The Ham Nomads

24 Aug 2014. <GB-ENG> Doe Lea, Chesterfield, Derby —

Today, because we were so close, we decided to go back to Hardwick Hall and visit the Old Hall, and look a little closer at the garden.

The Old Hall, much the same age as the New Hall (at least, when you take into consideration the latest modifications made by Bess), is far more of a ruin. Nevertheless, it's quite fascinating, as you can see the way Bess was working out her ideas that she then applied in the New Hall. We explored the Old Hall, climbing right up to the top of the rather wonky staircase to the rooftop level.

This Hall is special because there are the remains of magnificent moulded plaster wall decorations, above many of the fireplaces, and parts of friezes in some of the more stately rooms.

We then went over to the New Hall, but this time to the gardens. We sat in on a talk by one of the gardeners, who explained what they were trying to do with the gardens — most interesting. You look at a garden and see a display of flowers. You don't realise that the colours have been planned so you have cooler colours furthest from the house, and the colours become warmer the closer you get to the house — but that is exactly what they've done at Hardwick!

While walking the garden, we were visited by the cheekiest little squirrel! We then went back to the cafe for a light lunch, after which we left Hardwick did a 3-day shop at Tesco, buying Susie a new laptop to replace the one she has had up to now, about 8 years old and not powerful enough to run Windows 8 without grinding to a halt! This will make it easier for her to keep up on facebook and other social media. We then left the vicinity of Hardwick and started on our way towards Coventry. We got there about 2 hours later, spent a little time at Macca's to catch up on a couple of days of blog, then went out towards Kenilworth (only a couple of miles out of town) to find a spot to spend the night.

Distance driven — today, 91 miles ( 147 km ); to date, 6,437 miles ( 10,360 km )