Welcome to the third and final post from our short break in The Peak District back in July.
It was Thursday and we'd decided that we would head for home that evening, rather than poor old Martin, who was still feeling decidely dodgy, having to get up early on Friday morning.
There was just time for mum and I to have one last adventure ... one that I know Martin was gutted to miss, as we'd been really looking forward to it
It was a garden that we'd only recently heard about even though we'd visited the area more times than I can remember ... we were off to Thornbridge Hall just outside Ashford-in-the-Water.
The garden is accessed via a new long and winding drive from the A6020, ending up at a newly constructed and good sized car park.
From the car park it is but a short walk ... passing the Monsal Trail ... to the entrance of the garden ...
Once through the gates we went through the new wooden cafe building where we paid our entrance fee and exited into the garden itself.
Straightaway we could see that this was going to be a lovely place to visit. Stretching away in front of the cafe was an area which had been given over to children's activities ... with Net a Duck taking place, with children paddling in the restored Victorian fountain and lots of other exciting things for little ones to do ... it looked really exciting and I can imagine families with young children could quite easily spend a day just chilling out on the deckchairs and having fun ...
We started our visit off with a wander round the orangery ...
... which was full of pretty bits and pieces ...
... and these ... which were absolutely fascinating ...
From The Orangery we headed into the kitchen garden ... a real mix of floral and vegetable planting, with lots of nice spots to sit and take in the view ...
From the bottom of the garden there were some great views looking back up, across the koi pond, to the Hall ...
Mum and I sat for a good while on this bench ... just watching the koi in the pond ... there was even a little bit of sunshine ... it was blissful ...
We wandered back up towards the hall to find more formal gardens, with plenty of neatly clipped topiary ...
Heading to the left we found more colourful borders, with fabulous views of the wider countryside ...
... the arid knot garden ...
... and plenty of beautifully planted urns ...
The views of the Hall from this side were just as fabulous ... it really is a beautiful old building ...
... and just look at that view ...
We walked back along the front of the Hall ...
... and made our way back to The Quackers' Café ... it was definitely time for a cake stop ... and there was plenty of gorgeous scrumminess to choose from ...
Mum and I had both loved the garden. It was a real treat and all the better for being a total surprise. I will definitely be back with Martin at some point as I know he would love it too 💜
That's it for our Peak District break ... we are off to Pembrokeshire very soon, so keep an eye out for our tales from Wales 😜
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