CAMP-OUT IN DERBYSHIRE
05:30:00
It's almost the end of summer, so we decided to spend some time out with nature before outdoor activities are restricted by cold winter nights. Fizal and I, and two of our friends decided to rent a car and drive into Peak District National Park for a 2-night camp-out. We made a booking in advance at the Mandale Campsite, which was located in Bakewell, Derbyshire - (most of other campsites nearby are fully booked, especially in summer). The cost per person, per night is £5.00, and they provide on-site toilet and shower (additional charge) facilities. More info here.
Since Darbyshire isn't too far away from Sheffield, we set out pretty late on a Saturday afternoon, at around 5:00pm. Along the way, we passed by beautiful sea of purple heather across the Peak District moorland! It was that time of the year where heather blooms so vigorously and vibrantly.
Just look at how beautiful they actually are!
We stopped by at the Surprise View Carpark, and took a walk and the opportunity to take some photos. After a very brief walk, it started to rain, so we really didn't get to go further up, and had to return to our car.
So magical... beyond words!
But in photos, the heather doesn't look as stunning as seen in real life! You have to experience it yourself!
We then continued our journey into Bakewell, and reached the campsite shortly after. It wasn't particularly a good day for camping as it had been raining pretty much most of the day. It was drizzling with light shower while we set up our tents, which delayed much more time because it was more difficult to set up tents in the rain. A kind fellow camper even came and held an umbrella over me while I was attaching the tent to the ground. After some time, we managed to set up both tents, and had dinner inside our tent since it was still raining outside.
Having our early dinner we packed from home. :)
Introducing Abg Jo and Kak Sarah - you'll be seeing a lot of them on my blog later on :)
Apparently, people goes to sleep pretty early while camping (?). The campsite was already very quiet and dark at around 10:00 - 11:00pm. We spent that night playing cards games in our tent and had speak very quietly and made sure we didn't laugh out loud either. We were up playing Uno Cards until a little past midnight before we eventually went to sleep.
Making some hot tea to warm ourselves that night.
That night, Fizal and I only had basic sleeping equipment. We didn't even have sleeping bags and just had blankets to cover ourselves from the cold night. We weren't prepared for a cold night out since the weather have been very nice and sunny in the past week. Because it was raining that day, the night also became chilly. We had trouble sleeping on the hard and uneven surface of the grass/ground and kept turning throughout the whole night. The first thing I said to Fizal when we woke up that morning was:
"We need to go back to Sheffield to buy an air bed for tonight"
"And go back home to get some more warm clothes"
We both agreed instantly.
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We woke up early the next morning because we had already booked some activities for that morning...
Preparing breakfast the next morning. :)
A simple English breakfast.
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The main purpose of this camp-out was because I had booked a 2-hour horse riding session with Northfield Farm Riding and Trekking Centre. So we thought of spending the weekend near Buxton while we're at it (and ended up camping in Bakewell). I was most excited for this and our session was at 10.30 that morning. After breakfast, we head straight to the centre in Buxton. The weather wasn't on our side that morning. It was really foggy and we could barely see even just 3-metres in front of us. So we thought we'd take a rain check for our ride and maybe plan another trip since we don't live that far away from Buxton, or Peak District for that matter.
Note: Other riders still went for the ride, they didn't cancel the ride. I just personally wanted to really experience and be able to see the surrounding scenery of the beautiful English countryside. The 2-hour session that we had booked was supposed to take us through the old trails and scenic route to Three Shires Head. The route is said to be quite rough in places, but suitable for all level - which is why I thought a beautiful day will provide better visibility for us to enjoy the scenery more.
Since we cancelled the horse riding activity, we went for a more relaxed tour around Bakewell town (and tried the famous Bakewell pudding), Castleton and Hathersage villages.
Stunning view - steep hills from all directions and you can cycle/drive in between and experience these majestic landscapes around you.
With Kak Sarah.
After a nice stroll around Castleton, as you would've guessed, we went back to Sheffield, haha. Bought our air bed, went home for a nice warm shower, had a quick nap, took what we needed and went back to the campsite. So much for the outdoors and spending time in the wild. (-.-")
That second day was definitely more pleasant than the day before (our first day). We were able to lay out our mats outside the tents, had some nice snacks and tea and enjoyed our tea time with more card games.
Playing Uno cards again. :p
The evening went by without us even realising. The next thing we knew, we moved our venue (from outside of the tent) to the inner compartment of our tent, and continued on playing Monopoly Deal (a game we've been obsessed with in the last couple of weeks! haha). Again, the campsite started to turn quiet after 9:00pm. We cooked Maggi (instant noodle) for late supper at around 11:30pm and whispered through our whole conversation, (which was a little annoying, but we really didn't want to wake the people around us).
The never-ending game of Monopoly Deal. Hehe.
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The next morning, we were woken up by the bright sun beaming through our tent, and the sound of children running around. It was a nice sunny day, in fact, a perfect day to end our camping weekend. We just had a cup of teh tarik each before we packed up and left. We ended that long weekend by going up to York and reached Sheffield later in the evening.
With this, we gladly welcome autumn 2016, and hoping for some wonderful autumn excitements! :)
Since Darbyshire isn't too far away from Sheffield, we set out pretty late on a Saturday afternoon, at around 5:00pm. Along the way, we passed by beautiful sea of purple heather across the Peak District moorland! It was that time of the year where heather blooms so vigorously and vibrantly.
We stopped by at the Surprise View Carpark, and took a walk and the opportunity to take some photos. After a very brief walk, it started to rain, so we really didn't get to go further up, and had to return to our car.
We then continued our journey into Bakewell, and reached the campsite shortly after. It wasn't particularly a good day for camping as it had been raining pretty much most of the day. It was drizzling with light shower while we set up our tents, which delayed much more time because it was more difficult to set up tents in the rain. A kind fellow camper even came and held an umbrella over me while I was attaching the tent to the ground. After some time, we managed to set up both tents, and had dinner inside our tent since it was still raining outside.
Apparently, people goes to sleep pretty early while camping (?). The campsite was already very quiet and dark at around 10:00 - 11:00pm. We spent that night playing cards games in our tent and had speak very quietly and made sure we didn't laugh out loud either. We were up playing Uno Cards until a little past midnight before we eventually went to sleep.
That night, Fizal and I only had basic sleeping equipment. We didn't even have sleeping bags and just had blankets to cover ourselves from the cold night. We weren't prepared for a cold night out since the weather have been very nice and sunny in the past week. Because it was raining that day, the night also became chilly. We had trouble sleeping on the hard and uneven surface of the grass/ground and kept turning throughout the whole night. The first thing I said to Fizal when we woke up that morning was:
"We need to go back to Sheffield to buy an air bed for tonight"
"And go back home to get some more warm clothes"
We both agreed instantly.
.
.
.
.
.
.
We woke up early the next morning because we had already booked some activities for that morning...
.
.
.
.
.
.
The main purpose of this camp-out was because I had booked a 2-hour horse riding session with Northfield Farm Riding and Trekking Centre. So we thought of spending the weekend near Buxton while we're at it (and ended up camping in Bakewell). I was most excited for this and our session was at 10.30 that morning. After breakfast, we head straight to the centre in Buxton. The weather wasn't on our side that morning. It was really foggy and we could barely see even just 3-metres in front of us. So we thought we'd take a rain check for our ride and maybe plan another trip since we don't live that far away from Buxton, or Peak District for that matter.
Note: Other riders still went for the ride, they didn't cancel the ride. I just personally wanted to really experience and be able to see the surrounding scenery of the beautiful English countryside. The 2-hour session that we had booked was supposed to take us through the old trails and scenic route to Three Shires Head. The route is said to be quite rough in places, but suitable for all level - which is why I thought a beautiful day will provide better visibility for us to enjoy the scenery more.
Since we cancelled the horse riding activity, we went for a more relaxed tour around Bakewell town (and tried the famous Bakewell pudding), Castleton and Hathersage villages.
After a nice stroll around Castleton, as you would've guessed, we went back to Sheffield, haha. Bought our air bed, went home for a nice warm shower, had a quick nap, took what we needed and went back to the campsite. So much for the outdoors and spending time in the wild. (-.-")
That second day was definitely more pleasant than the day before (our first day). We were able to lay out our mats outside the tents, had some nice snacks and tea and enjoyed our tea time with more card games.
The evening went by without us even realising. The next thing we knew, we moved our venue (from outside of the tent) to the inner compartment of our tent, and continued on playing Monopoly Deal (a game we've been obsessed with in the last couple of weeks! haha). Again, the campsite started to turn quiet after 9:00pm. We cooked Maggi (instant noodle) for late supper at around 11:30pm and whispered through our whole conversation, (which was a little annoying, but we really didn't want to wake the people around us).
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
With this, we gladly welcome autumn 2016, and hoping for some wonderful autumn excitements! :)
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