Alton Towers

 May 2018

May was a fun month as it was Ben's birthday! It was also the birthday month of Darryl, Jenessa's husband. They were both part of our awesome little group in Sheffield, and Ben and Darryl got on super well, making our group hang-outs extra fun. Here is a photo of the stupidly rich chocolate cake we made for his birthday!

For Ben's birthday, he was set on going to a theme park, as New Zealand only has Rainbow's End, which is tiny in comparison to anywhere else. He picked Alton Towers, which is so huge we decided to do it over two days, and stay overnight in the park hotel. The positive of this was getting in early before the crowds!

Having only been to Rainbow's End myself, I was feeling rather nervous of the enormous rides. But Alton Towers was actually incredible! Firstly, unlike most theme parks you might think of, this one had history. I was hooked already. 

Alton Towers was once a private estate belonging to the Earls of Shrewsbury (who sound like they belong in posh children's story about mice, but sadly aren't!) Alton castle was built in the 11th century, on top of an earlier Saxon fortress. 

It was the fifteenth earl that began work extending the estate and gardens, turning them into the beautiful grounds you can wander today. In the 1800s, however, the owners were becoming destitute, so opened the gardens to the public for extra revenue. 

Despite this, the estate was eventually sold in 1924. You wouldn't imagine it now, but the buildings were stripped of anything of value in the 1950s, and whatever was left was piled in the east end of the house and set alight, leaving an empty and partially burned out shell of the former luxurious estate. 

It seemed a sad end to the story, but luckily, in the 1970s, a millionaire property developer married into the family of stakeholders, and began redeveloping it into a theme park, adding rides and opening up the grounds. Parts of it have been beautifully restored, and the expansive gardens are immaculate and wonderful to wander. 

Being a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to large rides, my favourite experiences included the aquarium (a welcome bit of chilling after all the adrenaline)  

The congo river rapids, and some of the less terrifying rollercoasters. Look, it's us!

Aside from a slightly hairy moment where one of the rides stopped for about 15 minutes and we were quite stuck (but hey we got free fast track passes through the lines due to it!) We had an amazing time, especially on my favourite ride of all, the Wickerman! Coolest ride ever. 

Peaks, Protests (and a dash of Panic!)

Spring 2018

With sunnier, warmer weather on the way, the snow in the Peak District melted and day trips were on the cards again!

The air was still incredibly chilly, so warm jackets were donned all round, but it didn't stop us from exploring!

Sometimes we just needed a break from the student stresses, and exploring together proved to be the perfect distraction! A perfect place to stop and have a picnic. 

Our destination was Stanage Edge, requiring a bit of a scramble, but worth it for the dramatic views across Hope Valley. A road known as the Long Causeway once ran along the top, acting as a medieval pack horse route. Now it is the realm of walkers and rock climbers.

However the reason we were so excited about the area, was this is where Elizabeth Bennet stood in one of the scenes from Pride and Prejudice! We decided to recreate the scene though instead of Kiera Knightly, there were three of us - minor details!

As always, it was a lovely day out, and a welcome respite from the stresses of university. Unfortunately this year saw Universities go on strike throughout the country due to proposed pay cuts for lecturers. This resulted in strikes throughout the year which left us with cancelled classes, leaving us to self study (and panic!)

Here is a photo from one of the strikes we attended! Like all self respecting students, we wanted to get behind the protests to support our lecturers even as it added stress to our studies. This was an experience I won't forget.

Before we knew it, we were in May, the weather was warming and classes began again. All was well in the world!.. Actually, now that I think about it, it was hard not to forget it was May.. with a certain someone reminding me every day that their birthday was coming up.. and constantly bringing up this strange place called Alton Towers..more on that next time!

Further Day Trips and Foody Adventures

Spring 2018

Continuing in the theme of day trips, a group of us popped to Liverpool for the day, famous for the Beatles and of course, Football, I was actually rather disappointed in the city. Aside from a few cool looking pubs and a rather dull museum where the only interesting part was the Beatles postcards in the gift shop, there didn't seem to be all that much to do or see.

In fact my favourite part of the city was the waterfront with this grand building, but that was sort of...it. We felt done with our day trip far earlier than planned, and to be honest it's not somewhere I would return to without a good reason.

Luckily Sheffield itself had its own places and events to keep us entertained, starting with a food festival in the main square.

I was finally able to try Canadian Poutine to my great joy! French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, it sounds weird, tastes incredible. Just to be more interesting, we got the pulled pork version. We also tried kangaroo burgers which were surprisingly excellent.

I had, by now, discovered one of my favourite pubs in the city, The Frog and Parrot, where we wiled away many a time after class, playing cards and keeping out of the cold.

Our next visit of note was Nottingham house, affectionately called Notty house by all students of Sheffield, this place for me happily takes top place for best pie in the UK. 

Pie is the only item on their menu, which is written on a blackboard above the bar counter, and crossed out as they run out (which happens fast).

 They have everything from vegetarian feta and spinach to chicken and wild mushroom, to beef and ale (the best in my humble opinion). Better yet, each plate comes with a huge dollop of creamy mash, mushy peas (which promptly end up on Ben's plate, I'm not that nativised thank you very much) and a beautiful gravy boat. 

Wash it down with a pint whilst playing scrabble or one of their other many board games in their booths, and you have yourselves the perfect Sunday. Yeah, I really like this pub!

Last, but very much not least, Proove. The best Italian restaurant in Sheffield, their pizza is among the best I've ever had, and reasonably priced too! I only discovered this place because half my faculty were Italian, so of course they loved this place. You know its good with your professor from Naples swears by it! I was most impressed by the five pound starter of garlic bread, which I assumed would be a couple of pieces of garlic bread on a plate, and turned out to be an entire cheesy garlic pizza. Yessss.

And of course, a beautiful margarita for the main. We had to roll ourselves out of there!

Other recommendations for Sheffield include: Bungalows and Bears for a drink, the University Arms for pub quiz, The Red Deer for a proper English Pub experience (though your guaranteed to run into the archaeology department as most of the faculty seem to semi-live here)!

Tamper Coffee for the best coffee in the city (Plus they're an NZ cafe!) The Grind Cafe for a decent coffee or a chill Sunday breakfast, The Depot Bakery for the best bread and baked goods, Humpit for ridiculously delicious stuffed vegan pitas,  and the Moor Market for fresh produce.

 I'm sure there's many others, but one can only try so much on a student's budget!

Snow in the Spring

Spring 2018

By mid-march, it was fully expected for spring to be on the way, therefore we were in for a shock when on St Patrick's day it began to snow! England is strangely ill-equipped for the snow, which is odd considering it's an event that happens almost every year. 

Nevertheless, everything quickly shut down, including all public transport, leaving us with a very long slog home in the snow from a friend's house one night. Two snowy slips and a broken cake tin later (don't ask) we had made it through town (transformed by the snow) and finally home! Not something I want to repeat in a hurry that's for sure.  

In the morning, the view from my bedroom window showed it had no intention of stopping.

And indeed it fell thicker and thicker, until our roof was covered, and I was reminded for some reason of the London rooftops in Peter Pan.

Unlike my fellow students who hailed from the UK and were understandably glum about the snow, I was ecstatic! Grey Sheffield was transformed into a picture in white, and the usual grubby square by my house became something more magical.

The lamp post from Narnia, anybody?

Of course, snowball fights were had. Is it sacrilegious that they took place in the cathedral's graveyard?

As fast as the snow appeared it was gone: Spring was finally here which could only mean one thing, more time outside!

Day Trips in the Winter

Winter 2018

Castleton

Being back in Sheffield didn't mean an end to the adventures, though they were sidelined under a pile of work as we entered into semester two and the looming prospect of a thesis. However I always took at least one weekend day off for fun, starting with lovely little Castleton. 

Keeping in mind not only is February the coldest month, but winter in the UK is both wet and cold, so the fact that we managed any trips at all was a source of pride! 

Not having a car is always a trial, so we simply picked a village in the Peak District which had easy bus access - Castleton it is!

On a chilly winter morning we wound our way through the Peak District, admiring the snowy landscape and eventually reaching our destination of little Castleton. Set amidst the peaks and mountains, it has incredibly beautiful views and is full of poetic names to match, from the ruined castle on the hill (hence the name Castleton) to the famous mountain Mam Tor all the way to Hope Valley. Doesn't it sound like something from a fairytale?

Mentioned in the Domesday book and once the site of William Peverel's castle (I love an unexpected Harry Potter reference) the village has a long and interesting history, including once housing a leper hospital! Although one should take that with a pinch of salt, as I ended up down the rabbit of hole of an osteological report to try ascertain if there was any physical evidence of leprosy. 

No surprise, no evidence of leprosy has been found on the few individuals excavated from the cemetery, and it is more defined as a leprosarium due to timeline - early medieval hospitals in England were usually classified as leprosaria, and then later become more generalized hospitals, caring for the poor and sick (you can read all about this in my thesis - shameless plug!)

The town itself is well known as a starting point for many walks, including to the nearby caverns so common to the district (many of them once lead mines). My favourite, politely referred to online as the Peak Cavern, is not only enormous and used to sometimes used to perform concerts, but is locally known as the Devil's Arse. A much better name! 

Another cool fact about this cavern is not only is this one entirely natural, up until the early 1900s, it housed troglodytes (people who lived in the cave itself, building their houses within) and was once known to be the hold of bandits deeper in the cave. 

All very exciting, but after a wander to the cavern and around the village, we were freezing, so retired from the chill to the village pub for a nice cold beer (I never said we were logical!)

Chester
Our next day trip took us to the border of Wales, to the pretty medieval town of Chester. Starting by the river Dee, we walked alongside for a time, before heading into the main town.

Founded as a Roman Fort, and known as one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, it is one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain (Yannick, you should probably visit ASAP). It's a lovely place for a day trip, especially to check out the cosy pubs!

It was always hard returning to Sheffield after a day of adventuring - unless there was snow of course! But more on that next time...

Carcassonne

January 2018

After a lovely two days away, coming back to Sheffield when all your friends are overseas for weeks with family felt a bit depressing. Luckily, we had the perfect cure; cheap Ryanair flights! The useful website 'Skyscanner' price compares flights (and you don't even have to have a specific destination in mind)! Having grown up in England, Ben, to my surprise, had never been to France and was a wine and cheese novice, something we had to rectify immediately! So of course we picked Carcassonne for a long weekend.

The thing about this medieval french city, is its absolutely gorgeous, but this fact is well known. It's usually absolutely heaving with tourists, however in winter, it's absolutely empty! This does mean most restaurants are also unfortunately closed, as pretty much everything in the old city caters only to tourists. However we were renting an Airbnb and cooking our own food anyway, so this wasn't a problem. Plus, we had one of the best views in town! At night, the castle walls were lit up, making our bedroom view even better.

The old city has two concentric thick fortified walls dating back to its time as a medieval fortress, though much of it was restored in 1853. Some of it dates from Roman times, some from medieval, and some of course from the restoration, so it's the usual hodge-podge of history. 

Obviously it relies heavily on tourism, however it's also well known for duck dishes and wine, so you pretty much know you're going to have a good time!

As with most cities with a long past, Carcassonne has seen its share of drama, from surrendering to crusaders in 1209 - and the viscount of the city ending up imprisoned and then 'mysteriously' dying in prison three months later (gosh I wonder who could have done such a thing! Not the occupiers surely!) to the citizens of Carcassonne being kicked out of their own city (by those same dastardly crusaders).

I have to wonder what happened to those poor citizens who were only allowed to leave with what they were wearing and nothing else. Though, if you think this is harsh, in the previous town they sacked, they killed everyone inside. And when asked how to differentiate between the 'good' Catholics and the Cathars, were told to kill them all as God would know his own. How charming. 

It was incredibly wonderful wandering what would usually be thronging streets, to finding them completely deserted, with nothing but our own echoing footsteps breaking the silence in the chilly air. 

What's truly mind boggling however, is the fact that in the 1800s, the government wanted to demolish the city fortifications! Luckily, the locals were horrified by the idea and successfully petitioned against such a move. 

Our trip didn't just involve wandering and taking in the history of course, we also took advantage of the delicious food and drink available! A trip to the local bakery here...

Cheap bubbles and fresh baguette there....

And a selfie or two to finish off! What an excellent little trip!