After we had to put our main holiday on hold my husband booked this CL on the spur of the moment just to get away for a few days, and what a fabulous choice he made. When we arrived Tom was just on his way to do the school run, but he stopped long enough to advise us on the most suitable pitch for us - the area in the corner near the 5 bar gate - he also explained where everything was, then left us to it. Later that afternoon, Jo came and welcomed us and told us we could move on to the hardstanding the next day if we wished (it was occupied on our arrival). We chose to stay where we were as we got the sun in the morning and into the evening. A walk to the little information hut was worth it. As we love to cycle there were 4 pamphlets outlining cycling loops in and around the immediate area. We cycled one each from the Bakewell and Ashbourne pamphlets, and an amalgamation of another two from the Bakewell pamplet. We were set to cycle another on our last full day there, but as the weather wasn't that good, we decided to stay local and make up our own route - taking in the Magpie Mine - a disused lead mine - and the villages of Over Haddon, Youlgreave and Middleton by Youlgreave. The annual Well-Dressing festival started on the Saturday in Over Haddon, and we arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the blessing of the main well, before joining the small congregation and walking up to the junior well for its blessing. Tea and cake followed in the village hall. Thank goodness we have ebikes - the pedal assist was well and truly used for all our rides - and in particular the Chatsworth loop - which had some stonking hills! The hut was also well stocked with other pamphlets - but do check as some were out of date - but you'd get a general idea. The menu for the local pub, the excellent Bull's Head, was out of date too. Unfortunately we forgot to pick up some menus to replace them. The site itself is very well cared for, and the grass is kept nice and short. It was lovely sitting out and watching/listening to all the bird life around us. There is slight noise from the road during the day, but come night time it is extremely quiet (although the RAF had other ideas one night). The pretty village of Monyash is exactly one mile downhill from the CL so within easy cycling/walking distance for the pub! Most of the farms in the area seem to be cattle/sheep, and on our last day we just missed a calf being born on a neighbouring farm. We stopped in the hope we would see the calf try to stand up, but mum had other ideas and as she obviously didn't like us being there, we just left her to it. All in all we highly recommend this lovely site, and with the Tissington, Monsal and High Peaks Trails nearby - it's a must for cyclists.
Carolee
Reviewed on 19/06/2023 10:38
