Adventures: Heights of Abraham

Another terrifying and magical adventure by train: into the Peak District, just as far as Matlock Bath. The journey there was so quick and easy, just a short hop on the train really, and such beautiful views all the way. I love taking the train up into Derbyshire. :)



Impatient and anxious by turns, the children waited eagerly for their ride up to the top. Talia amused herself collecting handfuls of gravel from the flower bed, and we quietly put it all back when she lost interest. Jenna squealed a lot - she is a little nervous about heights but loves new experiences and overcoming her fears.







Before we even visited any of the exhibitions, cave tours, visitor centres, or play areas, we had to stop and spot the tiny fish in this pond:



"I might see a newt!" Rowan declared. No newts that we could find, but a lot of tadpoles - some just starting to get their back legs. "OH NO! What happened! THAT can't be in there!" (Rowan again, panicking somewhat as she pointed out a snail.)
"It's OK baby, that's a pond snail, it's fine."
"But snails are LAND creatures."
"Some are, and some like water. These ones live in water!"



We took the cave tours. Talia *bounced* in the sling down every single step (and there are a lot of steps). I wasn't very impressed, it hurt! We all enjoyed the mines, though. Just my poor back might take a few days to recover fully...





(No, she isn't about to jump - she's actually throwing tiny pebbles with all her toddler might.)



Jenna examined a lot of the beautiful wild flowers and plants we passed. We saw displays of arial photographs of Derbyshire landmarks. Watched a film about the history of lead mining in the area. And another about how the landscape of this region has been shaped over millions of years. (And in one gift shop, had a discussion about the chakras and why rainbow semi-precious bracelets were "chakra balancing". Jenna eventually bought two little crystals which were claimed to glow when tapped together, but don't seem to. She debated for a while: "It sounds like a con, but I really want to find out and I can't be sure without buying them!")



At the big play park, it really hammered it down with cold rain and we all got soaked through. Apparently that just made the huge slides even more exciting and fast. Talia *loves* climbing frames and slides aimed at much older children, although they make my heart lurch a little (my baby! so far down!). What a wonderful slide. My favourite play area as a child has a slide a bit like this (but not quite as huge) and my own children still love it.



Cable car, train, then taxi home - almost too tired to keep our eyes open!