Mr S and I took advantage of a trip leaving our locality and with fine weather for the whole duration enjoyed a few days visiting some enchanting places. We stayed at Old Barn Hotel near Grantham, which is situated amongst the agricultural area. The meals were excellent and for company in the evenings we chatted with other people and also other hotel guests. The coach was supplied by Somerset Company Bakers Dolphin, and we had an excellent driver.
It was quite strange to stop over in Stratford on Avon on the Bank Holiday Monday, but very enjoyable to sit and have out picnic lunch which we grabbed from food hall at M & S. After watching a group of Morris Dancers, we popped into The Guild Chapel to remind us of its beauty.
Our first day of visits including a guided tour of Lincolnshire Cathedral following a tour of the city by Coach.
And of course The Lincoln Imp was pointed out, together with the story that led to a local goldsmith James Usher making his fortune selling Imp jewellery.
There was so much to see in the Cathedral, and an afternoon was not quite enough. However I was totally bowled over by the longest and darkest table I have seen. It is 13 metres long, it took my breath away! It is made of Fenland Black Oak found in the Fens from a tree that was growing over five thousand years ago.
Day three consisted of visiting the delightful town of Stamford in the morning, and I am sure that there are many people who would love to live there. We enjoyed walking around, chatting to people and in particular a lady tending to her beautiful front garden.
People I know would understand why I had to take a picture of 'Freckleface'!
We found a great place to sit outside a chocolatier and have drinks out in the traffic free lane sitting in the sun. Later we discovered a quality local baker: Hambleton Bakery, which sold 'real bread'. I was intrigued by a local bake 'Rutland Pippin', and that was amongst the things we bought from that shop, and very tasty it was! Mr S bought a lovely belt made in England, and was delighted as his other two were ready for the srcap heap.
In the afternoon we visited.Burghley House. It was magnificent, with so many treasurers.
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| Bow Room Burghley House |
The amusing thing is that I nearly got locked into the special Exhibition in the Brewhouse, where I was engrossed in the Treasury Exhibition. Mr S had gone out to the shop, and was looking for me when the place was being locked up.
This is one of a pair of gold filigree vases, made in England in about 1675, with diamond and turquoise collars: absolutely spectacular.
The following day we made the most of our visit to Springfields, and rather than look round their shops headed straight for the Festival Gardens, where we wandered around before lunch 'The Kitchen'.
In the afternoon we spent the afternoon at The Belton Estate. Belton House is surrounded by formal gardens and has loads of flamboyant interiors. I think I was slightly 'housed' out by the time we arrived here, but noted some very beautiful oriental furniture and artifacts. I would definitely recommend visiting this area of Lincolnshire, but do allow plenty of time.
On our way home, on the last day we visited Sir Issac Newton's birth place and where he grew up. Here is Woolsthorpe Manor and in the foreground the famous Apple Tree which is one of fifty Great British Trees.
Not everything always goes smoothly: on the way home we had no air conditioning on the coach, but luckily I had packed my fan. We had a stop off in Oxford on the way home with a couple of hours at the Ashmolean Museum. We used to visit that frequently and once again I gravitated to the antiquities of Crete, and then ceramics of China and Japan.
Although we had a taxi to the station, and were on tenterhooks waiting for it to arrive, in the end ten minutes late, we decided to walk home. It was certainly a well filled holiday, with the advantage that we had no driving.
That must have been an interesting and enjoyable trip Noelle. I grew up in Peterborough which is about 11 miles away from Stamford. I can remember once walking to Burghley House as a 15 year old 😂 Stamford was also the last station before Peterborough on my many years of trips home to see my parents so it's a little town that I must fond of and as you say it's delightful.
ReplyDeleteMr S and I were very fortunate to have gone on this holiday, and what a lovely area for you to have grown up in.
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