We try and gather with Alison’s family once a year for a weekend break and in 2016 we’d chosen Hulme End in Derbyshire. The plan was for us to use Absinthe, Richard and Mandy to take their tent and we’d stay on nearby Bank House Farm campsite which we’d used in 2015 (BLOG).

Alison’s Mum & Dad and her sister Ann and Malc would book into the Manifold Inn across the road.

As has often happened so far this summer, the weather put paid to those plans. The campsite rang on Friday to say that the pitches we’d booked were under water but we could use their overflow field. Unfortunately, the field is some way from the toilets, has no electricity and is liable to be very muddy.

So what to do? After lots of phone calls we decided that we’d postpone arrival unitl Saturday morning. There’s a site behind the pub on higher ground which we managed to get into – still no electricity but the toilets are nearby. Richard, Mandy, Ella & Max would also come over on Saturday but only for the day.

Things were further complicated because our new found Granddaughter, Aimee (she’s asked to call us Granddad and Granny, rather than Mr B and Allie) was coming with us, meaning that I would be sleeping in the pop up festival tent next to the van.

We arrived just after 10 after a short delay on the M6 and some wet weather driving through the twisting, turning, winding roads of Derbyshire. We had some breakfast in the pub before we all set off in convoy to Matlock.

By the time we got there the rain had stopped and we pottered through the high street for some retail action from Alison. then, after lunch, some of us went on to Matlock Bath and up the cable car to the Heights of Abraham.

We’d not been before and I really liked it. There’s the usual cafe and play area for the kids, plus a lead mine to visit and various other attractions. We spent a couple of hours there before heading back to pitch the tent and get ready for a family meal in the Manifold Inn.

We had a lovely evening (if there’s anything about the Haworth family history you need know, feel free to ask – I didn’t make a full list of notes but I can certainly give you a summary).

Alison, Malc, Ann, Aimee, Boris and I ended up in the bar for a final pint and a chinwag before us campers set off to walk back to the campsite.  It was raining again and I was reluctant to get into the festival tent knowing that several pints of ale would mean an interrupted night!

There were lots of teenagers on the site – they were doing their Duke of Edinburgh’s award hikes – they weren’t particularly noisy during the night, but they were certainly up early, walking past the tent to the toilets.

We joined up for breakfast in the pub then set off home – a decent ride back up the M6 for once.

It was a shame that the weekend was truncated and wet – we’d been looking forward to walks along the Manifold Trail – the consensus is that we should book a cottage next year!

THINGS WE’VE LEARNED:

It’s always wet in Derbyshire
It’s nearly always wet on the Haworth family weekend
I’m too tall for underground places
I still don’t like heights
Alfie can bark as much as Boris
Aimee can be really well behaved
Max can eat a lot of ribs
Philip is still a menace with that camera

There’s a full set of photos here: FLICKR