Serendipity

It was one of those dreary summer days with grey skies and continuous downpour. Days like this are never what you wish for, especially when on holiday.

The girls and I were staying in a cottage in the Peak District. After a morning walking around Bakewell, having seen all the shops, several cafés and being thoroughly cold and wet, we were at a loss what to do next. An afternoon of board games did not really appeal to me, but with no better alternative, it had to do. When heading home by car, we came upon a sign along the road with the words 'Haddon Hall'. I could remember reading something about it and I had seen some photo's, but I did not write it down as a 'must see'. As the girls were keen to check it out and the alternative wasn't one of my favourite. We gave it a go.

How wrong I had been not to put it on my list. The castle is one of the most enchanting places the girls and I visited. It's situated on a hill with a view of the river Wye, and so very romantic. The medieval house has remained virtually unchanged since the reign of Henry the eight and has some of the finest untouched interiors. You can see the long gallery in one of my photo's. The light there is really exceptional.

To me best of all are the 17th century terraced gardens overlooking the river. The exterior walls are adorned with climbing roses and there are colourful borders. Although the rain kept on falling, the place looked magical with a hazy mist hovering over the gardens and the river. To make our day ever more special: my youngest daughter found a four leaf clover. Just what we needed :-)

If you would like to visit Haddon Hall, please  have a look at their website.

Have a lovely week!

Madelief x