We set off a bit later than we had intended, stopping for lunch in Tansley Barn garden centre just a few miles short of our hotel.

Suitably refreshed, we drove to our hotel to suss out parking arrangements ahead of booking in later in the afternoon. We saw some adorable calves in the farmyard next to the hotel.

Reconnaissance completed, we drove to our afternoon destination, Eyam Plague Village, where we explored the excellent museum. As we browsed the museum, I could hear the intermittent sound of what I knew to be a Christmas Carol being sung. The special exhibition said that the carol, A Virgin Most Pure, was local to Derbyshire with each village having a slight variation on words. I am not from Derbyshire but I found that the carol was imbedded in my subconscious from my choir days and I had to resist the urge to burst out singing!

We walked to the nearby St Lawrence’s church which, in addition to its plague connections has other features of note including an ancient Saxon Cross.

Luck was with us; we made it back to the car before the heavens opened! As we drove the short distance through the Chatsworth estate to our hotel, we saw the adorable sight of sheep and lambs sheltering beneath the leafy branches of magnificent trees.

As far as I was concerned lamb was off the menu for that evening.

We booked into the hotel and were shown to our luxurious room which had a bedroom and a sitting room. Mr C collected the cases from the car after the rain had eased off.

During this time, I noticed a missed call and voicemail (about a hospital appointment) from the care home where mum is currently living. The Peak District has dodgy mobile reception and the hotels were so thick that I couldn’t call back. After the rain stopped, I went outside into the hotel garden to confirm the arrangements for mum’s hospital appointment.

I chose the opportunity to explore the garden before returning to our room to chill out and change before dinner. This left plenty of time to have an aperitif before dinner. It is unusual to find a dry sherry on offer but I was served with a wonderful dry Amontillado which had all sorts of flavours tickling my tongue.

We both chose guinea fowl as our main course. Mr C preceded this with a starter and followed with a dessert both of which I was allowed to taste. The food was all we hoped it would be.

There was a slight downside to the evening… One of our dinner companions was an annoying lady who liked the sound of her own voice. She talked loudly at her husband with a circular conversation that kept coming back to her telling her husband he wasn’t listening to her. From where I was sitting it was extremely hard not to listen to her, in fact her voice was impossible to tune out.

After dinner the guests retired to the lounge area where her relentless voice caused everyone to retreat, even me eventually. Picking up my drink I whispered in Mr C’s ear that I was going to retire to the bar area.

Peace at last!

Once again, I chose some pick and mix options from the full English breakfast. It was interesting to see that the items were presented differently by the chef of that morning.

We drove the short distance to Evesham hoping to visit St Lawrence’s Church. After picking up leaflets from the Tourist Information office, we arrived to find the church firmly shut despite the sign on the door clearly stating that is open in the mornings. Later we found out from the Tourist Information Office that opening times were flexible. It depended upon whether the grounds keeper was available to open up and it was likely to be open more often as we move into the spring and summer months.

Next Mr C browsed the military model shop. He was overwhelmed by what was on offer so he left without making a purchase. We started out on the river walk which was next on our list of things to do. However, we aborted the walk; I found the traffic noise from the nearby road unpleasant and Mr C wasn’t enjoying the views. It was lovely to get back to the tranquillity of the former Abbey grounds.

We drove to Worcester where we enjoyed lunch in the Cathedral’s Cloister Café. My brie and cranberry toastie didn’t disappoint. We had a look around the Cathedral before walking to the nearby Commandery museum which was used by King Charles II’s forces during the battle of Worcester.

The museum has displays on the building’s former uses dating from the Medieval period right through to the 1950’s. As we made our way there, the heavens opened making the walk rather unpleasant. Thankfully it was only a spring shower and the sun emerged so that we could enjoy the museum without getting wet.

We arrived back at the hotel to find that our room had not been fully serviced, in particular we were lacking in milk for our cup of tea. Mr C went to hotel reception to request some. It took some while for the milk to arrive leaving us no time for a pre-dinner aperitif. Instead, we arrived at our restaurant of the evening, Edward Moon, so that we could enjoy one whilst perusing the menu. I chose seabass with ratatouille and sautéed new potatoes followed by black cherry crème brulee. The food was every bit as good as I remembered it on our previous visit and the restaurant were kind enough to honour the deposit we had left for our cancelled Valentines Day visit.

Before returning to the hotel, we stopped off at the nearby Woodsman to have a nightcap in one of its cosy snugs.