One Saturday we left Gorleston early to visit Cambridge for the day as it is only 1 1/2 hours drive away. Cars are discouraged in the inner city because of no "long stay" parking areas and no private cars allowed to drive in that area after 10am. Therefore it was easier to "park and ride" for minimum cost - a really great system. These are usually situated about 5 miles out of a city and the buses leave every 1/2 hour all day long. The cobblestone streets were busy with people shopping, cycling or just wandering around the many bars and restaurants. Unfortunately most of the colleges were closed due to exams or they are no longer allowing visitors in, but we managed to view Trinity College's grounds and Kings College Chapel - a magnificient building with beautiful, original stained glass windows.Henry V11 laid the first stone and Henry V111 had something to do with it too!! The Wren library has very limited visiting hours so by the time we realised this, it was closed. It houses over 50,000 books printed before 1820 including A.A. Milne's original copy of Winnie the Pooh. We also went punting down the Cam river. Well Ian did all the work and I enjoyed the ride. It took him a little while to master the technique but the alternative was to be chauffeured. Well, being a master rower there was no way he was going to sit in a boat and let that happen!!! This gave us a superb river view of the six colleges and the Chapel. We ate our lunch on the campus "Backs" - this is a parklike strip behind the college. We could then watch other novice punters and experts too!! Before heading home, we went to the 5.30 evensong in King's College Chapel which was really special.
Another weekend we left early Saturday morning to go up to the Peak District. This is in the Midlands with some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in England. It is a great area for walkers, cyclists, cavers and nature lovers, especially by the 3 huge artificial lakes which collect water for the cities of Derbyshire and the Midlands. We walked for over an hour up some slopes amongst the forest and down past the Derwent lake and dam. From here we travelled through Glossop and down to Buxton. This is a town compared to the beauty of Bath. It has an old Opera House, Pavillion and gardens which create its history and beauty. Their grandest constuction is the Crescent. The city has natural mineral baths and a pump room with natural spring water. We stayed the night on a farm at Alfreston and enjoyed a meal at the local pub. The next day we travelled on to Derby and visited the Royal Crown Derby factory and then a little further on to the Denby factory. Just as well we this ware is too heavy for the suitcase!! Finally headed east to home!
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