The children were born and raised in Singapore so when deciding where to stay in England, I wanted places that would give them the opportunity to try things a little different than in Singapore. We drove up to the Peak District so that they could experience the countryside, see farm animals and stay in a different kind of accommodation to home. We found a nice place just outside of the Peak District; only a 30 minute drive or so to Bakewell. It was a whole cottage which really suited us as there were six of us staying, plus the children. I can’t remember exactly how we found this place. Maybe a review on tripadvisor? Anyway, it’s called Church Farm and you can have a look at their website by clicking on the link. It’s a beautiful grade 2 listed place with exposed wooden beams and even a well (!). The kids were excited to see the pear tree in the back garden.
We used this as our base to explore a few places in the Peak District. The town of Derby is also nearby, just a short drive away.
Nursing Room – intu Derby (shopping centre)
Location: levels 1 and 2
I was really happy and surprised here with the facilities for children. I thought that things were pretty good in Singapore but this was even better!
The baby rooms were all very clean. As you can see in the second picture, the walls in the nursing rooms are actually protected by a plastic screen, so the wallpaper doesn’t get dirty or torn. The chair is comfy and there’s a table to put your stuff. There are these activity zones in the main part of the room. So when you need to wash your hands or put the baby down, you can do so safely and this keeps the baby occupied. There was also a family bathroom inside with 2 toilets.
There was an activity area on the ground floor. The Entertainer (in the second picture) is a toy shop.
The above pictures are of the main baby room. Very spacious. There were lots of changing stations here along with nursing rooms (sorry for my finger in that last picture!).
The parking charges weren’t too bad compared to some other places that we parked later.
Bakewell
Bakewell was our first Peak District destination. Hubby and I actually spent our honeymoon in the Peak District so I was familiar with the place already. We came here to sample Bakewell tarts (my favourite!) and look around an older style of town. Parking was a bit difficult; the first two car parks that we tried were full so we had to drive around a bit to find another with space. August is holiday season so it was predictably busy. We bought the tart from Bloomers, one of the well known shops here. Apparently it’s the Bakewell Pudding, and not tart, that is the original. But this looked much nicer. We ate lunch at The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. The food was good and I bought some treats to bring home.
Chatsworth House
We spent the whole day exploring Chatsworth House. We bought the full pass which includes the house, gardens, farmyard and playground. The kids weren’t too interested in the house but had a lot of fun in the other areas.
Next, the farmyard!
We managed to catch a presentation on milking goats and a handling session with guinea pigs.
And finally, the playground.
The playground was bigger than the bit in the picture. It was quite busy though so I didn’t want to take many pictures.
mamalou in Singapore 