On Thursday I went on a coach trip to Lichfield about 40 miles away from our peak district cottages.  This was organised by a WI lady from Monyash and Joanna and I thought it would be nice to go.  Chris dropped us off near the Lady Manners school just before 9am and after picking up some others in Bakewell and Ashford we were off.  It didn’t take long to get there via Ashbourne and there was still some flooding near Sudbury.  Lichfield is worth visiting if you are nearby for a couple of reasons, the Cathedral and Dr Johnson’s House.  Apart from some nice stained glass windows the Cathedral also now houses some of the Staffordshire Hoard.  It is also  famous  for having three spires. Lichfield was in the middle of its arts festival so while we were wandering around around the cathedral we were listening to a practice session for a piano recital.  Thursday was a nice day so we also wandered around the streets, there were some independent shops as well as a central shopping area.  There are a number of regular weekly markets too.  Dr Johnson’s House was also worth a visit, he wrote A Dictionary of the English Language.  After lunch we walked through some parkland and along the ‘pool’ beside the cathedral before browsing in some shops.  On the way back I noticed some farmers were making the best of the weather and either silaging or hay making.  Home by 5.30.  Had a nice day out but missed a good day to get some gardening done.  Never mind.