Sunday 25 May 2008

Day Out

Determined not to let another half term slip into nothingness. Adults with their heads tucked into computers and son off doing his own thing. Plus, our kids are only young for a short time and I want some memories to be about us, as a family, and not just when we have friends and family to stay.

The weather also helped. A good forecast meant Saturday must not be squandered as the rest of the week is forecast to be rainy and cold. We set off in the morning with me driving at my 50mph limit which led to much mirth considering whether we would still be in our mid-forties by the time we got there. Son joined in and the journey was as much of an adventure as the destination. We stopped off en-route at a supermarket to put together a little picnic. Amongst other things son plumped for some hot meats from the deli counter; Mr Doris went for a pic and mix salad whilst I went for a kabanos sausage, olives, French bread and a mini bottle of red wine. Quite a feast!

Upper Burbage in the Peak District National Park was more than I could have hoped for with expanses of moors, rocky outcrops, valleys, streams and forests:


Mr Doris and son can't help but bound down a few rocks alongside the stream:


The climbers are dotted along the small cliff face where we had climbed up to be amongst the rocks to get out of the wind and enjoy our vittles with an incredible view:


Then ambled over to the forest as that was where son wanted to go:


It was a useful experience for son to see how quickly one can get lost in a forest and the importance of keeping bearings in mind. Thankfully Mr Doris drove us home but I know not at what speed as I flaked out after all the sun and walking and probably the wine too. It was a great day out.

13 comments:

Anji said...

Treasure the time they want to go with you. Rob and I enjoy going off on our own but it's not the same as having the children around.

I do miss the English country side.

Doris said...

So true Anji - son had actually expressed a desire for us all to go out together. Such opportunities are not to be missed. I even dropped a message to 18 yo daughter if she wanted to come and whilst momentarily considering it, she already had other plans. Nice that she considered it even for a moment.

The English countryside is much under-rated but then it is hard to find places like this where you can walk relatively freely. And of course, having a car makes it much more accessible than it is.

alan said...

Many years ago I decided that if I ever escaped these shores again I would love to spend a year watching the seasons change in the Yorkshire moors. This of course, inspired by "Wuthering Heights" and later "Tenant of Wildfell Hall" among other things.

I had no idea this beautiful place existed; it is truly stunning!

Of course, my year had all sorts of little day trips and slightly longer trips planned...Scarborough, Cornwall, the Lake District. Though the idea of London terrifies me in the same manner as New York does, there are things I would love to see there as well.

Sadly, I'm going to have to live a long life to do that, because my wife has no intention of leaving the 48 states ever again...

I was shocked to read that the Peak District was Britain's 1st national park, created in 1951!

alan

Anonymous said...

A good day Doris, as in A Good Day.

Jo said...

What a lovely day Doris, and what lovely pictures :-) Yes, such days are very special indeed, and in such a beautiful place too?

xx

Anonymous said...

Ah, that reminds me of some lovely Yorkshire holidays we had when the kids were small. We did go to Derbyshire once too, but the landscape is so similar. Wild and beautiful! Thanks for the memories!

Doris said...

Alan
We have a beautiful country here, but in a quiet English way. I loved visiting the States and the awe inspiring South-West. With the range of countryside I suppose there isn't any need to leave the 48 States .... but such a pity to take that attitude. It's good for the carbon trail though so that's another upside for not travelling.

Thursday
Indeed :-)

Josephine
Very special memories.

Jay
Thank goodness for pictures that pint a thousand words. One photo can conjure up memories of treasured holidays long passed.

S L Cunningham said...

Doris,
See that you moved, but you made it easy to find you. I had problems with Blogger when they made the switch, and finally gave up trying to access my old site. Decided to change my url but my blog is the same.

Maybe it's because my grandparents came from Scotland, but whenever I look at pictures of the English countryside, I feel a sense of home. I've never been to England or Scotland, but it's at the top of my list once I have my other priorities taken care of.

Wonderful pictures, and wonderful spending a day with you out and about.

Scot

Doris said...

Hello Scot

Welcome back to blogging and it is good to see you. I see that in the interim you have moved house and joined MASH.... I shall look forward to catching up a bit with you. In that time I had voluntarily stopped blogging and then returned .... hence the shift to a new persona here - but it is still me! Real bugger to get locked out of your blog but at least you have managed to "archive" your old blog. Have you also downloaded a copy to your hard drive just in case? I've used HTTrack Website Copier as it is free and most effective.

Scotland is unlike anywhere with the greenest of greens beyond most colour palettes. You have a wonderful heritage :-)

S L Cunningham said...

Doris,
No, I wasn't aware of the HTTrack Website Copier, but thank you for suggesting it. I think it might've saved me a lot of grief. I'm still amazed I was able to archive my old site to my new site. Basically, I stole my source code from dog1net and pasted it into the template of my new blog. I learned I wasn't the only one who had fits when Blogger switched their format. But all's right with the world again.

My grandparents came from St. Andrews during the early thirties. My grandfather was a pro-golfer, and when he came to America, he ran the pro-shop at one of the golf courses on Long Island, New York. Not sure which one. I'll have to research that sometime.

Scot

Neutron said...

Hi Doris,

Ta for the photies. This has added to the itchy travelly feeling I was already suffering from..

Anonymous said...

It sounds positively wonderful and the pictures are great! We loved such adventures when our kids were still at home too. Picnics and hikes are the best!

Greg said...

I once went camping in the Peak District. All the comedy clips you've ever seen about putting up a tent in the rain? That was me and my girlfriend of the time. Fortunately we weren't far from "The Old Nags Head"!