The weather has been pretty bonkers for a February. It’s at the same time last year we were exposed to the Beast From the East, and now were hitting 21 degrees which is a record. It’s still officially winter, at least for the next month! The low sun casts long shadows, but it’s surprisingly easy to find the rays of sunshine, and when you do its positively warm. Mandy had some holidays to use up as we approach the end of the financial year, so dotted a day here and there to make sure she didn’t lose them and I found myself with a flexible day off also.
The forecast was good for the foreseeable meteorological week, so we agreed to get the van out and book into a local campsite we had stayed at back in 2015. We knew the views were nice, and we could only commit to one nights stay so we couldn’t consider going too far afield. So i collected the van on Saturday and gave it a good wash. Preparation was pretty minimal and we just had to consider a days worth of food.
So sunday morning we set off for Matlock Bath and managed to get a parking spot on the main road before the bikes engulfed them.
We were just killing time as we couldn’t get on the campsite until post 12pm. So we found a cozy little coffee shop to chill in until we had reach the 1 hour parking limit imposed on the main road. It was always nice to spend time in Matlock Bath, but even in the midst of summer there is always shade, and the winter’s must seem really long in the valley to anybody that lived there.
So coffee drunk we got in the van and drove through Matlock and up the steep hill towards Tax Farm. We were still far to early to check in to the campsite so found a secluded spot to pull into and read for a while. The odd car passed and a few cyclists, but other than that it was really peaceful. As it approached 1pm we headed towards the campsite and drove down the steep incline onto the lower teer.
The afternoon was spent enjoying the views, reading and listening to the radio and eventually settled down in bed to an hour or two of Netflix.
The clear night meant we awoke to a frost, but as a result there was an amazing sunrise with mist filled valley towards the Two Dales / Darley Dale. This was enjoyed over coffee and breakfast with the night heater whirring away to keep us warm. The morning followed a similar pattern to the previous afternoon, but we had to vacate the pitch before 12pm. So as late morning approached we dropped the roof and prepared the van for the road. Matlock was only a mile down the road and as the sun was still very much in play, we decided to spend a couple of hours in the town before heading home.
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