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| Birthday balloon that arrived by post, courtesy of Alex and Rob |
It’s official, I am now of a certain age! I can get 10%
discount at B&Q on Wednesdays but, sadly I don’t get a free bus pass for another
3 years and I won’t get a state pension for another 6 years. I’m nestled neatly
between two prime number ages, the last time until I reach 102. If you haven’t
guessed, I’m now 60! To celebrate, Pauline came up to stay with us in Derby
while we housesit TC and we’ve had three full days with her.
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| Jackie and Pauline in front of Caulke Abbey |
On Wednesday, shortly after her arrival we were off out to
Calke Abbey, an early eighteenth century grade I listed country house standing
on the site of a medieval religious house. It was owned by the Harpur family
for nearly 300 years before passing into the hands of the National Trust. At
the time they acquired it, it had decayed considerably and the Trust have
deliberately left much of it as it was, calling it an un-stately home.
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| Jackie, Pauline and Brian with afternoon tea at Calke Abbey |
It’s got
considerable grounds as well as 100 rooms in various states of decay and
clutter and we spent a good 4 hours there until closing time and could have
spent much longer. The trust employ many volunteers in their properties to
entertain and enlighten people as they walk round the various rooms, so you do learn
a lot and it makes it very interesting.
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| The gardens at Calke Abbey |
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| Brian, Martyn, Pauline, Jackie, Annabel, Roy and Jean |
On Thursday we went off to Lyddington in Rutland,
Leicestershire to see Martyn (Jackie’s uncle, Pauline’s brother) and Annabel. Martyn is a farmer and has lived all his life
in Bicker in Lincolnshire in a huge house that had been in the farming family
for generations, but they have now sold it and bought a fabulous seventeenth
century stone property in this small village now that Martyn has gone into
semi-retirement.
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| Martyn, Annabel and Ella |
They bought it three years ago, extended and completely refurbished
it, but we hadn’t seen it. Roy, an old friend of Martyn’s, and his friend Jean also
came down. At 83 Roy is a former policeman in the Bicker area and has now been
retired for 33 years. He’s still pretty fit and as lively as ever, so the seven
of us had a fabulous day out. Lunch in Martyn and Annabel’s local restaurant,
that appears in the Michelin guide, coffee in the warm afternoon sunshine, a
walk round the village and then a guided drive by Martyn past Britain’s longest
railway viaduct, the 1275 yard long, 82 arch Welland or Harringworth viaduct,
constructed in 1878. Great to see them all again, including their 11 week old
puppy Ella that I think is a flat coated setter, very friendly and bouncy!
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| Their lovely house in a fabulous village |
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| Afternoon walk through historic Lyddington |
Friday (today) we took Pauline to Dovedale, a beautiful
valley (Dale) in the Peak District cut by the River Dove. It’s a deep wooded
valley with limestone cliffs, a good path alongside the river, very scenic and
also very popular, so we parked the car and joined the crowds with their
children and/or dogs on the stroll up river. We’ve been here in the past
carrying all our climbing gear as the limestone crags offer some excellent
climbing, usually with a lot a spectators as the crags are very close to the
tourist path, so it always made us feel pretty good (as long as you didn’t fall
off)!
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| Brian, Pauline and Jackie had a go on the zip wire in the park |
On the way back we deviated off on another walking path to Ilam with its Swiss
style houses, park, church and IIam Hall, which is now a youth hostel. It’s a
great location for a youth hostel with a multitude of walks straight out of the
front door and we wondered about organising a trip there with our friends at
some point in the future.
That’s it for now, my sister Denise and Paul are here
tomorrow for the weekend so need to get this done before there’s more to write!
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| Little Ella! |
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| The 82 arch Welland railway viaduct |
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| Martyn cuts a fine figure of a man. Not bad for 69! |
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| Dovedale |
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| The stepping stones of the River Dove in Dovedale. There's two Paulines and three Jackies on those stones! Clever stuff this Panorama maker software I have! |
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| Jackie and Pauline on the walk to Ilam |
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| This little chap with the funny wool coat was having a lazy chew of grass |
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| The swiss style houses in Ilam |
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| Ilam Hall, now a youth hostel |
