The Peak District

On the top of Mam Tor

The beautiful streets of Castleton

Football by the barn

The camping barn

Amy and I

I made the most of the recent bank holiday weekend and spent all three days in the Peak District with seven of my friends! We stayed in a camping barn near Edale, which was great because the countryside was beautiful and rolling yet civilisation was not too far away. We slept on the floor and cooked on a fire, so it was pretty much like camping, except we avoided the hassle of having to put up and take down tents. Asides from the cold, I think this is the perfect level of camping for me! We spent a lot of time exploring the local town of Castelton. We visited the two most popular caves – “Devils Arse” which is huge, and Speedwell which is an old (and very narrow!) lead mine. We also climbed Mam Tor and did a lot of eating out! If you plan on visiting the area, I highly recommend the Old Nags Head in Edale, it was large and cosy and the food was delicious.

Barbecuing veggie sausages!

Pretty shops in Castleton

James enjoying the view at the top of Mam Tor

The view from Mam Tor

Frisbee by the barn

The first night that we stayed at the barn we had a long lazy barbecue with lots of Henry Westons cider (which I felt in the morning.) Since graduating from uni and moving back home I miss my friends most when it’s a sunny afternoon and we would normally head to the nearest pub garden or park with a picnic blanket. I thoroughly enjoyed lots of long overdue picnic blanket times with my friends at the barn. On the last day, we swam in the heated outdoor lido in Hathersage. The view wasn’t quite as stunning as the Ilkely lido, but whoever thought of heating outdoor pools is a genius! We had sunshine (well, a lack of rain at least) for the whole three days which is pretty unheard of for Derbyshire – thank you camping gods!

Thanks for letting me share with you I can’t wait for next year’s annual staycation, I’m putting in a vote for the Isle of Skye!