Saturday is usually a sleep-in day. But not last Saturday. No sir, last Saturday we were up bright and early. Adventure was calling us! Last Saturday we took the long trek out to one of England's greatest hiking destinations: The Peak District.
From Cambridge, it's about a three hour drive. We are lucky to have made some friends since being here, and that some of those friends just so happen to have a car. We are also lucky to have made friends with people who also think it's a grand idea to wake up early to drive a decent way across the country for a day of hiking and adventuring! To give you a visual of just how far we drove for this one day, I've added a map showing where Cambridge is in comparison to the Peak District:
So was the drive worth it? Maybe I'll let you decide after scrolling through the photos below. Okay- it was absolutely breath taking! Coming from Cambridge, which is extremely flat (and I mean really flat. Having a single speed bike is the last of my worries living in Cambridge, haha), it felt like we were all of a sudden so far away because of the change of landscape. If you want to see beautiful rolling hills in the English countryside, you must come here!
The drive into the Peak District is definitely worth doing. Narrow roads, winding up and down green, grassy hills. Old farm houses in the distance with loads of sheep grazing the fields. You'll pass through small villages (which I now wish we had made a pit stop for photos) that make you feel like you're stepping back in time. Cozy pubs and cute shops and cafes line the streets, but don't blink- you'll pass through them so quickly because they're so small and quaint. When we arrived, there was a thick fog settling in the valley, which gave it sort of an enchanting feel. After we passed through the fog, we were greeted with bright sunshine and clear blue skies. We set off on our hike passing an old farm house, and up the grassy hill we went. Reaching the top is like seeing the land through a different set of eyes. Once you get up past the lush green hills, you reach a large plain at the top- covered in rocks, moss, and really dark soil. The green grassy farmland where we started looked so distant now. It almost reminded me of the hiking we did in Iceland- just on a way smaller scale. It got a bit colder at the top, as the sun went behind the clouds and we felt a few drops of rain. We ended up blazing our own trail down the hill after getting nice and muddy after what we were told is called "bog trotting". Bog trotting is exactly what it sounds like. We were essentially hopping through a bog, trying our best to keep dry. I was proud of myself for keeping up with the boys. Until I got a little too confident and ended up with two soaking wet feet. I knew it was bound to happen.
After a solid day of hiking (at a decent pace!) our legs felt like jelly. We ended off our day at one of the local pubs in town and had some much needed English pub food along with some good ale.
What a great, fantastic Saturday.
Car troubles. I don't think the car liked the hills.
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