holiday weekend. Wearily, and with still an hour's walking to go, we wended our way home to Hope for a well-earned Lamb Pie dinner!
I took this final photograph on Dave's proper camera, rather than overtaxing my phone which doesn't cope well with big views. Dave is on top of Lose Hill with our path to the three remaining peaks stretching away into the distance.

Gorgeous! - and the view is nice too ;-)

Past Habitual by Alf MacLochlainn / The Turning Over by William McCauley / Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Waterstones have a special offer for the late May Bank Holiday weekend: an extra 10% off when you spend £25 (or more) simply for entering the code MAY10 when checking out. Click here to take advantage! The offer ends on Tuesday the 26th May at 12pm which I think means midnight, but might mean noon so don't spend too long browsing!

Past Habitual by Alf MacLochlainn

One of my WorldReads from Ireland
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Buy the book from Abebooks
Buy the paperback from Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk
Buy the paperback from The Book Depository
Buy the paperback from Waterstones

I received a copy of Past Habitual from its publisher, Dalkey Archive, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. This is my twelfth review for Sophie and Suze's NetGalley Challenge.

Childhood play, scarlet fever, a first kiss, befriending a Nazi spy--the narrative of Past Habitual roams through experiences both commonplace and formative, all under the uneasy canopy of wartime Ireland. Moving with ease between the voices of a young child, a German immigrant, an I.R.A member, and colloquial chatter, MacLochlainn forms a web of interactions that expose a century's tensions. A combination of traditional prose, poetry, monologue, and music, Past Habitual is an engaging and fascinating depiction of an Ireland struggling through the effects of war--both distant and on her doorstep.

Past Habitual is a collection of some twelve short stories all of which are set in Ireland. Alf MacLochlainn uses a variety of writing styles and, judging by the extensive bibliography at the back of the book, has incorporated a lot of real sources and events for his tales. Unfortunately I found that this has resulted in a lack of cohesion. I did enjoy three of the stories: 'A stitch in time', 'Why did I volunteer to kill the kittens' and 'Squitlings of memory or imagination on the Upper Shannon'. The remainder however either were difficult to read or lost me completely because of long tracts of dry historical or technical information, or long dialogues. I did encounter some moments of vivid description where MacLochlainn's Ireland suddenly sprang to life, but there was little in the way of strong characterisation. The synopsis intrigued me but I was disappointed by the resultant book.


The Turning Over by William McCauley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Buy the book from Amazon.co.uk

I received a copy of The Turning Over from its publishers, The Permanent Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. This is my thirteenth review for  Sophie and Suze's NetGalley Challenge

I have made a few Kiva loans to Sierra Leone but, other than a vague awareness of the vicious war there, know little about the country so I jumped at the chance to read The Turning Over when it was offered. I didn't at first realise that the book isn't exactly new. I believe it was first published in the late 1990s and has been re-edited for a 2015 reprint.

The Turning Over's great strength is in its portrayal of the minutiae of life in 1980s Sierra Leone. Ex-Peace Corps Volunteer Robert Kelley has stayed on in the country working in paid employment at a fisheries project. The project is now losing its support and he must turn it over to a corrupt local official, knowing that this will be very bad for the people dependent on it. I loved McCauley's descriptions of houses and livelihoods, the differences between both Sierra Leonans and white ex-pats, and also between different groups of Sierra Leonans. He manages to convey the desperation of the poorest people without judging, and contrasts this against the affluent white life.

While Robert, as our protagonist, doesn't really do much and is often a pretty unsympathetic character, he does allow the reader to view the moral conundrums posed by The Turning Over. Although when finally overtaken by what seems the outbreak of civil war, his river escape is exciting. I wouldn't recommend The Turning Over to fans of action thrillers, but as an insight into an often unrepresented country, it is a very interesting novel.


Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my sixth review for the Read Scotland 2015 challenge.

Buy the paperback from Waterstones

Having not been particularly impressed with my first Kate Atkinson read, When Will There Be Good News, I have had Life After Life sitting on my Kindle for months unread as I kept overlooking it in favour of other titles. What a mistake! Atkinson has created a incredible premise in Ursula's reliving of her life and executes her idea with wonderful skill.

I particularly liked the strength of the surrounding characters and found it easy to imagine Pamela and Maurice, Sylvie and Hugh, Teddy, Bridget and Mrs Glover and the irrepressible Izzie as real people. Their speech and behaviours seemed always spot on for their portrayals. Most fascinating however is Ursula's fluctuating character as the events which shape her future life either do or don't take place. Episodes such as Spanish influenza are so sad and shocking. This is not a relaxed read as it is impossible to guess from where the darkness will next fall.

Atkinson's impressive research carries the tale, without getting in the way, and I appreciated her viewing of the Second World War from both sides. Perhaps the end few chapters are a little too much 'must have a happy ending' for my tastes, but for sheer inventiveness and keeping all those plot twists logical, Atkinson deserves high praise indeed.


View all my reviews on Goodreads

We see a hare and a Roman hill fort and a Yellow Wagtail - in that order!

We saw a hare yesterday evening nonchalantly running across the

Edwardian footpath signpost 

campsite field, under gate and then - sticking to the footpath as signed! - down the neighbouring meadow until we lost sight of it by a stream. I think this was the very first hare I have seen, other than on TV, and Dave remembers seeing one only once before, back in the 1970s. We were both pretty excited, but of course had no cameras at the ready!

Today we've been walking from Hope to Bradwell and back. Bradwell has a very different feel to the touristy villages like Hope and Castleton. Several shop fronts were empty and the houses didn't have the same cutesy picturesque quality. It would be interesting to know if Bradwell feels run down because it's not on the main tourist route, so receives less revenue than its neighbours an hour's walk away. It certainly has potential with the centre having lovely old stone bridges and mill streams. We were pleased to watch a Yellow Wagtail on one bridge for a while. Perhaps the inhabitants prefer their peace to having muddy booted tourists everywhere!

Edwardian footpath signpost 

The Anavio Roman hill fort remains are near to Brough and the footpaths to the site are still indicated by the elegant Edwardian signposts pictured. Both are from 1909. The hill fort is less well preserved. There's a bit of a slope around the relevant part of a cow field and these stones are lying in the very centre of the raised area.

Roman hill fort ruins 

I can tell you're impressed!

After an early tea, we're off to Sheffield this evening, not that we will be wandering around much of it on a Friday night! Chris Smither is playing at The Greystones and, if you're a local fan too, we might see you there? If not, we will be back at the same venue on Tuesday for one of our favourite singer-songwriters, Slaid Cleaves. And the arty culture doesn't end there. Thanks to Gemma's glowing review of the Matthew Bourne production, The Car Man, which she has just seen in Bristol, Dave pootled online and saw that its tour is coming to The Lowry in Manchester next week. We loved his Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake productions and there were still good matinee seats for the Thursday so now we're going to the ballet as well! Woo hoo!

If you'd like to celebrate our good fortune at home, why not take advantage of this new offer from the English Heritage shop: 6 bottles of their wines or meads for the price of 5. I do love a mead! The offer runs until the end of May.

The Devil's Arse is quite a sight!

Now that title got your attention, didn't it?! 

Path to the Devil's Arse 

Today we enjoyed the second part of our Castleton caves joint ticket by paying a visit to The Devil's Arse, also more politely known as Peak Cavern. The more interesting name apparently came about due to local folks in historical times believing that the sound of gurgling water that sometimes heard from within the cave was actually the Devil himself farting. Although no water gurgled today, our guide did imitate the sound and I could understand why superstitious minds made the connection! The renaming was a hasty decision for Queen Victoria's first visit, a question of decorum!

The mouth of Peak Cavern is massive, so massive in fact that I couldn't get far enough back to capture its expanse in a photograph so you've got the dramatic cliffs overshadowing the path instead. Within the entrance cavern, we were treated to a demonstration of ropemaking - from fragile flax to sturdy rope - which we both found fascinating. Parts of Hailsham are named for the ropemaking industry there, but I had never thought through its practicalities before. I now understand just what that statue outside Hailsham Tesco is doing! Troglodytes lived and worked in Peak Cavern as ropemakers from the 1600s until 1915, amazingly, and we saw what I presume is a replica of one of their tiny dwellings

Peak Cavern does have some low overhangs, but is far less claustrophobic than Speedwell Cavern and is completely walkable - no boat rides here. We were shown rock formations including flowstones and unusually dark coloured little stalactites, the result of water trickling through volcanic rock above. Another change for Queen Victoria, this time for her second visit, was the blasting through of a short bypass tunnel at one point, high enough for her to walk through. Previously visitors had lain individually in a 'boat' that looked suspiciously like an unlidded coffin and been shoved through a very small aperture along a short stream. It looked horrifying so I was glad of the manmade alternative. Most of the Cavern is still natural though.

Approaching Peak Cavern through Castleton 

Speedwell Cavern and Peak Cavern could easily both be visited in a single day, although it is possible to book a joint ticket that lasts six months. This is what we did, taking advantage of the early bird discount which didn't actually require us to get up especially early. Booking is advised for Speedwell and we got lucky with Peak Cavern today as there were only six people on our tour, but a whole school party arriving as we left! Do allow time to appreciate the pretty walk to Peak Cavern. From the car park, we walked along narrow streets between extremely cute little cottages and alongside a small river with arched stone bridges. All very picturesque! There were even Shetland ponies in a field (with the obligatory sheep).

On a different note, an urgent 38 Degrees appeal for action:
Our bees are in danger again. Toxic chemical companies are trying to get

their banned pesticides back on UK fields. On Tuesday an application was submitted to the government asking them to lift the ban on bee-killing chemicals for some crops planted this autumn. A huge petition will make it clear to the environment minister, Elizabeth Truss, that she still needs to protect our bees, not the toxic profits of bee-killing chemical companies. Please sign this 38 Degrees petition.

It is raining on my washing but I have lots of books

Dave religiously checks the weather forecast every day so we thought today would be overcast and breezy, but with No Rain. As it turns out, now it is, but much of the morning has been brief showers so the duvet cover I washed first thing (ok, second thing!) has certainly had enough rinsing. We did walk into Hope again for shopping - more delicious Boston new potatoes from the Peak Fruits and a half shoulder of lamb from Watson's Farm Shop which we are hoping will be a cut above the previous two disappointing supermarket offerings. I am definitely getting used to this idea of striding out to 'proper' local shops for real food! And I'm not sure that it actually takes much longer to visit a few dedicated specialist shops than to trawl a big supermarket. Of course, there may be a few things we don't find, but I am teaching myself the habit of spotting opportunities as well. The Co-Op in Bakewell yesterday had diddy cans of tonic whereas the Spar in Hope only has large bottles (which go flat!).

While we're talking Bakewell, we have tried the pudding - warmed through and with hot custard. It is nothing like the iced Bakewell tart! I think we both enjoyed the pudding and it was reminiscent of a treacle tart but without the sugar overload, or a larger flatter custard tart. I'm not sure I'd bother with another though. Like several regional specialty cakes we've tried including a Basque cake when in Bayonne, I'm not quite sure why such a fuss!

This afternoon is looking like an indoorsy time which is actually good because I've slowed down significantly on my reading and have quite a backlog to catch up on. The NetGalley Challenge ends at the end of May and I'm hoping to have read about fifteen books for that. I had got to just one NetGalley title left unread, but then went a-browsing when logging in to publish a review so now have another four, plus the 'one left'! I also have books from two independent authors who have approached me offering copies of their new books to read and review. I loved The Brain within its Groove by L.N.Nino and now have his new novel, Shadows of Us. Also, Anne Goodwin has sent over a copy of Sugar And Snails which has a great cover image. Fortunately Sugar And Snails isn't due to be published until mid-July so I have time on that one - time to get lost in the half dozen paperbacks on our little shelf, and goodness knows how many kindle books that Dave's bought. I really should stop blogging so much and read instead!

But before I do, make sure you don't miss out on the Spring Bank Holiday

offer at Whittard: a generous 20% off with the checkout code SPRING20. Not only does Whittard have the best hot chocolate selection in Britain - the Spanish Valor Cao is still my absolute favourite - but I do love their tableware too. Our brightly coloured terracotta and yellow plates are in storage because they are a bit on the heavy side for caravan living, but setting them out again will be a good way to liven up our new home (once we find it!). SPRING20 is valid until the 26th of May.

From Bakewell to Eyam: two museums, new boots and a pudding

The Peak District town of Bakewell has been on our bucket list for years,

Bakewell Pudding! 

mainly due to Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewells being one of Dave's favourite foods - ever! We wanted to see if the genuine article was indeed better so we bought ourselves a traditional pudding and a can of custard today. I'll let you know Dave's Official Decision after our Tamarind Chicken dinner ... (and, while I remember, if you forget to buy fresh tomatoes, it turns out that a tablespoon of tomato puree is a fine substitute.)

In the meantime, it turns out that there's more to Bakewell than pastry confections. The town is the capital of the Peak District and has an abundance of outdoor clothing shops, cute cafes and estate agents. It is very touristy which must have destroyed much of its original charm, but there are still lots of old buildings to admire from street level. The oldest house in town, dating back to 1534, is now the Old House Museum - see what they did there? A little away from the commercial centre and up a hill that's not a patch on Calver Edge, the Museum houses a hotch-potch of domestic and industrial artefacts, tells the stories of local residents, and has an interesting short film about the history of the town. Apparently the name Bakewell is likely derived from Scandinavian language roots with early names being Badeca's Wells in Danelaw times and Badequella in the Domesday Book.

Bakewell's Museum showing its age on the outside 

We spent an hour or so exploring the varied exhibits and I thought it was all good value for the £4 per person admission charge. My particular favourite exhibits were the inlaid table top - want one! - and the massive wooden Tudor cupboard - it will never fit in Bailey! Architectural details are also highlighted such as very early windows and a huge Tudor fireplace that had later been walled in for a pantry. Outside, we could see the sagging walls. On show were also recycled battery cases from a defunct local battery factory, now functioning as planters. They reminded me of this fun planter we saw in Castleton - I should have kept hold of my worn out Karrimor boots!

Recycled planter in Castleton 

We lunched at Bean and Bag, a lovely cafe in Bakewell, before wandering around some shops and then heading to Eyam in time to beat last admissions at the Eyam Museum by fifteen minutes. The ticket seller didn't seem best pleased - apparently we should spend longer than 45 minutes there, but it's quite a compact presentation and we skipped the war section. A little local history includes a great model of a leadmine and some archaeological finds. Eyam is famous for being a village that isolated itself during the Great Plague of 1665 in order not to pass the disease to neighbouring

Present-day Eyam 

villages. The museum doesn't actually say whether their sacrifice worked and hardly mentions the whole isolation and how it worked. However, there is lots of information about the plague year - the volume of deaths, historic plague remedies and preventative measures, most of which are ludicrous by current thinking. I was shocked to learn that bubonic plague is still with us. For some reason, my school teaching that the Great Fire of London's wiping out of the last vestiges of the plague had led me to believe it no longer existed anywhere. Not so. An estimated twelve and a half million people in India died of plague in the fifty years prior to Independence and, in certain areas of the USA, people are warned against coming into contact with local wildlife as rodents there carry bubonic plague. Scary stuff!

Eyam Museum is another great value visit at just £4.50 for both of us. Plus, if you're in the area around the middle of June, there is a production of Roses Of Eyam to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the first plague victim in the village. The play is on from the 17th to the 20th June 2015 and tickets are on sale at Eyam Museum.

On a happier note, let's talk shopping! There's a dangerous shop on the

My new Gabor boots 

way back from Eyam to Hope. It's called the Peaklander Factory Shop and they have lots of outdoorsy shoes and clothing. I popped in hoping they might have some convertible trousers, but instead I bought these Fabulous Boots! I love boots! Dave gets the credit for spotting them and they are by a German brand called Gabor. Super comfy and they look great with black jeans. Oops!

We are doing well for local shopping having walked into Hope twice from the campsite, once even In The Rain although we sweltered on the way back uphill in all our waterproofs. The cheeses below are from the excellent Watson's Farm Shop and, further afield in Castleton, the bakery shop whose name I forgot is Peveril Stores and they also have their own honey and jams.

Buying Local 

You will notice a few petitions creeping into these blog pages from now on as I use a bit of the space to raise awareness of issues that are important to me. My friend Sally Willow commented on Facebook that we're going to be signing for a lot more causes since May 7th. So true! I will be promoting campaigns from SumOfUs, Compassion In World Farming and 38 Degrees. If you agree with any, please click through and sign. If not, just scroll past. It's not like I'll know!

Last month, a SumOfUs petition helped convince Yum! Brands, owner of

Pizza Hut and KFC, to announce a policy to only buy 100% deforestation-free palm oil. However a new report shows that one of Pizza Hut's largest international franchisees, Jardine Matheson, is responsible for massive destruction of rainforests and endangered elephant habitat. Pizza Hut cannot claim to be deforestation-free while its franchisees are cutting down the rainforest. Please sign this new SumOfUs petition to convince Pizza Hut to honour its public commitment.