Festivals, Food and Frolicking

Actually, it was only one festival.  But lots of  food and frolicking.

A few weeks ago Tabitha sent me a message saying she had found some discounted tickets to a Baking Festival in Bakewell and did we fancy going. The idea of going to a baking festival in a place called Bakewell amused me, we weren't doing anything at the time of the festival and so we arranged to go.

Tabitha, Gareth and Cally came round to our place on Saturday evening so that we would be poised and ready to go nice and early on Sunday morning, after we had had our regular conversation with my parents.  I got up at my usual time on Sunday morning, which is early but not as early as it is during the week.  No sign of Cally or either of her parents.  I washed some dishes and did a bit of ironing.  Still no sign of anyone.  Normally Cally is up and about by around 7. But not yesterday morning.  No sign of anyone at 7:30.  Still no sign of anyone at 8 :-S  I was beginning to think they had all three of them died in the night and was wondering how I was going to explain this to the authorities :-D  (They all went to bed hale and hearty at their usual times and then woke up dead, officer!!)  I sent Tabitha a wake up text message while I went and hung the washing out.  That eventually provoked a response.  It seems that Cally had been wakeful during the night and had made sure that her parents were wakeful too!!!

Anyway, we eventually left for the baking festival and got there at around 11. And it was lovely.  Not perhaps as big as I had expected, but enough for us to do and see.

There was a big events tent, where they were doing demonstrations and talks, with some of the people from the various series of the Great British Bake Off participating, amongst others.

That's the events tent at the back

There were food stalls offering snacks and lunch and drinks

I never did find out what a Penguin Pie was

There were lots of things for the children to do

Tabitha took this photo

And lots and lots of stalls selling bread and cakes and chocolates and baking paraphernalia and retro kitchen things and all sorts.  It was my kind of festival!

After we had had a good look around and sampled the mocktails and iced coffees, the cakes and the fruit on offer and bought a few things, we took ourselves off to Monsal Head and Little Longstone in search of something a bit more substantial for lunch than pizza, pies and hot pork sandwiches. We ended up in the Stable bar at the back of the Monsal Head Hotel where we had a very good lunch indeed.

I think my plate of roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding is under threat!

We have plans to head back out there one weekend in the autumn to walk part of the Monsal Trail, which follows the path of a railway line that was discontinued in the late 1960s

You can get to the trail from the hotel.  But we thought we might book a table at the Packhorse pub in Little Longstone which is one of Tabitha and Gareth's favourite country pubs - but which had no tables free when we called in yesterday.  And thus we have really and properly started our pubs in the Peak District and Derbyshire collection!  The Three Cottages in Hasland, The Stables Bar at Monsal Head and soon The Packhorse in Little Longstone.  The first few of many, I hope.

Cally has new things to play with at our place.  They kept everyone amused for hours!