Tags
Bakewell, Bakewell Bridge, Bakewell Pudding, Bakewell Pudding Shop, Black-headed Seagull, Canada Goose, Coot, Mallard, moorhen, Peak District National Park, River Wye, Trout, Tufted Duck
After our long walk the day before we decided to do a little gentle sight-seeing on our fourth day, revisiting a couple of favourite places and then going on to somewhere new. Our first port of call was the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire which is very attractive but always very crowded. We surprised ourselves by finding somewhere to park quite quickly and walked to the Bakewell Pudding Shop.
Bakewell is the only market town in the whole of the Peak District National Park. As with many places in the Peak District, mineral springs are found there and it nearly became a spa town. The name ‘Bakewell’ comes from ‘Badeca’s Well’ and is nothing to do with baking. A Bath House was built by the Duke of Rutland in 1697 and it still has the 16′ x 33′ bath in the cellar. The reason it wasn’t a success as a spa was the temperature of the water which is only 11 degrees Centigrade/52 degrees Fahrenheit – a little chilly! This is less than half the temperature of the Buxton waters.
R and I wanted to buy a pudding as we love them and hadn’t had one for a couple of years. We also purchased some bread and a teacloth with the recipe of the pudding printed on it and then went through to their coffee shop and had a pleasant drink while sitting in a sheltered courtyard.
Rather an unprepossessing looking pudding but really very tasty. It can be eaten hot or cold and with or without cream or custard. It is made with puff pastry, then a layer of jam (usually raspberry) and then covered with a mixture made of ground almonds, sugar, butter, eggs and almond essence. This is then baked until the mixture sets. This confection was made by mistake. During the 19th century a cook at the Rutland Arms was baking a jam tart but somehow misunderstood the recipe and the result was this pudding. It was an instant success, though I don’t know how anyone let alone a cook can make a mistake when making a jam tart!
We then walked a little through the town and ended up at our favourite place – the riverside. There is a wide promenade next to the River Wye and benches to sit on at intervals. There is a very attractive bridge over the river which flows at a good pace.
The river is full of trout and has a couple of little weirs. There are lots of water-birds to admire and also lots of Black-headed Seagulls too.
I was fascinated by the behaviour of both the moorhen and the coot. These birds are not often seen together although very closely related. I find their chicks indistinguishable and am not sure if these chicks belonged to the coot or moorhen. Coots have a pure white forehead and bill and are usually found on open water like lakes and moorhens with red bills that have a yellow tip are found on streams and ponds. Both birds obviously felt threatened by each other and though it isn’t clear in the photo above the coot had lowered its head and had fluffed up all its feathers until it looked enormous. It was moving very slowly too.
After sitting by the river for a while, R and I decided we would go on to Haddon Hall which is just a few miles from Bakewell. I will talk about that in my next post.
Aquileana said:
Bakewell Pudding Shop and bakewell bridge are amazing… They seem taken from a fairy tale. Lovely pics and retelling, as always dear Clare.
Best wishes and happy weekend to you, Aquileana 😀
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, dear Aquileana. The bridge especially is quite old. Have a good weekend and best wishes to you too! Clare
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quietsolopursuits said:
It was cool to see the waterfowl from the other side of the pond and see how they behave! As many coots as we have around here, I’ve never seen one of their nests, as here, they build their nests back in the reeds and rushes out of sight. It may be because we have more predators here, but that’s just a guess.
It’s also interesting to see the building and bridges there, built before this country was even settled.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jerry. You may well be right about predators. I often see coot and moorhen nests attached to low branches or roots in rivers and lakes. I should think that most danger here comes from foxes so being away from the shoreline would protect them from them and other mammals (but not otters). The birds at Bakewell are lucky in that there are always people throwing food to them.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
That’s a nice shot of the speckled trout. I know how difficult getting photos of fish can be and I haven’t yet gotten one worthy of a blog post.
I didn’t know you had Canada geese there. I wonder if they found their way there naturally or if they were imported.
I hope your husband is doing better now.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, Allen. My husband has got over the surprise and shock he had when he found out that he had this tumour and has learnt quite a bit about what will happen during surgery and what might happen if left too long without surgery. It is almost certainly non-malignant and there is no immediate worry. He sees the specialist next month and will find out more then. His mind has been taken off his own health worries by a number of family problems we have at present and especially by the illness of his elderly mother who is in hospital. ‘It never rains but it pours’ as the saying goes.
I believe the Canada goose was introduced into Europe some time ago and is a feral breeder in Britain. The day I took the photo of the fish was quite cloudy but bright so it was fairly easy to find places without reflection. The water is very clear; the fish get fed along with the birds and patrol the riverbank waiting for bread and french-fries! No skill involved!
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Cynthia Reyes said:
What a great post. I was taking that tour/walk with you! thank you, Clare. Every photo is interesting and made me stop and look.
I am also glad you and your husband got some time away from family issues and responsibilities. We all need to do that every so often, but you especially as there is so much to deal with right now. Hang in, dear Clare! You and your family are in my prayers.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much, Cynthia. When we took this short break in the summer we knew the autumn would be a little trying but had no idea (thank goodness) quite how difficult it would be. We are grateful to have had a little peaceful time together. You are also in my prayers. I hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend.
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tootlepedal said:
I was impressed by the trout picture among a very pleasant folio to leaf through.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! The fish are very easy to photograph and the water is very clear.
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lundygirl said:
Oh loved this. Many childhood holidays spent in a small hamlet not far from Bakewell. We were always on a walking holiday in this area and my sister and I were allowed to choose a day out – I always chose Haddon Hall. It was like travelling in time. Looking forward to the next post.
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clarepooley33 said:
I’ve nearly finished it. Having trouble choosing which photos to include. I took so many and now wish I hadn’t!
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lundygirl said:
as far as I’m concerned the more the better!
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Charlotte Hoather said:
I haven’t fed any ducks for ages and I used to regularly we had a nearby moor pond. Your French Fries comment made me chuckle we used to get told off if we gave them crisps.
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clarepooley33 said:
Ah yes, you are a Cheshire girl and there are lots of ponds/meres there. I must add we didn’t feed chips to the birds but plenty of people were and many birds were cadging food.
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