July 1-End of Trip, 2018 - A New Home in Duffield

On July 1st we moved from Cromford to Duffield, a town of nearly 6,000 people that is about 5 miles north of Derby.  Like other accommodations in which we have stayed, we found and booked this home through AirBnB.  We have loved staying in this pastoral and peaceful place, and in such a nice and comfortable apartment!

The maps below show how this house is unique in that it is located in the middle of the Chevin Golf Course, which has been an operating golf course since the late 1700's.  The house can only be accessed via a narrow, private road that goes right through the golf course (Yes, we occasionally have to dodge golf balls as we drive to the house!) to a small cluster of buildings, called Courthouse Farm.  All of the buildings are owned by one woman, who lives in one of the buildings and has renovated several others to rent out.  Our house is circled in yellow on the map below.

According to a handwritten history of Courthouse Farm, there is decent evidence to suggest that there were buildings on this site as early as the 1300s, but the oldest of the buildings that are currently on the site was built in the 1700s.  As the name would imply, it was originally a courthouse.

We live in the top floor of the long building pictured below.  Our car is the closest to the photographer in the picture.  The rest of the cars belong to the owner, her children, and other renters.

The picture below shows the owner's house across the courtyard from us.

As you can see, the drive into the courtyard is NOT smooth or level, but it does have character!

The picture below shows our house from the side opposite of the courtyard/parking area.  Our apartment is called the "Long Barn."  The bottom part of the building is used for storage, except on the far right end of the picture below, which has been developed into a two-story apartment which another couple lives in.  The little windows in the rock walls of the house are slits that were originally built into the rock, presumably so there would be at least some light in the building back before there were ceiling/roof windows.  The walls of the house are about two feet thick.

As it was originally a courthouse, it seems only fitting that there would be a "Lady Justice" weather vane on the roof, original to the building.

The white door below is our front door.  The smaller building on the right has been developed into a cute, little apartment.

Our kitchen window looks out onto an old shed or carriage house that has not been renovated and that is in disrepair.

The view out of our windows is beautiful and very peaceful.

The inside is really nice as well.

Hannah loves having her own room!

It has been a snuggly place to stay.

We love these "Velux" windows that have been put all along the roof! They are common here in old building re-models. They really add a lot of light to the the old homes, which can feel rather dim inside sometimes. As we have seen on our entire trip, no screens! We do get some flies and bees, but if there are no screens, they fly in, and then fly out again.

We love the surrounding area as well.  There are numerous places to walk and run, with beautiful scenery all around.

Of course, there are more public footpaths, that we have loved so much. Some cut right through private pastures.

Above our house is an old road that was originally built by the Romans.  It is only a pedestrian trail now, but the old, cobbled base is still quite evident.  It is shaded by massive trees that create a wonderfully shaded place to walk and run. It is believed to have once been the main road that ran the the entire length of the Derwent Valley.

We love the ubiquitous rock walls!

It is fun to explore the footpaths leading off of the old Roman road too.

It is such a quiet and peaceful place. The views on the golf course, with Duffield in the background, make it a great place to stay until we leave in the middle of August! We love that the entire surrounding area of Derbyshire is full of historic sites that we have really enjoyed visiting.