Darley Park is a huge open space not far from Derby city centre (in fact if you look carefully in this photo, you can see the high rise Intu shopping mall just beyond the trees).
There's lots of room for children and dogs to play, a cafe, a small playground, pleasant walks beside the river, but hidden away in a former walled garden is something rather special - a vast collection of hydrangeas.
In previous years this enclosed garden has looked stunning, with huge flower-heads almost too heavy for their stalks to hold up but the heat and lack of rain this summer haven't been good for such water-guzzling plants. Volunteers have done their best trying to keep things watered but it must have seemed like a hopeless task as the heatwave went on and on.
The larger, longer established plants looked okay but if you compare these photos to those I took last year, and you can see the significant difference made by the weather.
It's an odd thing to say, but I hope next summer will be wetter.
After lunch at the cafe, we walked down to the river, following it up-stream through the village of Darley Abbey to Darley Mills, and Route 66 - of the National Cycle Network - which crosses the Derwent here at the toll bridge.
The toll booth is still manned, as cars are charged to cross the bridge.
The weirs which once powered several mills are now just a pretty addition to the riverside, and the old buildings have been re-purposed as various other businesses.
The actual 'abbey' of Darley Abbey is long gone, but one of its buildings remains as a pub, though the houses surrounding it are more recent, built as accommodation for mill workers.
I must have been here before - I remember cycling to Darley Park at least once - but to be honest was a little surprised to find such an enjoyable walk almost on my doorstep. One of those days which prove you don't have to travel miles to get outside :)
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