Sat May 24
Chesterfield

Dear Mum & Liz (&Toby),

Today was one of those rather terrible days. I suppose it makes up for the beautiful days I've been having since Colchester.

It began with sleeping late this morning & not leaving Nottingham until 11:00. I had also run out of money except for two ₤10.00 travellers checks. Of course all the banks were closed. The weather was cold, windy & looking like rain but fortunately the rain held off until I got here.

I didn't see either the druid remains nor Friar Tuck's well & by lunchtime I had only got as far as Blidworth. Nobody would take my travellers checks so I continued on my way until I finally found a travel agent in Sutton-in-Ashfield. So my lunch consisted of three candy bars.

I made it to Hardwick Hall by mid-afternoon & went around there, courtesy of open-to-view again. They have hundreds of tapestries there & the place itself is similar, I hear, to Chatsworth. The two are also related in that some of the building materials from the original Hardwick Hall were taken to use at Chatsworth.