Chesterfield highlights!

Hey guys! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may already know that I have some close family who live in Chesterfield. We often visit them there and Chesterfield is like my second home really. We stayed with my family in Chesterfield last week so I wanted to share some of the best things we did whilst we were there. I always love to spend time with my family and we did some really fun things with them. So in today’s post, I’m talking about my Chesterfield highlights!

POTTERY PAINTING

We did pottery painting at ‘U Paint It Pots’ in Chesterfield and it was a really enjoyable afternoon. I always find pottery painting to be really relaxing and the results are always really rewarding. This time, I decided to paint a plate and I used 3 different shades of blue for the base with one of my favourite bible quotes on top. I can’t even tell you how hard it was to write the quote onto the plate though. My hand was wobbling so much and the paint didn’t always go exactly where I wanted it to but I was satisfied with how it turned out in the end. I’m really looking forward to seeing it after it has been glazed!

CANAL BOAT RIDE

We took a trip down Tapton Lock in the canal boat on our second day in Chesterfield and it was so serene and delightful. This was my second canal boat ride and you can click here to read about my first experience of it. I think that canal boat rides are always really peaceful and they provide you with some beautiful photos of the nature that is alive around the canal. We drifted along in the boat, savouring the incredible scenery and tranquility that enveloped us. I really enjoyed it and hopefully I’ll be able to experience it again!

THE CROOKED SPIRE

Chesterfield is famous for the Crooked Spire, also known as the Church of St. Mary and All Saints. As the name suggests, it’s 228 foot tower leans nine feet from it’s centre and is visibly twisted. The current theory on it’s distortion is that it was caused by the lead covering added to the wood shingles some years after initial construction. During the day, the south side of the tower would heat up in the sun and the lead there would expand quicker than on the north side. This would force the tower to twist due to the pattern of the 33 tonnes of lead. With the addition of unseasoned timber which was rife in construction work during the 14th century, the wood would warp with the shingles and further assist with the distortion.

However, as always, there are some intriguing folklore theories on this peculiar phenomenon. In one tale, a blacksmith was fitting a horseshoe to the Devil’s hoof and knocked a nail into the soft part of his foot. The Devil shot up into the air in pain and disfigured the spire as he passed it. Another story depicts the Devil as wrapping his tail around the spire and as the people of the town rang the bell, the Devil tried to escape in fear and twisted the spire as he fled. I think the cheekiest and possibly most funny theory is that a virgin bride once married in that church and the building was so surprised that the spire turned around to see the bride. Legend has it that the church requires another virgin to be married there for the spire to straighten again.

I really liked wandering around the interior of the church because as you all know, I’m a massive fan of old churches and cathedrals. There were some stunning stain glass windows and with the dark stone work, curved arches and black vampy candles, I felt like there was quite a gothic vibe to the church overall. With my little cousin being with us, we entertained her by completing the scavenger hunt the church had arranged where you had to search for the sprites that were hidden around the church. I’m looking forward to seeing the crooked spire poking out above the other buildings on my next visit to Chesterfield.

10 PIN BOWLING

Finally, we finished our time in Chesterfield with some 10 pin bowling at Chesterfield Bowl. Let’s just pretend I’m really gifted at bowling and that I didn’t lose, okay? To be fair to me, it was a pretty close game but my granny took us all by surprise when she swooped into first place with a score of 113! Eloise and Orlaith were just ahead of me 101 and 99 and I finished comfortably in last place with 93. As my granny repeatedly said during our game, “It’s the taking part that counts not the winning.” and even though I lost, I still had so much fun playing with my family. It was the perfect way to end our time in Chesterfield.

Thank you for reading this post! I’m so glad I got to spend such a lovely few days with my family. There’ll be another post out soon but until then bye for now!

Amelia Grace a.k.a Amelia in Hull