Stepping Back at Crich

Through the wonders of t'internet, readers, here I am (hopefully) blogging from my bed in our holiday cottage in The Peak District.  I therefore really hope this blog post reaches you looking tickety boo.

Last week, I made my annual pilgrimage to Birmingham to spend two days at the brilliant Festival of Quilts. The boys joined me along the way and we then headed for this beautiful county of Derbyshire and have treated ourselves to a whole week here, staying near Bakewell, to get out and explore.

Yesterday was a real highlight as it offered the opportunity to visit somewhere we had never been, but long wanted to, and to step back in time for a 1940's event, too.

Crich is a village in the beautiful Peak District.  Set high up, the surrounding countryside is breathtaking. At its heart, is a tram museum which recreates a village street scene. The wonderfully preserved trams, dating back as far as the Victorian era, trundle up and down the cobbled street all day long, with various places along the way to hop on and off.  As we were there to attend the 1940's wartime event, the trams running were all authentically from that era.

The village even comes complete with bandstand and many attractive buildings: a sweet shop, tea room, bank and even The Red Lion pub (yes, it really serves drinks!)

The bandstand was home to some really good 1940's style entertainers.

The first thing we did, of course, was hop on a tram.  The Munchkin wanted to go upstairs, predictably, and it did offer a super view.

I turned out for the day in summery fashion, a first outing for these original '40's frock, hat, bag and shoes.

Mr HenHouse, in his RAF finest, caught up on the news. 

After an exciting little ride, off we hopped to explore the street which the museum had taken the trouble to dress as if we were back in 1940.

We met some characters along the way; this spiv had some stockings to peddle on the black market, gasp!

These ladies from Norfolk were having fun in their pretty pinnys.

A lot of people at this event had taken the time to get into the spirit and dress '40's style and with the backdrop of the period buildings, it made for a brilliant spectacle.

These RAF boys were making the most of their time off on leave!

There were a lot of vintage vehicles present too, all of which helped add to the atmosphere.

Part way through the afternoon, there was a parade through the street and a whole line of military and civilian vehicles drove down, along with their occupants all dressed in various vintage guises.

All day, there were lots of trams running, to admire and easily hop on and off.

There is also a museum which holds many trams from the 1800s onwards with interesting displays to further your knowledge.

One building had window displays devoted to make do and mend and the Munchkin was eager to try his hand at making a rag rug.

There were also some modern day sellers in attendance and of course, I relished the opportunity to add to my '40's wardrobe!  All in all, it was a really super day and if you get the chance to visit, I recommend it, especially when the street is really brought alive at a 1940's event, of course.