The Hidden Gardens And Courtyards Of Wirksworth 2018

I took a gamble with the trains today and travelled to Sheffield. There was another day of strikes by some staff who work for Northern Rail and some services were cancelled, but with it being Saturday today there was no rush hour crush and so things weren't too bad.

After then catching two buses I arrived at Wirksworth at 10:30, an hour and a half before the gardens opened. My arrival time would have been nearer to midday if I'd been travelling in the car with Siobhan my support worker - she couldn't make it today though because of car trouble. The original plan though would have been to go to the open gardens at Great Longstone tomorrow, far more suitable for her because the village is much flatter and there are far fewer cobbles [if any at all] to cause her painful ankle to flare up.

I had plenty of time to look round the town and get something to eat in a cafe. I took plenty of photos before I even got to the first garden.

I was the first person to visit garden number fourteen, right at the top of the hill and for the next three and a half hours I wended my way through the streets, courtyards, and back alleys of the town, setting foot in all but one garden...the one furthest down the hill - it was a bit of a walk to reach it and I didn't want to miss the bus back to Bakewell.

I really enjoyed myself today but I would have preferred if things had worked out according to plan and I would be going to Great Longstone tomorrow with Siobhan. She's very good with people, and very chatty - she encourages people to talk about themselves, their gardens and their houses and she involves me in the conversations...which is just what I need with my poor conversational skills. Somehow she also manages to persuade people to serve up all the juicy village gossip.

I was quite proud of my achievements today though, I got talking to several people...even three fellow Doncastrians.

I don't recall taking a photograph of the garden, but my prize for the house with the most unusual name goes to 'Coddiwomple Cottage' - I haven't a clue what the name means and I didn't get the chance to ask the person who lived there since he was taking to someone else at the time.