Same Shirt, Different day-2012 Adventures of the "Devonport Wonder Babes"

Saturday 14^th July 2012

Up and away from Hawkshead early so that we could get to Hilltop, The National Trust place that was Beatrix Potter’s first house there. Got a bit lost initially and were helped out by a man called Mike in a joinery workshop, who obviously gets asked the way by lots of lost tourists. At Hilltop by 10 am and spent about an hour there in the house and the gardens. Met Hilary there who is wife of the joiner who directed us and turned out to be the granddaughter of the head shepherd for Beatrix. Just as nice as I remembered from our last visit there in 2009.

Then headed south east partly on M6 round Manchester and surrounding towns into Derbyshire to Hathersage ( which was also having a town festival) and then to David Mellor Cutlery (which Kim Murray had recommended for their knives) and turned out to be quite a complex of factory, design museum and café out in a forested area on a site that once was a gasometer. The factory itself was only open Monday to Friday but since we had come from NZ this nice young man took us on a guided tour and explained how all the cutlery was hand made completely on the site and sold in only 2 shops, the one on site and another in Sloan Square in London. Following that there was nothing for it but to buy a knife in the store !!

Then “Mrs TomTom” took us on what seemed to be quite a roundabout journey across the Derbyshire Dales via the plague village of ( ?? name ) where it rained so heavily we decided not to get out of the car but just read about it on Wikipaedia !!

Further twists and turns found us at Ilam Hall, a majestic place with huge trees, sheep grazing in park like settings which is both a YHA and National Trust site. Usual chequered history of large castle building in this country, rescued by a Cadbury donation in 1935. Heaps of walkers and school/family groups.