Back in June (yes, this has sat in my drafts for a long time!) we went on holiday to Matlock with my lot. We were there with my sister, Mum and Dad, Granny and Grandpa and Bingley dog. Isabelle’s husband, Rick, also joined us for a couple of evenings.

Matlock has long been a favourite spot of mine and Nathan’s. We had a fortnight away there when Sophia was coming up to two. We were a couple of minutes walk from the park, adored getting to know the town and had great fun exploring other nearby places. We were buzzing to go back! I had a full itinerary of things to do, and anybody was welcome to join us Thorpes on our daytrips.

But we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to because, get this, sun stopped play! The weather was so good that we couldn’t have spent long days outside with the kids at Thomas Land at Drayton Manor, for example. Keeping small kids warm is positively easy compared to keeping them cool!

Anyway, it just gave us an excuse to stay close by and make full use of the hot tub at the cottage.

Speaking of the hot tub, once the kids were down on the first night, and everybody else was heading to bed, Nathan said ‘fancy a dip in the hot tub?’. Once upon a time, this would have felt fairly dull, but nowadays it felt spontaneous and exciting! So, baby monitor propped on a nearby windowsill, we got changed, hopped in and chilled out under the stars. We even stuck it out for a couple of minutes when it started to rain!

Dad outdid himself with this cottage, I have to say. Not only was the Hottub the perfect way to relax, but the views were just wonderful. There was such a sense of calm about the place that was hard to explain. I’ve stayed in retreat houses where I felt less peaceful! It was delightful and very good for the soul. My favourite view was the one from the hot tub, which is at the top.

We were away over Father’s Day weekend. We bought Nathan various things, including Father’s Bluey slippers! As they come in a set, we got Nathan a Bandit pair, me a Chilli pair, Sophia a Bluey pair and Aidan a Bingo pair! And of course, I loved spending the day with my own Dad and Grandpa too, including a trip to the very special St Giles Matlock, which Nathan and I both love.

The rest of the week was lots of fun and included catching up with two of my oldest friends. Rosie came from Nottingham to see us all, and I met Fiona half way for a cuppa and a cake. It was really good to take the opportunity to meet up.

This holiday was trains, tram and railways heavy, which is no bad thing in my opinion! Day trips included Crich Tramway museum, Peak Rail steamtrain and the miniature railway in Matlock Park. Each very different, but so close by, and definitely worth a visit even though we’ve done them all before!

It’s always lovely to spend time with my family. We managed to split our time well, I think, between time as a group and time as a Thorpe four. One special element of this holiday was the gorgous bond that Aidan developed with Grandpa. Aidan has spent lots of time with the crew, both in person and over the phone, but he had such a great time playing with Grandpa especially, sitting on his knee, singing and laughing together.

Overall, a very lovely stay in the gorgeous Derbyshire! We’ve been so often now, we’ve almost lost track. As always, we’ll be back.