Peak District

We are staying in the only camping ground open in this part of the world. It is very cold, no doubt due to being further north and up in the hills. It snowed during breakfast this morning, very beautiful from inside a warm motor home. The camping ground is on the outskirts of a small town called Leek.

Jackson and Isabel are with us too, which excuses us from participating in more renovations to their house. I must say they have excellent Uno skills, Isabel won last night and Jackson won this evening. It is humiliating when you cannot even win against your grandchildren!

The Peak District, according to my book called 'I never knew that about England', was designated Britain's first National Park in 1951. The greater part of it is in Derbyshire, including the highest point, called Kinder Scout, which was the scene in 1932 of a mass rally. The ordinary people were fed up with most of the land being only available for a few privileged people and decided to do something about it. Thanks to them the government later passed the National Parks Access to the Countryside Act and there are many National Parks in England and Wales.

Another interesting fact is that Melbourne (Australia) was named after Melbourne in Derbyshire, due to William Lamb (Viscount Melbourne). He was Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister, and he gave his name to Melbourne (Australia). Also Melbourne (Derbyshire) is where Thomas Cook, the first tour operator, started up business.

We have not seen a lot of the countryside due to the low cloud hanging over the hills but it all looks pretty and most of the houses around are very old. We are looking forward to exploring further.

Today we decided to visit Water World in Stoke on Trent. Due to half term holidays the place was packed but it all ran smoothly, although very noisily. Jackson and Isabel had a fantastic time and I must say we enjoyed being in the warm water too. There were numerous flumes, rapids, wave pools, water playground and an outside pool, which was surprisingly very warm. Mind you after all the house renovations we would really have loved to soak in one of the thermal pools in NZ, ideally ranging from 40 degrees down to 36 degrees.

We finished off a relaxing day at a local pub, where the atmosphere was very welcoming and warm. We are having a few problems understanding the local dialects though.

Walter getting ready for the Uno challenge!