This week we found ourselves out at Matlock Bath, looking for the cafe where my mum and dad met sometime in the 1930s.
Despite being barely a mile further down the road than Cromford which is one of our favourite places for a lazy walk, Matlock Bath isn't a place we often visit. My parents, though, were part of a cycling club which met there seemingly most weekends in the pre- and post-war years.
On a sunny summer's day the A road running through is heavy with traffic, and the pavement filled with visitors wandering between amusement arcades and chip shops, but midweek in November it was almost empty, especially along the Lovers' Walk, on the far side of the river.
Maybe anywhere with water and bright autumnal trees looks beautiful, but I certainly found myself wondering why we don't visit more often.
The day had started quite overcast but as we walked by the river the sun began to appear, and by the time I'd walked up one of the steep switchback roads leading above the village I was warm enough to take my coat off in November! Those side streets are definitely steep! We didn't go right to the top - the Heights of Abraham attraction which you can reach by the lazier cable-car route - just to the castellated building in the centre of this photo.
Checking with my dad later, it turned out the cafe in question was hardly a hundred yards up the hill, but the views from higher certainly made the effort worthwhile.
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