England & Wales 2015 – Part 3: Peak District & Chester

Tourist Glut in Peak District

Monday, 06.04.2015

Getting up was really hard this morning after this pure icehockey party weekend. Nevertheless we leap out of bed at 10am, have a brief shower and pack our bags before the actual England/Wales adventure is finally going to start.

Great start for a roadtrip: Traffic jam in Matlock.

Great start for a roadtrip: Traffic jam in Matlock.

Unfortunately this Monday seems to be a bank holiday, thus half of England is on the road and it is only in Matlock where traffic comes to a complete halt on our way to Peak National Park. We need a good half an hour for getting down the 600 meters stretch of Matlock‘s main road. While not really moving we can perfectly watch people’s activities in the beautiful local park where there are hords of picknicking families, old guys playing boules or children riding in small boats on a tiny pond.

By VW bus to a picknick. :)

By VW bus to a picknick. 🙂

Best weather for the little ones to ride a boat; Matlock

Perfect weather for the little ones to ride a boat; Matlock

After 65 kilometers (40 miles) and nearly three hours driving time we reach our first destination, Bakewell. The historic town in the heart of the Peak National Park is famous for its historic structures and the famous Bakewell Pudding, a small tarte tasting like marzipan. Unfortunately today it has also attracted hundreds of thousands of Britsh toursist as well, so we more feel like in Disneyland than in a town of 3,000 inhabitants.

Tourists sunbathing along River Wye; Bakewell

Tourists sunbathing along River Wye; Bakewell

Like in Disneyland: Bakewell

Like in Disneyland: Bakewell

Crouds of people in the town of 3,500: Bakewell

Crowds of people in the town of 3,500: Bakewell

No people on the minor village roads

No people on the minor village roads

Bakewell church

Bakewell church

Centuries old gravestones, Bakewell

Centuries old gravestones, Bakewell

Interesting power supplies

Interesting power supplies

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“That’s mine!”

Pedestrian zone in Bakewell

Pedestrian zone in Bakewell

"Bakewell Pudding Factory"

“Bakewell Pudding Factory”

After two hours we continue through the Peak District, along Monsal Dale, a valley being crossed by a cycle and walking trail along an abandoned railway line with several tunnels and viaducts.

Monsal Dale, the old railway viaduct in the foreground

Monsal Dale, the old railway viaduct in the foreground

At Winnats Pass the Peak District shows it’s presumably most beautiful side. Lush rolling hills, rugged cliffs and a narrow windy and with an incline of 1 in 5 unexpectedly steep road show that this is one of England’s few real uplands.

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Winnats Pass

We save a visit to famous Blue John Caves for another journey due to the advanced time, putting it on top of a bucket list.

At the upper end of Winnats Pass the road offers wonderful views of England’s rolling hills before we hit the motorway towards the West near Manchester.

Rolling hills

Rolling hills

In the evening we arrive in Chester with its historic old town worth seeing. Since it is going to start to darken soon we are only doing a short stroll through the city. Most distinctive feature for Chester are the Rows, roofed arkades on the first floor along the main (shopping) roads. They were presumably built for customers in order to not having to walk in muddy roads during regular rainy weather, so you could count the Rows as ancestors of our modern shopping malls.

Heron

Heron

Chester old town

Chester old town

Typical English timber-framing

Typical English timber-framing

The "Rows", medieval shopping walks on the first floor; Chester

The “Rows”, medieval shopping walks on the first floor; Chester

Mist appears

Mist appears

Shortly before dusk it suddenly becomes foggy, making finding a campground not really easier. After a real odyssey, the realization that English campgrounds are not necessarily public and open for everyone and some phone calls later we find a nice spot for the night at Clays Touring & Leisure Park in Llan-y-Pwll across the Welsh border.