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