Far from today's air-con hotel circuit, a quiet Peak District hotel holds the memorabilia and stories of Australia's legendary touring sides.
Today's touring cricketer has it easy. Crowne Plaza one week, Holiday Inn the next, with generous pay and plenty of spare time for a round of golf. Touring life wasn't always this smooth, and one hillside hotel in England's Peak District is proof.
The Maynard sits above the village of Grindleford, a short hop from a railway platform where homemade bunting loops along the fence and book displays celebrate the national year of reading. After early morning rain, the trees around Padley Gorge are turning. Golden beech and rusty horse chestnut spread in greens and yellows up the slopes and into the valleys.
Inside, the hotel is crammed with memorabilia and stories left behind by touring teams, among them Don Bradman's Australians. It is a time capsule from an era when cricket tours meant long journeys and quiet country stops rather than airport lounges and chain hotels.
For anyone who loves the game's history, it is a reminder that cricket's great tours were built as much on the places the players stayed as on the runs they scored. Some of the best stories come from the quietest corners.
