Helen Stephenson's Derbyshire Break Pictures - December, 2005 - "Monsal View" cottage in Cressbrook

Being December, and with my proclivity for always being a bit later than I mean to be, our first view of the cottage was in darkness and therefore isn't recorded here! We'd driven through Chesterfield on our way to Cressbrook and had stopped at an excellent Morrison's supermarket there and stocked up on food on our way by, so we arrived, brought our bags inside, put the car down in the village car park, had something to eat and turned in for the night.

"Monsal View" is in the back row of the two rows of cottages at the top of Cressbrook. You can pick it out near the centre of the picture: it's the left gable of the set of three gable-roofed cottages near the centre of the back row.

Here's the front of the cottage. (The front door is actually on the side!) There are spectacular views, particularly from the upstairs window.

The last two images were digitally captured, but most of the interior of the cottage was photographed using a film SLR as I needed to use my 18-28 super wide angle zoom lens indoors without getting the DSLR 1.5x multiplication factor in the focal length!

On entry to the cottage, you step through a small hallway, where the owners have thoughtfully provided a box of brochures for most of the activites which can be carried out within at least a 20-mile radius. You emerge into the living room, where the tiled floor has under-floor heating installed. There's also an open fireplace, where you can have a coal fire.

From the living room, you turn left into the kitchen. The heated tile floor continues into the kitchen, where there is a good range of modern appliances, including double oven, halogen hob, microwave and dishwasher.

There is a conservatory beyond the kitchen. The heated flooring continues out there, and a table and chairs are provided so that the conservatory can be used as an eating area. The original "outhouse" now opens into the back of the conservatory and has been converted into a laundry area.

The other amenity downstairs is the shower room, where there's a really decadent power shower.

A staircase accessed from the living room goes up to two double bedrooms and a second toilet with washbasin.

The master bedroom looks out over the front of the cottage and comes equipped with a good range of cupboards and drawers.

The second bedroom, which is also a double, faces the rear of the property.