And we headed into the city of Sheffield. This is the city where my grandfather went to work in the steel mills when he was 13 years old!
But we were there to buy a couple of water bottles. We were looking for a certain type, but they didn't have them. Anyhow, we did get a couple of water bottles, so it wasn't a wasted trip.
From there, we bought some groceries, and then stopped for lunch at Whirlow Brook Park. A really nice estate park with walking trails and free parking. We sat outside and had a picnic lunch, and then went for a walk in the forest.
Whirlow Brook Hall is a manor house built in 1906. Now used for weddings and events.
A nice walk in the forest.
Horses and buttercups.
We went through this sheep field.
Hello sheeps!
We walked back through the gardens at the manor house.
Really pretty spot.
And then we drove another forty minutes or so into Peak District National Park. We are meeting an old friend here... Antoinette is a girl we met in Namibia 10 years ago. She lives near the park now, and she and her boyfriend Ki come hiking here often. And she organized a two day hike for the four of us.
We're staying tonight at the Ravenstor Youth Hostel. Of course they are no longer just for youth.
It's a pretty fancy place... on the outside!
The Ravenstor Youth Hostel.
We couldn't check into our room until after 5:00pm, and the surrounding area is littered with walking trails... so we went for another hike!
Over hill and dale.
Scenery along the way.
Zoomed in on some caves on the other side of the river.
Church in a village we walked through.
Ha... saw this in a bush we passed by.
We sat and had a drink with this view.
Not often we bring alcohol on a hike!
But we had some drinks with us, and we're not allowed them inside the hostel. So we figured we would have happy hour on the trail.
Hello cows!
Ruth is the cow whisperer.
Funny cows.
Ruth, doing her best Julie Andrews impersonation.
Greenery.
Back at the hostel.
Our room.
There are four bunks in our room... but only the two of us.
We met up with Antoinette and Ki. We had bought prepackaged dinner at the Tesco grocery store and just had to heat it up in the self catering kitchen here. It was actually quite good. Then we sat and chatted and they had a board game called that we played a few rounds of.
Saw this nice t-shirt that would have been good for Ruth... but they wanted £25 ($32 USD, $44 CAD).
We're off on a hike for the next two days... you might not hear from us again until Monday!
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Great deal on this Beach Sun Shelter.
And in Canada...
What a beautiful spot. I particularly liked the photo of Ruth in the woods near the top, and the one of her next to the lovely flowers (of course she is just as lovely). Hostel room looks pretty basic, but at least you don't have to share a room with anyone else. ENJOY your hike!
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful area. It is really nice to finally see some of the other areas of England because most of the time we are visiting with relatives we don't often have time to visit other parts of the country. That park with the flowers was a very pretty spot to wander around.
DeleteThe hostel room was very basic but then most hostel rooms are and it really wasn't that expensive. When we booked we book to have a private room and this is what we were given and even though it had to other beds they weren't booking anyone else into the room. We did share the room the next night with our friends at another hostel but it was a private room for just the four of us.