My Peak District Holiday

Schooooool’s out forrrrr summer (sing it with me).

So we’re in August! And by this stage, a lot of us are winding down after a long year of study, study, study, typing up assignments, revising for exams, feeling drained from seeing floods of university papers and maybe just about keeping our heads above water. I totally get it!

As a student, it can sometimes be a real challenge to juggle everything – home life, work life, relationships and family life, uni life, gym life, social life and just life to be fair.

So, recently my family and I took a trip to the Peak District in Derbyshire and we chose the self-catering cottage life.

It was very last minute for me. Mom and I talked about it on the Sunday evening and I had everything packed and ready to go by Monday morning. My mom is super organised so she had the holiday booked well in advance but I leaped onto the holidaymakers’ bandwagon and I was raring to go.

Feeling desperately in need of a short holiday after all the work I’d put into my first year of study at UCB, this short break in the Peak sounded like music to my ears.

If you’re anything like me, I like to plan things like this well in advance – I like to know what’s happening, when it’s happening, who’s going, what time, the dress code, everything! So, for me, this was a spontaneous getaway but well worth it.

I’ve always lived in the city and I love it in Birmingham, it’s my home, but I do appreciate the more scenic landscapes.

For a student living on a really small budget, self-catering worked well for me because I had food options and the flexibility of cooking. Aside from the fact that the cottage was in a really nice location, it had everything from a flat screen smart TV to games. I was so glad when we found the free WiFi code because there was no service on our mobiles while we were there.

We travelled with a few light snacks (not that the journey from Birmingham to Derbyshire requires it, as the Peak District is really not that far) and bought things for dinner that we could oven cook.

I found that everything we needed was within reasonable distance to where we stayed. The community village shop and café was convenient and just a short walk from the cottage. They also have a couple of pubs serving food and traditional beer in the village, icing on the cake!

As for me, I like being next to the water so when we drove to a nearby reservoir called Carsington Water, the stresses from my previous academic year just fell off my shoulders, like water off a duck’s back – literally.

The weather was beautiful, summer was in full effect and honestly, the atmosphere was tranquil. I wasn’t feeling too adventurous at the time, although the variety of water sports was impressive. They had everything from kayaking to canoeing, cycle hire to stand up paddle boarding sessions… activities for everyone.

We had loads of fun in Markeaton Park and spent another day in Hall Leys Park too. Markeaton Park was probably the furthest drive from our little cottage on the hill but I had never been before and would definitely go again.

Markeaton Park is apparently one of the most visited attractions in the East Midlands. I was just happy when I spotted McDonalds across the road. Hehee!

I was soooo glad that I gave myself the break that I thought I deserved and believe me, it was well needed.

Back to Brum, back to life, back to reality and almost ready for another year of study at UCB.

Here’s to the cottage life!

Ciao for now.

SBS