Blooming Summer

The rain has stopped and it may be my imagination, but everywhere I look is coming up daisies ... and lavender and geraniums and hydrangeas and cosmos! First stop, when exploring the Peak District in this almost forgotten sunshine, has to be the Florist Cafe in Ashbourne.

What could be better than tea amongst the flowers? Especially when it is served in a pink stripy teapot and it comes with pastel, speckled mini-eggs.

Inside, pretty cake stands and teacups sit alongside jugs and bowls of flowers. Talking to the owner I discover that the cafe was started to help the flower business during the quiet times - and it seems to be a mix that is working well. There is something very soothing about watching bouquets and posies being arranged as you linger over lunch.

I don't even think I would mind being trapped inside here for the afternoon, amongst the fresh flowers and old books, if it did decide to start raining again outside.

We are directed a little further north to the village of Alstonefield, where we are told there are a number of circular walks that are easy to follow.

As we walk from the memorial hall car park into the village we are greeted by a quirky alternative to the municipal hanging basket.

Opposite the George pub, small wellington boots cascading with forget-me-not blue lobellia are attached to a bench dedicated to, Mike Goodwin, 'who loved this village'. I did not know this man, but I like to think he would have enjoyed sitting on this bench between the boots watching the life of the pub unfold.

And what a pub! Emily Hammond is a third generation landlady and it is clear from the Snug bar hung with drawings and photos collected over the years, to the pale linen coloured walls of the recently refurbished dining rooms that this is a building that has been, and still is, well loved.

The pub and much of the village was once part of the local Estate and the Snug bar was traditionally used by the Estate for collecting local rents. For us it is a good place to study the booklet we have bought from the pub showing a number of circular walks in the area. We decide on one that starts and finishes at the George.

Emily, I am delighted to see is a landlady who loves flowers, so I soon ask if I can photograph the displays on the bar and in the dining room window.

www.thegeorgeatalstonefield.com

I cannot resist adding one more flower find to this blog. As we meandered our way back through the dales into Buxton, where we are staying, we come across the Buxton Infant School.

I would love to meet the teachers who have the imagination to plant their playground with such a jolly mix of colour and who, when planning a new stone wall, decided that the children would probably much rather climb over it than go through the gate.

It is a playground that has been been designed with places for the children to sit amongst the flowers and from my point of view that can only be a good thing!