Ok guys, ready for a super mega long blog?

Oxford --> Hartington (peaks district) - An epic Adventure!!

So my trip to Hartington was supposed to have been on Saturday but after I had lunch with Emily I thought it might be a bit too late (and it was raining) so i decided to go the next day instead. So while staying an extra night at the hostel in Oxfors, I got talking to this Australian girl. It turned out she was from sydney and so i asked her where abouts she lived. She lived in Randwick right near centenial park (for those who don't know, its about 5 minutes from me). I told her and we were both like 'how bizarre to meet someone on the other side of the world who lives so close'. anyway, we kept talking and it turned out her dad is a maths lectureer at UNSW (mine is a Chemistry lecturer also @ UNSW). Then she told me she went to a stuck up private girls school... turned out we went to the same school too... not only that but we were both in the same house, Sutherland and she finnished 2 years before me.. And then i completely remembered her... for those St. Caths old girls you might too... Her name's Anna Disney... Anyway, I think the last coincidence was that she was off to stay at Globetotters in London which is where i'd stayed and when you consider how many hostels there are in london thats pretty weird. Anyway the whole thing was quite bizarre.

So, back to my trip to Hartington. I dragged myself out of bed on Sunday morning to catch the 10:36 train to Birmingham. It was still pouring with rain and it was mega windy and when i got to the station i asked for a ticket to Derby. They couldn't understand what I was after. Apparently Derby is pronounced Darby. So i got my ticket then realised all the trains were delayed and there was no 10:36 train at all. I went to the information booth and all they could tell me was "10:36 from platform 2". Then the man went back to reading his newspaper. But the train on platfor 2 wasn't even going in the right direction! so i asked the people at the ticket collection place and they told me to ask at information. Anywayt, i took a punt and went to a platform and I was right. I waited for a while and then finally the train came and I got on with about halk of the Uks population. There was no room to put my pack let alone sit down. Aboiut half way through an official looking guy came up and started yelling at me for having my pack in the isle. I told him i wasn't sure where to put it so he went away and then came back telling me to follow him. knocking everyone out on the way past, he lead me through the train to an already full luggage rack where he shuffled some thins around and then i was expected to lift my pack above my head to put it on top. My pack was 15kg when i left home and i'm sure someone put bricks in it since then and this guy wasn't about to offer a hand. Needless to say I struggled (And i haven't even got to the Asian public transport with the chickens and goats yet!)

Anyway, we got to Birmingham and I changed trains to go to Derby (another delayed train - apparently because of a problem in Reading. But in Oxford there was a problem in London so all the people going to london were being diverted through reading!) So i got to Derby. I knew I needed to catch a bus to Ashbourne and then another to Hartington. I went to the bus stop to see what time the bus was and all it said was Sunday: 3 journeys. VERY Helpful. But when ARE these three journeys??? I went back inside the train station to see if there was anyone to ask but there didn't seem to but but there was a bus map with a transport info line phone number on it so i called. Press 1.. press 2.. I pressed 2. press 1 if you are here, press 2 if you are at the other place. there were 8 options of where i could be and i didn't have a clue which district i was in. so i pressed 6 (which was obviously the wrong one) and the lady transfered me to whoever it was i was supposed to be speeking to. This lady rattled off the directions very quickly and i had to get her to repeat them so i could write them down "at Y1 Derwent St. take the TP at 2:55 to Buxton Ashbourne St.for 4:25. Take the 202 TM at 4:39 for Hartington 5pm." Thanks. Now to find Derwent st. "its a 10 minure walk down there love, under the carpark, 1st roundabout straight ahead, second roundabout to the right" So i set out for Derwent st. and it started to rain and my umbrella was well away so i got wet. Anyway, the 10 minute walk took about 25 minutes and I was convinced I was going the wrong way because i couldn't see this carpark. Finally I found the carpark under a bug Westfield sign (which would possibly have been a better land mark) then walked down the street. There were these 3 guys standing outside the pub and I said to me Going backpacking? No. I just have this thing on to look like a turtle and to build up muscle! Anyway, i found the 1st roundabout (which was huge!) then at the second i couldn't remember if i was supposed to go left or right but riught looked more promising so i gave it a go and was right. I had to stand for 10 minutes and wait for the bus with my pack on my back because the ground was saturated. A bus came and i asked to go to Ashbourne st. Buxton. but the driver didn't know of an Ashbourne st in Buxton b ut i got on anyway cause he was definately going yo Buxton. On the Bus map i had picked up i found Buxton was about 10 miles NW of Hartington and I was coming from the SE. I found an Ashbourne RD and realised that would have been quicker but wouldn't have fitted with the times the lady gave me bus maybe the bused from Ashbourne Rd didn't run on sundays (There were all these busses that ran on Alternate Fridays and the 1st Wednesday of the month - no kidding!) Who knows. There was an older couple in the seat opposite me who saw me confused so tried to help me out. they ended up just as confused as to why i had been sent to Buxton and offered to drive me to Hartington when they got off the bus. I thanked then and told them i would be ok.

I got off the bus at Buxton at 4:25 and the driver told me to cross the road for the 202. The sign sdaid 4:35, the lady told me 4:39 and the driver told me 5:20. anyway.. turned out the driver was right.. but it wasn't the 202 that turned up but the 442 after i'd been waiting nearly an hour in the dark and freezing cold, wet, windy bus shelter (got the picture yet?). I got on the bus and the driver said "I bet i know where you're going - Hartington" "and i bet you're staying at the YHA" said one of the other 2 passengers on the bus (who happened to be this old dude who must have been about 70 with bright pink really long hair and a grey beard and moustache, wellies and a day pack with a walkers (not a walking) stick!) The other 2 passengers got off 5 minutes later and I had my own sheffered bus. the driver was really chatty and so excited to have someone on his bus - he usually rides around alone apparently. Ans whats more, an Australian froom the city! he has family in Mel-bern and hates the city but would love to go to Australia, when he retires but doesn't like snakes or spiders.. anyway you get the idea... he talked the while way to Hartington about a half hour trip and i only picked up half of what he was saying because of his thick accent and the noise of the bus which was really embarrassing when i ended up agreeing to a question i'd just been asked.

Anyway, he dropped me right outside the hostel which was nice, and i went up the long steep driveway into reception and guess what? they didnt have my booking.. but there was plenty of space luckly so i stayed in an 8 dorm bed with 1 other girl for the 1st 2 nights then got it to myself for the next 2. So that was my epic adventure spanning about 170km!"

Hartington

So the Youth Hostel is great! the first thing i did was my washing. but i washed ALL my socks at once which was kinda blonde. . And i stayed in the room next to the one Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed when he was here. The builkding dates back to around 1305 oh, and one of the YHAs goats tried to eat me. First my belt, then my pants and then he cornered me and headbutted me.. How Baaaddd (sorry, that's a sheep). So I was maaadddd! And to add insult to injury (even though i wasn't hurt) its name was Fluffy!!!

The village is beautiful but so remote that they don't even get bread or milk to the geneeral store! "due to location" The village took about 30 seconds to explore. there was a post office that doubled as a cofee shop and the cheese shop (apparenly hartington is famous for cheese) oh and there was the obligitory pub and even a random picture framing shop! so yeah, that was the village. anyway, i walked around and checked out the cute houses and paddocks with their sheep and cows. It's great here. I love the smell of cow poo in the air! it smells so natural! i feel like i fit in here. hmm.. that sounded better in my head some how! Anyway, i did a walk called the three dales walk through biggin dale, wolfscote dale and beresford dale and took 46 photos! it was so beautiful. i didn't even notice the 6 miles i'd walked (91/2km). The map i had said go down the muddy track.. which was very muddy but strangly not the muddiest section of the walk. At one stage i was in danger of loosing my shoe to the mud goblins who suck the shoes right off innocent walkers feet, never to be seen again! I'm thinking the smartest thing i've done in a long time was to buy waterproof shoes . Trhe guy at the shop tried to get me to buy boots for added ankle support. what would you want that for i though but today i found out! anyway, the walk was so amazing and so the next day went to reception and the lady recomended going on what is called the Tisington Trail.

The Terrible Tissington Trail

It starts a bit out of Harington she told me. A bit! try you have to make it to the peak of the surrounding hills first which is probably 2 miles walking up hill. and i'm not exagurating. The lady at reception told me it would be 7 miles all up and figured this would be ok after yesturday was no problem but when i got to the start of the trail it was a further 8 miles to tissington. anyway, at this point i should have turned around and gone back because it is about 17.5km in total i think! Anyway, i was there so on i went. the trail wasn't anything like the 3 Dales walk the day before. It was on top of all the hills and it was raining and blowing a gale. i got to alsop moore, 5 miles later and decided enough was enough. the bus back to Hartington wasn't due to come till 4:30 (it was 2:30) so caught the bus to Tissington which came in 1/2 an hour as it was the reason i was goiing for the walk to start with. According to the receptionist, its a lovely town. but when i got there, NOTHING was open except a candle factory.. why is it that country towns have random shops? anywayt, the 2 coffee places - one was closed on wednesdays, the other closed for winter. The hall thing i was supposed to see was closed too. So i waited for the bus to come back. It was an hours wait. A bus came at 4:15 but didn't come anywhere near the bus stop and wasn't due for another 15 minutes so i didn't think anything of it. anyway, the time for the bus came and went and then it got dark, still no bus and i was a bit worried because there wasn't another bus for 2 hours. eventually, i saw a man pulling into his driveway and asked him what the go with the bus was. He was like classic that is old chap, classic or something very englisdh like that and told me sometimes the buses won't bother coming into town because there is no one ever to pick up so they just bipass it and stay on the mainroad. also, the bus stop isn't where the bus stops. he showed me where to go and so i went and waited and waited hoping that it was just very late. About 15 minutes later he came back with his 9 year old daughter and offered me a lift. Reluctantly I accepted, not sure how else i was going to get back and much happier to do so having his daughter in the car too. All the way back he lectured his daughter baout never doing what i'd just done, getting in a car with stangers (which made me feel great!) but i figured it was actually the better option than sitting in the dark by myself. So the moral of the story? one of two things 1) Never go to Tissington on a wednesday in winter or 2) when you're told you need a car ion the Peaks District and its really hard without one, Listen! its REALLY hard without one! i suppose i was just like what do you mean i can't.. of course i can.. how hard can it be? i'm still not sure if it was the bus i saw or it didn't actually come into town. But mum.. you can start breathing again because i'm safe and sound.

Heading to Manchester

After the Tissington incident, i tried one last affort to use peaks district buses. I was 99% sure i knew which way the bus was coming froom beacuse it had come from tissington and was going to buxton. but of course, i was wrong. When i got on i told the driver i was going to buxton station . he said something to me but i didn't understand. after asking to repeat it twice, i smiled. something about cofee and off. I paid my fair, sat down and he got off the bus! he went into the post office and about 5 minutes later came back with coffee.. now i understood. He says something else to me but i still don't understand. When we reach the next town he's been talking to me in what i'm sure MUST be english because i'm picking up words here and there but don't have a clue what hes saying because of his accent. I sware, how dare English people say they speak english when clearly they don't because i don't understand a word they're saying" Another lady gets on the bus and we go hurttling through the country side. The scenery is Amazing! so green and with undulating (great word!) hills. The bus is going faster and faster and the roads are getting narrower and narrower and if the bus goes off the edge it's a long way down. As the bus goes over bumps, my stomach bottoms out and i feel like i'm on an out of control rollercoaster. I'm not sure if i should be throwing up or laughing and screaming for... joy??? Then I look up and the drivers not even looking at the road! he's looking at me in the rear view mirror! every time i look up he's looking at me. When we get to buxton he starts talking to me again and saying something along the lines of never getting pretty girls in these parts and that i need to stay longer. Really Creapy!! Thanks, i jump off the bus and away from the insane, suicidal busdriver that doesn't speek real english! I thiink i've had enough of peaks distric buses for a lifetime. So now i'm in Manchester looking for a little less adventure for at least adventures of a different kind.

Manchester Unites this Christmas season

When i first got to manchester, i didn't really like it. I got a weird vibe and thought it was a bit of a hole but its actually growing on me. I don't mind it here now. They have a really cool German Christmas Markets with all sorts of things from Muled wine to handbags, cheese, bratwurst, earrings, christmas trees and even a bodyless singing rudolf! There is a big outdoor ice Skating rink in Piccadilly gardens and a giant ferris wheel.. not that giant actually but would be fun! It's really easy to get around and while there is lots of public transport walking is by far the best as everything is so close! so like i said, Manchester's growing on me i spent all yesturdaafternoon and today exploring. i've seen urbis (a big modern museum building), cathedral triangle, the royal exchange, the german chirstmas markets, the John Rylands library, albert square, town hall, piccadilly gardens, potato wharf and the museum of science and industry (which is the oldest surviving train station in britain). So its been good. Tomorrow i'm either going to Glasgow or checking out the Lakes district if i can organise it!

If you're still reading, you're either very bored, a better friend (or family member) than i though or just insane!

hope all of you are well.. i'm sitting here listening to a brass quartet playing chirstmas carols.. very festive..

Feliz Navidad!