Day 1: It seems I have gone the wrong way.

well today turned out nothing like it was supposssed. First day of my adventure up north and it was a total and epic FAIL but an amusing fail. I think my mistake was going to bed at 3 because I was up passing notes with Jess and watching Vampire Diaries but I made it to Chesterfield without anything bad happening. and I did get really excited when I walked out of the rail station and saw the Church.

This steeple is famous. It has many myths that focus on it and I read about it in one of my many England books not thinking I was every going to actually go and see it. To be honest I totally forgot about it until I saw it today.


THE MYTHS:
SHOD DEVIL: The story asserts that a magician persuaded a local blacksmith to shoe the Devil. The man was so nervous that he drove a nail into the Devil's foot. The Devil flew off howling and, as he was passing the church, felt a twinge of real agony. He lashed out savagely with his foot which caught the Spire and twisted it, leaving also a footprint on one of the buttresses.

VIRGIN: A story of Chaucerian flavour. The spire was so amazed to hear of a virgin being married in the church that it developed its intricate twist in an attempt to see such a wonder with its own eyes. In a slightly amended version the Spire owes its twist to its admiration of a virtuous maiden of such beauty entering the church that the spire bowed in admiration, and could not resume its normal position.

INCENSED DEVIL: Some attribute the deflection to His Satanic Majesty. The legend goes that Lucifer, after a long day's journey, alighted for a moment on the apex of the Spire. It so happened that midnight mass was being celebrated and that the abundant incense from below so irritated his unholy nostrils that he gave a violent sneeze. He managed to keep his hold with his claws and tail around the Spire; next morning, however, the damage was there for all to see.

THE REALITY!!!
It is important to distinguish two elements in the spire’s ‘crookedness’ : The inclination and the twist. It is unfortunate that most people use the word ‘crooked’ unhelpfully, combining the above two features.

The inclination (lean) is due to a number of factors: the use of unseasoned (green) timber, the absence of skilled craftsmen (Black Death) and the neglect of cross-bracing.

The spiral twist is considered to be by design

My reason for going to Chesterfield was to make the journey to Chatsworth house- O I made the journey alright, the long painful uphill in the wrong direction 3 miles and no sidewalk journey. I went to the info center to find out how to get there from the city center the lady said and I quote "Take bus 170 to Baslow and then it is a 20 minute flat walk to the estate." LIES blates!!! So I get to Baslow no signs anywhere telling me which direction I should go so I took a random guess, luckily I was right. . .for now (side note The British System for marking streets is horrible. It seems it is not possible for them to mark every street so you just have to randomly guess where you are. sooo helpful.) Was walking for atleast 10 minutes before I saw a sign telling me that I was going the right way and then 5 minutes later the sidewalk was gone. O yes I was playing in traffic- it was quite enjoyable. Then I came to a cross roads the sign said go up the hill to get to Chatsworth. so I did. . . the sign lied. Walked up this beautiful hill for like half an hour dodging cars, singing to myself cuz my ipod died. You would think I would be upset by being sent on a wild goose chase but to be honest I was very amused. Laughing the entire way at one point there were tears in my eyes. I loved it. A wonderful stroll in the English country side on a gorgeous day. I even found a cute little village on the top of the hill. This is the kind of place I want to live in once I graduate.




So then I see a sign saying 'Chatsworth House 1 1/2 miles" I had come this far I might as well go find the stupid house. Started following the signs. . . once again no sidewalk (chrissy will be mad I played in Traffic without her)Im not exactly sure the distance was measured correctly cuz I kept seeing signs saying 'Chatsworth House 1 1/2 mile" I know I wasnt walking in circles. by this point I had been wandering around for 1 1/2 hours and had 2 hours until my train left. I finally made it to the blasted house and went to the gift shop. My dad will be so proud of me. :) Got some freaking postcards and headed back to the bus stop. Didnt even get to go in the house or the Gardens. It looked pretty from the outside though.
Caught the Train to Scarborough, may have made friends with the guy I sat next to. It was the blond hair and blue eyes. . .not my fault. I am now in Scarborough 5 minutes from the beach- exhausted but not tired. Wierd I know. I wouldnt never say this was a waste of a day at all. I thought it was brilliant!!! These things would only always happen to me. Enjoy some pictures of the place I was suppossed to go but didnt. pretty!!!