Splendid Hardwick Hall

Saturday started early for us, as we left home and headed north up the A38. We arrived at our destination- Hardwick Hall at about 10.15am, and people were already arriving in droves for the Great British Food Festival. We joined the crowds and headed to the big marquees that had been set up. There were two, both filled with many stalls selling a variety of things – food, drink, crafts....even stationery items. We had fun looking around, but the marquees soon became so crowded that you could barely move.  Believe me at this point, it had stopped being fun! We had bought some cheeses, oat cakes and a couple of the most delicious heart shaped cakes though! We headed back out to the open area and had a wander around, there were mostly stalls selling food, and we did stop at one to have some Thai food for lunch. It was delicious!! There was live music all day, a bouncy castle and even guide foraging walks (which we didn’t join, the only foraging I do is in shoe shops!) By early afternoon we had decided we really wanted to visit Hardwick hall, and as our festival tickets allowed us 2-4-1 admission to the Hall it seemed crazy not to go. Admission prices are very steep! Having said that I am very glad we went, Hardwick Hall is amazing inside, truly beautiful!! A little bit of history below courtesy of Wikipedia -

Hardwick Hall, in Derbyshire, is an architecturally significant Elizabethan country house in England. Built between 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style of architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of the style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence.

We had a lovely afternoon exploring the house, and the many wonderful rooms. We had tea in their coffee shop, and of course visited the gift shop before leaving at 5pm. How quickly the hours flew by! On the way home, we stopped at the East Midland Outlet Centre to have a wonder around the shops, only for an hour though as they shut at 6pm. Well, an hour is better than nothing. Finally we arrived home around 7pm, tired but happy.

On Sunday we decided to visit Derby, we had grand plans for the day including a visit to Pickford House Museum as Paul has never been there and it is open on Sunday afternoons from 1-4pm I believe. We arrived in Derby bright and early, parked in the cheap car park and walked down into the town centre. The first stop of the day was Lush as usual; best to get in there early before the crowds build up. I was delighted to see that Michelle was at work, and as exuberant as usual! With basket clutched in hand she bounded around the shop pointing out what was new, and extolling their virtues. I didn’t need much convincing. I adore Lush products as some of you might have picked up on. Ok, so they are on the expensive side, but they are gorgeous. It’s a joy to shop at the Derby Branch as the staff are all fun, and happy to let you sample the goods. I came away smelling wonderful and with very soft hands!! I also came away with a Fizzbanger, Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo, Popcorn lip scrub and Let the Good Times Roll body scrub……and of course a little freebie to enjoy!! An hour later…..I wondered where the morning had gone?! We stopped at Costa for lovely latte’s and then continued our journey around Westfield. I happily found a fab pair of boots in New Look reduced to £7 – a 75% reduction!! They were children’s boots, but fit perfectly. Happy me, and better still there was still some money on the New Look gift card I had for Christmas. We wondered down to the Walkabout for lunch! We haven’t been there in years. Lunch was nice, and strangely enough everyone was walking the right way up – go figure?! Somehow the time just evaporated away and we never did get to Pickfords House, which was a really shame.