Category: 2017

Leicester City Centre – Clock Tower

With various forces conspiring against us, we were not able to explore for a couple of weekends toward the end of May 2017. We did, however, have to go to Leicester a couple of times for various reasons. As a result, we started to actually take a look at the city which is the heart of our county. Like most people, I take for granted places I go to regularly. This is especially the case with Leicester. You normally go to town on a mission – be it shopping, sport, hospital and so on. Sometimes it is a good idea to stop and take a proper look. This is what we have started to do, so we will put some galleries together over the coming months, years, decades possibly!

Parked up at the phoenix

It turns out that a lot of history occurred in Leicester, from the Romans to Richard III and beyond. In terms of driving, its basically a 26 mile round trip from home to the car park we use the most – The Phoenix Arts Centre car park. It probably has an official name, but that is one mystery I will not be rushing to solve!

As luck would have it there was an event occurring during our first exploration trip into town. Morris Dancing. Lots of Morris Dancing. Dozens of dancing troupes were performing at 19 locations throughout the city. For anyone who doesn’t know, Morris Dancing is traditional English folk dancing which can be dated back to the 13th century. It made for a very bright and noisy addition to an already vibrant day in the city. We had to take a break from the festivities at Mrs Bridges Tea Rooms. Could it be more of an English spring day?! I almost rushed out and got a St Georges Cross tattoo, but luckily restrained myself. On the same day we strolled around the market, both indoor and outdoor versions.

On that day and on a later stroll around, we lamented the loss of several old shops, some of which were in landmark buildings (such as Fenwicks). The face of the city centre has changed so much in our lifetime, that it makes you wander what the future holds. Have a look at the ‘Leicester May 2017’ gallery for more interesting photos and information.

Morris Dancers outside the old Corn Exchange.

Welcome to Badders!

7th May 2017 – Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire.

We were all set to get up at 6 and be on our way by 7 as its a trek to get there, but as usual we ran away from us and we ended up leaving at 7.50 a.m. It was cold and overcast, so we wrapped up warm. First stop was the garage to fill up and diesel, and grab a copy of the Sunday Times (with this years Rich List attached). We then began the trip down a series of motorways. It was about as interesting at the French Presidential election (which was also taking place today). M6 to M42 to M5. As per last weeks outing,  only the last 20 miles or so were on any vaguely interesting roads. With only a quick stop on the M5 for a Micky Dee’s breakfast, we were off the motorways by around 10 a.m. Went through some picturesque villages including Cockadilly near Nympsfield (I kid you not, its just of the B4066 not far from Stonehouse). Anyway, we eventually arrived around 10.30 a.m.

The sun had began to break through but it was still a bit on the chilly side as we parked up, sorted some kit out and headed to the arena. It was heaving. The Cross Country had finished, so it was Show Jumping for the horse and riders. The actual arena on Show Jumping day is a ticket only affair, but there are some decent size screens around the ground where you can catch the action. Before all that we hit the stalls. Clothes, food and horse gear everywhere. We visited our friends at the Festival Of Food marquee. Um Bongo is back! We also picked up some funky cooking oils while we were there. We trawled through many of the clothes stalls and also had a look at a classic Mitsubishi Colt that was on display. Some amazing food was on offer. We tried some Wild Mallard, lots of Venison. I had a gourmet Lamb & Mint burger, and plenty of whippy ice cream was consumed. The sun came out with a vengeance, and the afternoon enjoyed a total heat-wave.

The Duchess Of Cornwall

As we headed over to the big screen, we stopped by the Badminton School stall and enjoyed some flapjack as well as learning a bit of science. The big screen area was fairly full, and was also surrounded by food and drink stands. We even bumped into some friends from our neck of the woods. There was a lot of pomp and ceremony in the show jumping arena as the Duchess Of Cornwall was in attendance. I managed to grab 40 winks whilst sitting on the grass. Erin played with some of her friends from home as well as some new friends she had made whilst sitting there. We stayed for over an hour before going for a slow stroll around the arena and back to the car.

Strange Tower!

It didn’t take too long to get out of the car park (which resembled a Land Rover showroom). We then had a nice meander along country lanes back to the motorways. There is lots of lovely rolling farmland and some quaint villages on the way, and we stopped to take photo of a very interesting building on the edge of one such village. No idea what it is – send any information to us on a postcard! The motorway trek home was trouble free, stopping only for a bit of food at the services on the M6. We eventually got home around half 7, and the sun was still out. All in all a good day out.

Total Miles: 233.1

Mileage

1st May 2017 – Bank Holiday Monday. It was cold, overcast and generally miserable. The weather was typical of Bank Holidays. Running low on dosh and diesel, we decided to National Trust it on the attraction front and bin off any extra curricular eateries. A picnic was also the order of the day. I made my legendary Egg Mayonnaise, and Shani put it into different forms of bread. We filled the car fridge and then headed off to Leicester to fetch Ash.

Packwood House Car Park

Once we picked him up, we took a very dreary route to the first location. We went through Leicester and then the M69, M6 and M42. The last couple of miles were on slightly more interesting country roads. It appears there is a lot of greenery on the outskirts of Solihull (for those not in the know, Solihull is a few miles south/south-east of Birmingham). When we eventually found the car park, the Sat Nav having failed us, which it very rarely does, it was heaving. Luckily there was an overflow car park, in a field next to the main car park. Anyone with a 4×4 will tell you what a dream scenario that is! I proceeded to park at the farthest point away from the entrance, which gave me the most amount of driving on grass as was humanly possible. We had a quick snack on the picnic, and then headed into Packwood House.

You have to cross a road to get to the house and main grounds, although there are lots of scenic walks around the whole of the grounds. As you enter the main house area there is the obligatory shop in the Sundial building. We had a quick look, making a mental note of what to buy on the way out. Next stop was the gardens. There is a range of mad topiary in one section of the garden with ancient trees trimmed into shape. We strolled through to the end where there is a winding, circular path, almost like a botanical helter-skelter, that has a large tree with a bench at its centre. The path is not best suited to anyone who likes to eat.

Packwood House Garden

We then went for a wander around the lake before going into the house. It was during this walk that the rain began, light at first, torrential moments later and it was joined by its best friend Hail. It cannot have lasted for more than 20 minutes or so, maybe even less, but it was enough to drive us to the house. Here we came across an anomaly – a grumpy National Trust volunteer. To be fair to the poor lady, she was having to hand out blue shoe covers to everyone in order to protect the house. An understandably tricky and annoying job. Shoes adorned with blue plastic bags, we slid our way through the building. It had been restored about a century ago to  ring it back to its Tudor glory and had a lot of interesting rooms. There was even a Dalmation hunt for children to help hold their interest. After a good hour in the house, and some interesting facts gleaned from the ever knowledgeable NT staff, we headed back to the car (via, of course, the gift shop). Back at the car we ploughed into the picnic, and decided we had just enough time for one more NT property visit.

Baddesley Clinton Moat

The property in question was Baddesley Clinton. It is about 5 to 10 minutes away and is actually walkable from Packwood. It too had a packed car park despite us arriving an hour and a half before closing time. An amazing moated house which is over 500 years old, set in some lovely grounds. We watched the ducks swim around a river that runs through the estate, and kind of braches off to create little islands which are all linked by bridges. Shani and I took a tour of the house, leaving the other two to mess around outside. It always amazes me how these buildings were constructed all those years ago, without all the modern, mechanical, building equipment.

We had a coffee and fed the ducks before having a quick look in the shop and driving home. We set off around half 5 and took Ash back to Leicester first before coming home ourselves. Another fun day out, but a sad lack of driving satisfaction! Total miles: 131.2

Todays Mileage

Sunday 23rd April 2017

We were going for a leisurely 10 am pick up of Ash in Leicester, but got somewhat delayed by McD’s not-so-fast breakfast service. It put us almost an hour behind schedule, but it was a small price to pay! At around 11 we picked Ash up and headed off to Stoneleigh for the Great British Landrover Show. I had high hopes for the show, and we were looking forward to seeing some large chunks of 4×4 greatness. When we got there, it was like a 1970’s military base crossed with a 1970’s industrial estate. It was very well signposted from the road, but once in the grounds we were left to find the show halls on our own. We followed the crowd and eventually found it. It was £10 each for me and Ash to get in, while Erin went in for free. No tickets, just a black ink stamp on the back of our hands.

Camel Trophy 110. My dream car!

As we went in there were a dozen great vehicles. The new Discovery, a Camel Trophy 110, a couple of tweaked defenders, an old Series pick-up and the millionth Discovery. All very impressive. Then we went into the first of 2 halls. Basically, it was a spare parts warehouse for Defenders. There were a few odd stands for Greenlaning, clothing and the Billing show. That was about it. I was somewhat disappointed. A more accurate name would have been the Mediocre Defender Parts Show. There was not even an official Land Rover presence. There were a lot of nice Defenders on some of the stands as well as a couple of ‘Classic’ Range Rovers. There were only 2 Freelander 2’s on show, and the only other Freelander 1’s we saw were in the car park (5 in all, not including us). The cars in the car park were far more interesting than the show.

The Classic Range Rover opened up.

We decided, as usual, to go an find somewhere to eat. After a bit of cogitating we decided to National Trust it and looked for a relatively close property to visit. Coughton Court jumped to the top of the list. We trundled over there in good time. First stop once in was for food. The place was heaving as the sun was still out. We had the last but one of the sandwiches in the coffee shop. Didn’t go down well with the folk in the queue behind us.

Coughton Court from the grounds.

As usual, we had to go to the shop to get Erin something. She decided to buy a red and black football. It was then off to the grounds to make use of said ball. Many photographs were taken of me literally looking like a professional athlete as I ran around kicking the ball with Erin. I await my call up to the England squad. Before I keeled over in cardiac arrest, we headed over to the house for a tour. Its a fantastic house, and still in use by descendants of the original family. It is great to see modern family photos alongside the antique portraits of yesteryear. The NT staff/volunteers are always beyond compare and here was no exception. I think all attractions across the UK should send their staff for training with the National Trust guys. After a good day out it was time to head home. Horrible roads all the way – A46 & M69 being 2 of them – we dropped Ash back in Leicester and headed home.

Todays Mileage

Total Miles: 146.9

Friday 14/4/2017 (Good Friday). Marwell Z00 – Hayling Island – Central London

Hayling Island South Beach

A very early start beckoned, as we wanted to be at the Zoo around 10 am when it opened. Shani went off to fetch Ash from Leicester around 6 am to save me an extra 30 odd miles and 45 mins driving. By the time they got back, and we had set off, it was 20 past 7. The weather was mild, but thankfully no rain. Driving was going to be boring – mainly motorways and A roads (M1, A34, M40 etc). We stopped off for breakfast en route, but aside from that it was a straight run down to Marwell Zoo. According to my tracking App, including the stop, it took bang on 3 hours.

Marwell Zoo was easy to find and they have a huge car park. We skipped the queue as we had booked and paid online the day before. A well laid out park was simple to navigate and they have fun exhibits for kids. We found some of the animals were a little reticent to show themselves, and all of their big cats were asleep. You can get very close to some of the other animals, the Penguins, Meerkats and Giraffes being some of the best. They suggest you give it at least 4 hours, and we were there for a little over that. They also have a massive gift shop, which Erin had to be prised out of.

Zoo done, we went back to the car and had a quick bite to eat before deciding where to go on the coast to enjoy the rest of our picnic. Ash suggested Hayling Island, near Portsmouth. It was about half an hour away. When we arrived there, we parked up right in the middle of the southernmost beach. Parking is expensive, and the beach is shingle, not sand. Not many people there, so we had food by the ocean, and went for a walk along the shore. We then drove down to the Ferry Point on the south western tip and had another wander around. After an hour or so it was time to bid farewell to the coast and head home. We chose a route that took us through the South Downs to Farnborough. It was supposed to be scenic but the Sat Nav unusually let us down and sent us down A roads. We once again found ourselves amidst military towns as we went through Aldershot. I tapped the Home icon on the sat nav, and before we knew it we ended up on the M25.

BBC Broadcasting House at night

As we endured the mind numbing trip around the magic roundabout, I decided to take a detour and went down the M4 straight to the West End of London. It was fun weaving through the traffic, and Shani managed to upset the driver of a Lamborghini Aventador, He rolled his window up at the lights at Picadilly Circus. I assumed he was upset that our vehicle was a lot better than his. Who can tell. Anyway, we ended up dumping the car in the Q Park at Cavendish Square, and went for a wander up to the BBC, then back down to grab some food at Byron’s.

We came out of the restaurant around half 9. It began to spit with rain just as we reached the car park. By the time we drove out of the car park it was properly raining. We did well to survive the whole day without rain. We then ploughed on home, stopping only for caffeine at Watford Gap services. We had to take Ash home, back into Leicester city centre and didn’t get back home until 1 am. A good, but knackering day out was had by all!

Total Miles: 342

Saturday 8/4/2017. A hot day beckoned as we set off on a National Trust day. The first port of call was Woolsthorpe Manor, the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton. We had our usual diversion via Leicester city centre to fetch Ash, then went out through Melton Mowbray and into Lincolnshire. For the first time in the history of our day trips, we got there too early and it was closed. Admittedly it was only about 1o minutes early (the house did not open until 10), but early nonetheless. The weather was on our side and it was a gloriously sunny day, so waiting around was not an issue. Once inside we headed straight to the café as none of us had had any breakfast. There was an activity centre in the café so Erin was kept entertained for a while – all themed along the Physics line. Next, we went to the house itself. It is in incredibly good condition, and as usual the staff were very knowledgable and friendly. The gravitas of discoveries made there suddenly comes to light when you glimpse the apple tree from the window in Sir Isaacs bedroom. After a tour around the 350 or so year old house, we went to the garden for a closer look at the famous apple tree. Apparently it fell over 200 or so years ago in a storm, however it then started to grow again, and became what we see today. Incredible ot think what ideas came about because of this tree.

The Apple Tree, as viewed from Sir Isaac Newton’s bedroom window

The day was heating up nicely, weather-wise, so we decided it was time to move on. We bid farewell to Sir Isaac and headed off into the countryside . Tattershall Castle was our next stop. The car park is some distance from the castle, and you go past the Church as you head towards the castle entrance. Another NT property, this one you also enter via the gift shop (as was the case with Woolsthorpe). Built in the 15th Century out of red brick, it is an impressive building. There are 149 steps to the roof top, and we thought it would be a good idea to climb them. We stopped off to view each floor under the pretence of learning something. The reality was it was knackering, so we had to stop to avoid death! It is well worth the climb, especially when it was as clear as it was during our visit. Excellent views of the surrounding countryside. We explored the whole castle, then went and relaxed on deck chairs next to the moat, before having a wander around the grounds. After an hour or so, everyone started getting tired so it was time to bid farewell to Lincolnshire and head home.

Tattershall Castle

The long trip home. Ashley decided we should take a scenic route home. I agreed. This ended up with us almost ending up in Grimsby. I have no idea how, however, I let the sat nave take over when I saw Grimsby was only about 15 miles away from where we were. We drove for hours. We went through lots of little towns and villages including Belchford, Louth and Market Rasen. We also went on a search for somewhere to eat, which failed epically as every pub we stopped at did not start serving until 6 pm. As 6 pm rolled around, we found our final pub stop. They started serving at half 6. We gave up and ended up eating at the Phoenix Arts Centre in Leicester, right back where we started.

Todays mileage total

Total Miles: 225.9

Cheddar Gorge. Spot our tiny Freelander at the bottom!

Saturday 18/3/2017: So it was decided a proper trip in the newly running 2001 Freelander was needed. The West Country is an area we have not really looked at properly, so a destination area was agreed. We eventually got moving by around half 9 and filled up with fuel as we left town. Our first stop was Leicester to collect the brother-in-law. Once we were all settled in we set off properly. The first destination was Cheddar Gorge. As we hadn’t got underway until after 10, it put our ETA around 1 pm. Very boring trip to start with – Motorways. M69, M6, M42, M5 then normal roads. We stopped on the M5 for a coffee and leg stretch.

We got to the Gorge around half 1. It took us by surprise as there was no real warning you were there. Just the utterly massive cliff faces of the gorge. The scale of the place is not one that can be easily described. It was made more ominous by the large amount of fog (or mist) that was lingering around the top of the rocks. We drove up to the top then turned round and came back through stopping off at the various parking bays to take pics and have a picnic. As you can see from the size of the car at the bottom of a cliff, its an impressive site. After the drive we went for a wander around the village before deciding to stay for the night.

Most people would think it was easy in this day and age to pop online and get a hotel room or a B&B with little difficulty. Quite the opposite! Firstly, Saturday night prices are high. We found one of the popular ‘cheap’ chains who did have some spare rooms, but they wanted £118 per room. It was certainly a ‘Premier’ price for crappy rooms! Our drive to find a place to stay took us to Burnham-on-Sea and then to Glastonbury. We eventually found a great B&B just south of Bristol (in a place called Dundry) so raced up there on treacherous roads through the Mendip Hills, in thick fog, at night, to get there before 7. It was called the Bridge Farm Guest House, and very pleasant it was too. We nipped to the garage opposite that had a Spa shop and got a few bits as we had not planned to stay overnight, then went a few yards down the road to the local pub, the Winford Arms, for a great meal. 236.5 miles on just over half a tank of diesel – not too bad!

The first days Mileage

Sunday 19/3/2017: After a good nights sleep and a good old B&B fry up, we made our way to Bristol as we were told there were some good sights to be seen. After some faffing around, we made our way to the Suspension Bridge. After the hard days driving yesterday, the car was now beginning to not enjoy hills of any sort. Not handy when in a city like Bristol that has some seriously steep roads. The bridge and its history were both impressive. The first bit of free parking at a tourist attraction, and also very friendly and helpful staff in the visitor centre. We drove across the bridge, parked up, walked over it and back and then had a look at the visitor centre (followed by the obligatory exit via the gift shop).

Clifton Suspension Bridge

It was the back across the bridge and down to the docks for a look around the SS Great Britain. The iron steam ship designed by Brunel. It was very atmospheric once we got below decks, with mannequins performing all sorts of tasks from cooking, to giving birth, sleeping, eating, in the medical bay and even dying in quarantine. Not a place you would like to sleep on overnight! Also, people were a lot shorter a couple of hundred years ago, so if you do go. mind your head. As the ship sits in its original dry dock, you can also look at the underside. That was equally impressive. How it ever floated is a miracle. We had a quick coffee and cake in the adjacent coffee shop, then began the monumental trip home. The car was getting a bit thirsty by now, so we stopped on the way out of Bristol to whack another 40 quid into the tank.

SS Great Britain

The trip home has us meandering over to Stonehenge. We took back roads and cut through Salisbury Plain. Many MOD fields full of nice hills and mud for the car, but we were not allowed to drive over/through any of it.  Stonehenge was a total wash out. We got there at just gone 4 but were told even though the place is open until 5, they stop people going in at 3. On top of that, the road that runs closet to it is now shut. Only in England!! It turns out that there is a Wood Henge, just around the corner from the famous stone version. As we drive there we saw Stonehenge from the road. It reminded me a the Spinal Tap movie. Unless you are a druid, I would probably not bother with it. Wood Henge, however, was even less impressive, if that is at all possible. A dirt track runs alongside it, and you just abandon your car and can freely enter the field. It was supposedly a man made shape of wooden trunks, now long since gone, and which have been replaced with chunks of concrete which are only a couple of feet high. Suitably dismayed, we left for Avebury, and another set of stone circles. Our quest to discover Ancient Britain was now fully underway!

It was another 40 minutes or so of driving to get there. It also began to rain. By the time we got there it was spitting heavily. 3 of us got out for a wander around. The stone circles there are very impressive. I assume they are not as famous as Stonehenge due to the fact they are not piled up on top of each other. By this stage we were wet and now very hungry so we ducked into the Red Cow pub in Avebury for a Sunday roast. That was it, all piled back into the car and headed for home. The only sound was that of snoring people and a knackered wheel bearing!

Coming home we did the A34/A43, via Oxford to junction 15 on the M1, and zipped back up to Lutterworth. All in all a great weekend away, albeit somewhat spontaneous!  Final mileage of the weekend – 462.5.

Total Mileage for the weekend