Peak District--Magic Monsal Head

So we spent our first night in England in the Peak District, less than 30 miles from old, industrial Sheffield, in a tiny spot outside of Bakewell called Monsal Head.  Castle Cliffe B&B, run by Neil and Jackie Mantell, is just such a place to stay.  Let me explain.

This is Castle Cliffe.  In addition to being wonderfully located, the breakfast is all local -- farm fresh eggs (such a huge difference I could hardly believe it), thick, thick bacon (which the British are so fond of, I hear they take it with them when they travel abroad -- perhaps justifiably so), and a roasted fresh tomato to die for, plus other sundries. Makes for a very tasty start to the day. But there is more.

This is the Castle Cliffe Neighborhood. Dang crowded --with sheep!

Then there are Castle Cliffe's nosy neighbors. Guess a place can't be perfect now, can it?

To make matters even more unbearable, Castle Cliffe sits on top of Monsal Dale, above, which makes for a lovely morning run (Kath) or picture taking stroll (me).  Hate it when I have to exercise in the morning after a rainstorm. Smell alone could drive you nuts :-).

Oh, and here is the Monsal Railway Viaduct, which we could SEE FROM OUR ROOM.  Darn thing doesn't even have trains anymore -- has been turned into a walking/biking path, of all things. So much for train-spotting, dang it!

Then of course there is the River Wye, burbling away through the night. So hard to sleep with that going on, you know? And don't even get me started on the trout jumping. Noisy little fellas. 

And I suppose you couldn't really call the area verdant, lush, rich, flourishing, pastoral, sylvan, etc. -- 'cause you know, none of those words would really apply, right? Nah! But all told, it was an ok way to spend your first night in England, I suppose. 

All that was a very Britsh way of saying: "THIS PLACE TOTALLY ROCKED! WE LOVED IT!"

Next up: Bakewell, Haddon Hall and Sheffield.