In October 2022, when we first starting planning our journey, we planned to intersperse travel with house and petsitting, deciding that we would stay out of large urban areas where possible and apply for locations in villages and on the outskirts of towns. Knowing very little about English counties and city areas other than the great metropolitan areas of London and Manchester, we made successful contact with the homeowners for this first housesit in the middle of England – we knew where we were starting our adventures! Dexter the dog (Cockapoo) had his home in a small village on the outskirts of Derby, surrounded by fields and plenty of public footpaths/walkways.

Driving here from Blackpool was interesting, on both wide motorways and then tree lined country lanes and avenues hardly wide enough for one car, but we needed to be very aware of oncoming traffic. The landscape views had so much similarity to the green fields and tree plantings or rural NZ pastureland. We could see how the English settlers wanted to create “home” in a new country. Tiny villages with a scattering of stone houses, (maybe) a church, and (mostly) a pub charmed us on our way.

We were happy to settle into a home for the next 9 days, having access to a laundry and kitchen, lovely outside spaces and relaxing scenery. It was however, cold! Coming from the 30^o + heat of Mexico to the low teens and overcast skies was a shock to the system and we were pleased to have winter clothes packed that we didn’t expect to pull out at the start of our journey. Each day we wandered the public footpaths with Dexter, across farmland with freshly cut hay, through bean fields and into woodlands. It was all very easy and a great introduction for the next few months. Nearby was Keddleston Hall, a stately home we visited and were surprised at how busy it was. Another recommendation was to drive north to Matlock – so off we went for a half hour drive to a pretty town in a gorge, packed again with people and hundreds of motorbikes parked too. As pretty as the town was, it was cafe after cafe along the road and very little else. We did visit the mining museum, as there were a number of lead mines that enabled the local economy a few hundred years ago.

We chose to drive to the town of Belper for our groceries, rather than trying to get in and out of Derby, and from there detoured to the Denby pottery museum and factory. Then in Derby itself on a very chilly day, we visited the Silk Mill museum – touted as the first factory in the world. Mills (cotton) feature prominently around this region, huge brick buildings that brought work for the people and wealth for the few.

All too soon, it was time to re-pack and tidy up ready for our homeowner’s return. This was a great re-introduction to this lifestyle – we loved having such a relaxing first housesit and a special doggy companion to keep us company. One thing that has surprised us – pleasantly – is our budget. So far grocery shopping has been much cheaper than back in NZ, eating out is comparable as is petrol. This was an unknown coming into this trip and it’s been good to see that our weekly spend on food and fuel isn’t going to be much different than if we’d stayed home, but we’re here and the adventure is just beginning. Now we head south again…