Day in Derbyshire Dales

David and I went out for the day and it seems that we're always out and about.  On Saturday we went towards Matlock, Derbyshire.  We been through a few times and have never stopped to take the Heights of Abraham cable car that is just outside the town.  Before that though we travelled on to Cromford Mill where there is a quilt shop (quelle surprise!) called Quiltessential, where we saw a quite striking wall hanging.  Couldn't resist so we bought the pattern and some of the fabrics to make it and I'll put a photo of the purchases in my next post. It's a lovely shop and there is a craft shop next door too, so a couple of things to explore here.

We then went to Matlock Bath and the cable car ridge over the Derwent Valley.  Spectacular views on the way up with a viewpoint at the top of the valley below with the town of Matlock in the distance.  We stayed and took a tour of the caves (lead was mined here) and had lunch before taking the cable car down hill.

Just to show I was there!

 Above is the view towards Matlock from the top of the valley.  Below that is the station building at Matlock Bath, near the bottom end of the cable car terminus.  This building doesn't look to be used any more.  It's very unusual as it looks like a Swiss chalet and the brickwork was quite interesting, such a shame the building is neglected.
 
After this we went to Crich, just a few miles away to the Tramway Village, which houses the National Tram Museum.  It was some years ago when we last visited and there have been a lot of changes with new buildings and creating a more village like scene.  Being a lovely sunny day it was ideal for an open top ride on a tram and later for sitting outside to enjoy a nice cup of tea.  Below is a photo of a Leeds tram, below that is an old Blackpool single deck tram.

I could not resist taking photos of the tram shelters with their decorative art deco stained glass, managed to take the bottom photo when a tram had just left, that's why there's no passengers waiting.