Wonderful Willersley

Our WWDP conference this week has been at the splendid Willersley Castle Hotel. It is a stunning building, built for the industrialist Richard Arkwright, in Cromford, Derbyshire.

We were rather busy [it was a working trip after all] so I didn’t get many photos taken – but I did manage a shot of the dining room on the first evening.When we went inside for dinner, I sat with Gary and Julie at dinner [he’s a Pentecostal Pastor from Yorkshire. I think]

One of the waiters was Alvaro from Barcelona. Here he is about to enjoy some time off on Tuesday morning, going out on his Suzuki.

I asked him on Tuesday evening how the bike was “Kaput” he said [not very Spanish!] He’d had problems with the electrics, he said. He was confident he could fix it. I have just realised my shadow is quite clear in the picture above – I’ll never be a good photographer.

In the middle of the building is an amazing Oval Gallery on three floors [plus ground level] under a glass dome. The building was bought by some Methodists in the 1920s as a Holiday Centre, and in WW2, the Salvation Army Maternity Hospital in London relocated here. Imagine being one of the 4000 babies who had “Place of Birth – Willersley Castle” on their birth certificate!

I have to say that the general ambience, the helpfulness of the staff and the quality of the meals could not be faulted. My only complaint was the WiFi – the reception was variable within the Main House, and nothing at all if your bedroom was in the Mews Annexe [as mine was] Sitting behind the sofa in the TV lounge wasn’t the ideal place to try and catch up with my emails!

I should like to return sometime for a proper holiday – to try out the pool, and visit the nearby places of interest and look at the stunning scenery of the Derbyshire Dales. I feel very privileged to have been able to spend time in these lovely surroundings for a few days.

But I am very glad to be home again…