It’s Tuesday of my 26th week in England. My dear colleague Andrea and I are back in Derby after returning from our trip to Scotland and spend the last day she’s around doing sports. Yeah, exactly, that’s when you go outside and actually move your arms and legs. Remember, it’s US doing that … as if we were soooo into sports! 😀
We take the bus towards Ashbourne where we rent two bikes and ride along the Tissington Trail. This 21 km walk/cycle path runs through the Peak District and along the trackbed of a former railway line that connected Ashbourne and Buxton in the past. It takes its name from Tissington, a lovely village that skirts the path.
In Tissington we visit a Methodist chapel (plain & simple), a café and a very fancy vintage shop where we treat ourselves with some delicious fudge. The village is most famous for its impressive Tissington Hall, a huge building that, unfortunately, you can only visit on five days per year. But still, there’s loads of lovely stone houses, so it’s worth a visit. The streets are partly still covered with snow (so is the path itself) and therefore we mess up our trousers completely.^^ After four hours of cycling we finally return to Ashbourne, treating ourselves again (^^) with a gingerbread-man. 🙂 Gotta love English sweets …
The next day, Andrea is going back to Austria and I’m traveling to Birmingham where I meet my dear colleague Theresa, another FLA from Austria, who’s joining me for a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. It goes without saying that this is Shakespeare’s birthplace, doesn’t it? Obviously, we visit all the “important” sights … Anne Hathaway’s cottage (that’s Shakespeare’s wife), Shakespeare’s birthplace, his grave and many more buildings that are connected with this world famous writer. It’s a very touristy place indeed, still we enjoy walking along the river Avon that runs through the city. At the end of this busy day, we treat ourselves with some tea and scones. Again, that’s why you need to love England! 🙂
On Thursday, my journey brings me to Leicester, Clemens’ current location. It takes you about 20 minutes to go there from Derby. Leicester seems rather nice, together with some of Clemens’ German friends I learn a lot about Richard III, who’s grave was discovered in Leicester in February this year. But frankly, we mostly spend the following two days shopping, partying and drinking which seems to be way more fun than in Derby … ^^ But then again, my flatmate Naomi’s birthday party (which she even hired a venue for!) was good fun, nevertheless …
A lovely week spent with lovely people. 🙂
Some pix for you:
