The evening after seeing Cromford Mill was the night of the HF Quiz! This takes place after dinner and all the HF houses do the same quiz – shown on a screen. Those who took part were in groups of no more than 6 and as there were quite a lot of “Walking and Sightseers” we formed 2 groups. There are 48 questions and we got a respectable score – thirty something – and beat the other half of the walking and sightseers – by about half a mark! The top score at our house was in the forties, but we learned the next day that at least one group at another house got a higher score. It is quite fun anyway – so long as no-one in the group cares too much if they are right – and we were fine with that.
The next day was a later start – the minibus wasn’t until 9.30! We drove to the village of Eyam – the “plague village” where in 1665 -6 the villagers isolated themselves to prevent the plague spreading to other villages.
We started at Mompesson’s Well, at the top of village. Mompesson was the vicar who – along with the previous (non-Conformist) minister persuaded the villagers to remain, even though many of them would die.
From there we walked down to the village looking at various interesting things.
We went passed the row of “plague cottages”, where the cloth with fleas was probably brought from London, bringing plague with it. In some of the cottages everyone died and in others one or two people survived.
We spent the rest of the morning in the museum, which had explanations, pictures and a few videos to show what happened. Note the weathervane – rats carried the fleas that carried the plague!
Lunch was on the village green then we had a quick look at the church yard because the leader wanted to show us the cricketer’s grave! There was also a sundial that was actually showing the time – correctly, if you allow for British summer time!
From there the walk took us down to Stoney Middleton and we went passed the boundary stone where people from neighbouring villages and the local lord, left food for the people of Eyam. The Eyam villagers left money to pay for it in the holes, which had vinegar in them to hopefully act as disinfectant – not actually relevant, but they didn’t understand the cause or how the plague was passed on – so it might have been.
At Stoney Middleton we looked at the church – which was quite unusual – being octagonal.
After looking at the church we went to the pub and most of us sat in the garden and had a drink. Some people remained inside as it was hot and sunny again. The minibus picked us up from the pub and took us back to the hotel.
After the last dinner we sat around for a bit and chatted then it was back to rooms to pack ready for departure the next day.
So? On the whole a good holiday! Yes, it was too hot for walking, but our leader was excellent and, after the first day, reduced the distances or found appropriate shady spots to stop. The walk along Dovedale was lovely and so was the walk along the moor and down to Poole’s Cavern. Probably in rain they would have been miserable! The High Peak trail and things we saw on that day were also interesting and enjoyable. What is more the people in the group were very pleasant and friendly so we enjoyed good company – always a bonus!
In addition, I got a refund of half my train fare for the way up because it arrived so late – always good to get that!