A trip to the Matlock Bath

I am fed up of being around the house all the time so we got up early Saturday morning and got the train to Matlock Bath.
I used to take the children when they were little but we haven't been for a few years. It is only a fiver on the train return for the 3 of us with the railcard so it is a cheap day out.

As usual the train was pretty packed but we managed to get seats together.
The journey is only 35 minutes so we were in Matlock Bath by 12.30.
The weather was just fantastic and the views around the town are magnificent. No as people keep asking we didn't go to the Heights of Abraham and we weren't planning to get a ride on the cable cars especially as Bill has a fear of heights.


The first thing DS wanted to do was buy Ice Cream so we went in a little Ice Cream shop advertising itself as the Best Ice Cream shop in Derbyshire. Inside they had a little table and chairs shaped as Ice creams
They also had these extra long marshmallows flumps and candy cables.


We walked down the Parade going in and out of the gift shops and of course the amusement arcades. Then we came across the Victorian Baths and Aquarium so as it was only £2.40 each to get in I suggested we go have a look.

It was very interesting. We got to see the Petrifying Well which has a long history

The myth is that anything touched by the water from the well will turn to stone.
Inside the Aquarium were some gorgeous fish. I am quite surprised that I managed to photograph them quite well apart from the HUGE piranha fish that didn't want to come say hello. There were some other big fish as well as turtles. Unfortunately it seems they used to have Lobster too but they were gone - maybe someone fancied one for their tea...



The whole attraction is built around the old Victorian Baths which of course is where Matlock Bath gets its name.
These days the Baths are filled with a variation of Koi Carp and you can spend 20p on food to feed them.

There is also an awesome Hologram gallery which had some really amazing images in. I couldn't take any pictures obviously as they wouldn't have shown up on the camera but Hologram technology is just mind-blowing. They also included information and diagrams as to how Holograms work.

It took us about half an hour to walk around the whole attraction and then it was time for lunch.

The Parade in Matlock Bath is just full of fish and chip shops and cafes and as it was a glorious day lots of people chose to sit outside. This isn't my ideal dining experience as I don't like the idea of people going past as I eat or the cars and bikes from the road. I also didn't really fancy fish and chips so we stopped off in a little cafe called Jay-Cees and had toasties. The cafe itself was a little run down. Lots of ripped up seats and they were those horrible tables where the seats are attached and were really only designed for little people like kippy and Admoc but not really for me. So I squeezed myself in to eat.
The toasties were delicious though and the people were really nice. I guess it is a family run cafe and it was a pleasant meal.

After lunch we walked to the end of the Parade and then crossed over to walk alongside the river (Derwent)
The views are just stunning and I couldn't stop clicking away with my camera.

We crossed over the bridge to walk on the other side and down what is called Lovers walk. The reason for this is because it is very secluded. I forgot though that is only goes a short way so then we had to turn around and come back.
I didn't attempt the nature walks as I don't think my Crocs would have served me well up the steep hills.

We finished off the day by sitting in the pub for the last half hour before our train. It isn't something I do with my kids much but now that they are older I think it is easier to go sit in a pub garden with a nice cold beer as we can sit and chat and it makes up for the lack of adult company as at least they aren't fidgeting around and jumping up and down.

We got back home about 5pm. All tired and thirsty and with sore feet. I think that is the sign of a good day lol.