On Sunday we left Southampton about 10am, stopped for lunch at Ikea Birmingham, and later at a supermarket for supplies, and arrived at our Airbnb in Biddulph near Stoke-on-Trent around 2:30pm. Owl's Loft was a little converted outbuilding next to a pretty farm cottage in the middle of the countryside. There were other little farms and cottages nearby but the nearest village was just over a mile away. So it was wonderfully quiet! :) I don't think the interior could have been any more "me", haha, I loved it.
We were close to Biddulph Grange Country Park, so after unpacking we headed out for a walk into the winding country lanes. Coming to a wooded, bluebell-strewn valley with a pretty little river at the bottom, I think we both broke out into big smiles; this place was exactly what we'd wanted - space, peace, quiet, nature, well away from the city, literally a breath of fresh air, a relief.
After getting back to the cottage we sat outside on the patio and relaxed for a while before getting on with making the healthy curry we'd planned for dinner. My friend had brought his bluetooth speaker/radio so we put that on as well. There's something homely, for me, about having the radio on in the background while doing something in the house. Not any station, but something like BBC Radio 2 or 3 or 4 or Classic FM. I'll have to get a radio to put in the kitchen when I eventually get my own place.
Anyway, for dinner we'd found some tikka masala paste pots at the supermarket, which we added to onion, pepper, chicken, a tin of chopped tomatoes, and some spinach. Super easy! My attempt at turning a couple of tortilla wraps into an alternative sort of poppadom didn't go quite to plan, as I left them in the oven too long and they burned, haha, but the second attempt wasn't too bad so we had something crunchy to go with the curry and rice. It was all yummy! I even treated myself to a fruity cider :)
I made some wraps from the leftover curry and rice to take as lunch to Alton Towers the next day, while my friend got the wood-burning stove started upstairs in the lounge, and we settled down to spend the next three hours watching the brilliant Interstellar, with the fire crackling away nicely.
It was so nice to wake up the next day to sunshine, a countryside view, and no sound except birdsong :) We left around 9:30am for Alton Towers. My friend commented that he wouldn't have thought of me as a theme park kind of person, haha. I haven't been to one for a couple of years but I do enjoy them when it's quiet on term-time weekdays. Can't abide long queues. Anyway, it was good =] My favourite rollercoaster was the Wickerman, a wooden one that felt like it went faster than the others and had loads of twists and turns and loops and was just great fun! 'Hex', the ride inside the old mansion, was really cool, too; you're seated on rows of benches and don't move much except in a slight pirate-ship motion, but the room moves instead so it's enormously disorienting and surreal and baffling and a laugh, haha. I hadn't known the park was a former private estate, where the Earls of Shrewsbury lived, and I really liked the areas where the grounds were still in their original state, like the large lawn area in front of the now-ruined mansion, and the ornamental valley garden full of trees, winding paths, and water features, which provided a nice quiet place to get away from the concrete for half an hour and eat lunch.
We left shortly before 4pm and headed back to the cottage. Again we just relaxed for a couple of hours before heading out for dinner at 7pm. The owner of the Airbnb had recommended The Talbot pub in the village, and we decided to walk there, which was a nice way to see some the surrounding area and more pretty countryside. It's one of the Vintage Inns chain so it was really nice and did really good food. We shared a starter of garlic cheesy baked mushrooms, then I got lamb shank with mash and honey-roasted carrots, followed by apple and rhubarb crumble :) All delicious! Of course we were completely full up when we left after a couple of hours. It was dark by then, but the half-hour walk back along the unlit country lanes was quite cool =] We'd bought some ingredients to make lemon drizzle cake, but were too tired by the time we got back to make it.
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| Just a cute place we passed on the way to the pub |
We left late the next morning, wishing we could stay longer, and drove up towards the Peak District so we could see some of it properly before heading back home. Just before the national park border, we passed a lake and an entrance to a car park and decided to turn in and investigate. It turned out to be Tittesworth Reservoir and had some signposted walks, a visitor centre and café, so we stopped there for a while. We opted for the shorter of the two walks, 1.5 miles, the route including lakeside, woodland, and views of some rocky ridges, then went for lunch in the café overlooking the lake.
There was only a couple of hours left before we needed to start driving home, so we drove up towards Bakewell with the intention of getting some good Bakewell Tart. Upon entering Bakewell, however, we were surprised by the sight of chain stores and franchises and were both immediately like "Oh! Hmm, nope...". We hadn't realised it was a proper town, and we wanted a cute little village with local independent places. So we carried on through the pretty rolling countryside, and soon found the cute little village of Youlgrave. Propped up against the corner of a cottage was a little chalkboard pointing towards a place called Peak Feast and "cakes!" and "pies!". We both got really excited, found a place to park and walked through the tiny village to the bakery.
It. Was. Wonderful.
Perfect.
Tucked out of the way up a little side street, Peak Feast is a bakery and shop. You walk in through the beaded curtain and find yourself faced with a freezer full of pies and locally-made decent ready meals on your right, shelves of jars of preserves, loaves of bread, bottled soft drinks, crisps and crackers, and - most importantly - tables of freshly made cakes on the left. A few women were baking more in the kitchen behind the counter. I was in heaven! :D Part of me loves the idea of having a place of my own like that.
We each bought a slice of Bakewell tart and a drink, and sat outside on a picnic table in the sunshine, I for one giddy and grinning. The drink I had was gorgeous, a Franklin & Sons strawberry and raspberry with black pepper. I don't usually like sparkling drinks but it sounded good so I tried it. And of course the Bakewell tart was yummy! I kind of wished I could buy a whole one rather than just a slice, haha - but I'd already bought a slice of treacle tart to save and eat the next day. I need to learn to make both!
(FYI - Bakewell tart is a shortcrust pastry case with layers of jam and frangipane and topped with flaked almonds; Bakewell pudding is a dessert made of a flaky pastry base or case topped with jam and a filling of egg-and-almond paste, kind of like an almondy set custard; Cherry Bakewells are Bakewell tarts with a layer of icing on top of the frangipane and topped with a glacé cherry.)
After about half an hour there, it was, very sadly, time to go. We took our time walking back through the pretty and peaceful little village, wishing we could live in the cottage opposite where we'd parked the car. It was such a nice few days! And I really enjoyed going with someone and not on my own for a change. It's just nice to share things with someone else who appreciates the same things you do. It was a shame we didn't get into the Peak District proper, and see the craggy moorlands there, but we still had a great time :)
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