A long weekend in Derbyshire, taking in Denby pottery on the way. We stayed at Willersley Castle despite the Satnav's efforts.

Virginia and I spent a few nights at "Willersley Castle" in Derbyshire during September 2007, seeing history in the area. Our hotel had originally been built for Richard Arkwright we discovered. All I knew about Arkwright was that he invented the spinning jenny. I learnt he didn't invent the water frame, his big innovation and what made him rich was implementing a factory system for processing raw cotton into cotton thread.

A break with my sister's family in the Peak District. We went down Poole's Cavern where you can almost watch the stalagmites and stalactites growing, such is the water dripping down. Our shoes got coated in calcite! Heard that in times past a flasher lurked in Poole's Cavern, but in times past a flasher was someone who trimmed the edges off silver coins to make ingots. Naughty! We also saw the Crich Tramway Museum a great place to visit. Big business in a way judging from the books on trams on sale. Nostalgia has made trams and steam trains now cherished whereas in their heyday necessary evils?