Longshaw Estates - eventually - glorious day - 80F

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The weather when we awoke was so lovely we decided to take advantage of it and risk a trip into Derbyshire.

Carpe diem and all that jazz. All thanks to Horace originally.

Y suggested we try somewhere where we had WoW-ed and Longshaw Estates fitted in. Our route was, to say the least, circuitous, but resulted in an impressive scenic tour. Our big mistake was using Google-Maps and printing-off their suggested route.

Chesterfield is OK but .........

Anyway, we saw grass being mown for hay and 'wuffled' which produced that unforgettable smell.

Bottom left of the 'collage' was the view from where we stopped for coffee (our own and delicious).

When we finally arrived at Longshaw it was busy (school holidays etc.) but well lived up to expectations. I managed a fairly long walk with my wheels and reached the pond/lake on the way to Padley Gorge. - Grindleford. We stopped and talked to a very pleasant couple who were regular visitors and recommended a handier car-park for me in future.

On our arrival back at the Visitor's Centre we had tea and a nice piece of cake - and a lovely long chat to the NT 'volunteer' tea-lady and learned lots of insider-information about Longshaw and in particular the 'old house' which has been converted into up-market apartments.

When we arrived home the garden still looked in it's pristine post-Karen state.

As I sat on my bed to unload my 'bits and bobs' I noticed this interesting picture featuring my bottle-stopper lens.

Apart from adjusting my position to maximise the juxtaposition of the diagonal lines the picture is fiddle-free.

My replies to your comments

Bob ..... As you noted a couple of days ago, the weather seems consistently inconsistent. An old red pullover that I haven't worn for years has become my bosom companion (please excuse the word-play).

Tesco is excellent for good quality and extremely cheap electrical goods. Your new telly will doubtless give excellent service. My bedroom hot-water jug/kettle was under £3 and I can't fault it.

Glad we've sorted out the misunderstanding about the Toyota lights.

The AA man was quite witty about our Yaris Verso. He described it as a 'normal Yaris with a loft-conversion'.

Yvonne .... I think you do wonderfully well to play Cricket and Football with the grand-children, especially if you aren't allowed time on 'the bench'.

I'm glad you have actually seen the Lidl ad for the 'swimming-goggles' and they seem OK. Big difference between £2.79 and around £15 at Decathlon.

Thanks for your kind words about my gardening efforts. I intend a further couple of hours before the weekend is over.

jbw .... Archery isn't my forte although the subject interests me - particularly the English 'long bow'. Such romantic connotations and history.

Doug is very interesting to listen to on the subject and an excellent bowman himself.

Going back into the animation to alter it is easier said than done I'm afraid. Although I couldn't do it myself, I know a man who could .... as they say. But I have no intention of troubling him with this one. Sorry if that sounds abrupt because it isn't my intention. It is good to have your comments on the blog - so keep them coming .....

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Quotation time .....

"Hark! I hear their drum.
Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!

Shakespeare - King Richard 111.V

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"