The cottage pictured is where we stayed. It was very nice (if a little cool, but that might be more to do with the weather) and comfortably housed the seven of us.
The slight twist with the break was that is was catered accommodation and aside from a few stays in a hotel, I'd never experienced this before. I was therefore a little trepidatious about this interloper into our family holiday, but as ever my fears were assuaged by food.
We arrived late, but the chef/proprietor/owner; Susan had kindly kept a three course meal back for us. We opened with a delicious Potato Tortilla followed by Lamb Moussaka and Couscous, which was perfectly cooked and after a long-ish drive tasted at least 14% better. Dessert came in the form of Sticky Toffee Pudding (with a sprinkling of nuts) and ice cream which is making my mouth water as I recall it.
The following morning we woke quite early and Susan was in at about 7.30am to get a full english fry-up under way. If there is a finer smell to wake up to than bacon, eggs and sausage sizzling away, I don't wanna know about it.
It was a little odd getting showered up and coming to with Susan bustling around, but it's amazing how quickly you adapt when someone is cooking you your favourite stuff!
We spent the majority of the day in Matlock Bath and took the cable car to the Heights of Abraham (named after a famous battle) where there are caves to explore, fossils to examine and glorious views to enjoy. If you've got children, there's also playgrounds to enjoy and lots for them to do.
I must make special mention of our cavern guide "John" whose sarcastic delivery and dry, laconic observations helped make a potentially dull, dark tour great fun.
We finished up there around mid afternoon and made our way to Cromwall Canal and enjoyed some birthday cake and drinks in the much appreciated sunshine.
Aaahhh, the birthday cake. Note to prospective users of catered accommodation: they do NOT like you bringing your own food! My sister had quite a heated discussion with Susan when she brought the cake in. Fortunately, they were able to put it behind them, but it was a bit of a sticky moment apparently (I'm glad I wasn't there to see the confrontation first hand).
We made our way back to the cottage and had a bit of a games afternoon before Susan announced she was ready to serve. We opened with quiche and a courgette/lettuce salad. Chicken and bacon with roast potatoes and mushroom sauce followed and was rounded off by a Paris (we're sending Mum to Paris for a weekend) themed sponge cake.
With tums a-full of good eating we went to bed and swore never to eat again.
The following morning, Susan served bagels lashed with cream cheese and smoked salmon which rendered the previous nights statement both ridiculous and obsolete.
As Sunday was our last day, we had to clear out by 11am. We went back to Cromford Canal and had a lovely walk for about an hour and a half, followed by yet more cake before we made our merry way back home.
I've never been to that area before, but heartily recommend it to anyone. Matlock Bath in particular has a lot to offer and also appeared to popular with the biking fraternity.
The accommodation itself gave you everything you needed and was only a short drive from where the "action" was. It's in a rural location overlooking rolling hills and after dinnertime a few of the neighbouring cows had a wander over to demolish the leftovers from Susan's cooking. I couldn't fault the food, it really was excellent and lovingly prepared.
Recommended!
http://www.cateredcottage.com/
