Monthly Archives: September 2023

Cambridgeshire day 3…

04 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, History, Photography, Transport, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

The summer we’ve never had arrived with a vengeance today. Here in the middle of nowhere we woke up to clear blue skies and mist over the fishing ponds, which made for quite a sight. Breakfast over we piled into the car to drive to the Madingley Road park and ride site to the West of Cambridge, where we swapped the car for a bus to get us into the centre of town. It’s a great service. Good quality double-decker buses run every 10 minutes and cost £3.50 return. Helping to keep Cambridge traffic and pollution free and be the sort of city I wish more UK towns aspired to, rather being in the thrall of the motoring lobby.

. Once in the centre of town we had a wander to find options for onward travel. I’ve visited Cambridge several times although I’ve not explored the city centre for a while. The Platt’s have never done so. Dawn had hit on a plan of taking her parents on the open-top bus tour, which would allow them to see the sights and save their legs. So, whilst they did that I took the camera for a walk to indulge two of my other loves, architecture and street photography.

I love looking around a place where you come across completely random stuff like this. Ever wonder where the expression ‘Hobson’s Choice’ came from? Wonder no more…

My perambulations took me back to Bridge Street which was familiar territory. I was only when I got there and sat down to watch the world go by that I realised ‘familiar’ was 22 years in the past! The last time I’d been here was when I was living in London and I took my ‘daughter’ here. I should explain. I don’t actually have a daughter but a young lady whom Lynn and I first met in Australia and who came to stay with us in London called us ‘Mum and Dad’ so we reciprocated.

Here’s how Bridge St looked during our visit in 2001. Here’s how it looks today.

I hung around here as I wanted to catch pictures of the way people travel in out and around a city that isn’t choked by cars. Here’s a couple of examples.

Active travel. A carry bike that can be used for numerous things, from children to shopping, business to leisure.
Inactive travel and a form I have issues with. E-scooters. What problem are they actually solving? Even the regulated ones litter the streets. Unregulated ones are even worse as they’re not speed limited (you really don’t want to get hit by either) and from my experience in various countries they’re mostly used by young people for joyriding rather than as an alternative to other transport modes – except walking.

Here’s an inactive mode Cambridge has become synonymous with, but what the hell! It only expends someone’s muscle power and adds a lot of money to the local economy as hiring these punts ain’t cheap!

Tomorrow we’re having a different experience as we’re visiting the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. John (Dawn’s dad) did his National Service in the RAF, so there’s family history as well has national history here.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Cambridgeshire day 2…

03 Sunday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridgeshire, Musings, Photography, Railways, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

It may be tardy but summer’s finally arrived. We’ve had great weather all day here in Cambridgeshire, although looking at the stressed state of some of the local trees I suspect there’s been a lot less rain here over the summer than we’ve had up in God’s own country.

After a leisurely morning we headed over to Ely, a town I’m very familiar with but one the Platt family had never visited before. On the way in I gave the folks a bit of a run-down on local history, including that of why there’s now a Southern bypass due to the number of HGVs that used to get stuck on the level crossing or jammed under the adjacent low bridge. I’d no idea how useful a lesson it would be until we parked at the station and prepared to walk down to the river. All of a sudden there was a hell of a bang and crunching noise from behind the trees masking the road. I knew what had happened straight away. This…

And the moral of the story is – always know the height of your vehicle…

To add to the drivers distress and embarrassment, there was a weeding party a few meters away who were about to board this vehicle. Needless to say, the wedding guests phone cameras were out capturing pictures of the added entertainment. Nice bus tho’…

Walking into town the Platt’s first stop was Costa coffee, which gave me chance to dash to the tourist office for leaflets, check out a few of the sightseeing opportunities and grab a swift pint before we moved on to the Cathedral. You don’t have to be religious or an architectural buff to appreciate the magnificence of Ely cathedral (although they’d help) as it’s truly a stunning building with a fascinating history.

Looking up into the cathedral tower…

The family were all impressed and moved by the building and the atmosphere within it. If you ever get chance to visit – do. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Having done our spiritual duties we moved onto more temporal concerns by stopping for a drink by the river Great Ouse at the Cutter Inn which has a great selection of food and drink – as well as great views along the river. We managed to bag a table outside which allowed views like this.

Two excellent forms of transport meet at Ely.

Whilst we were relaxing we were rudely interrupted by this critter above us – which we hadn’t even noticed until it started cooing like it was auditioning for a part in a Cuckoo clock!

Good to see those anti pigeon spikes work. Having seen the way this Dove’s defeated static defenses I can only assume it must be Ukrainian…

Now we’re back at home, relaxing and digesting the excellent coq au vin that Dawn had set up in the slow cooker before we left. Tomorrow we head to Cambridge – another first for the Platts…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Cambridgeshire day 1…

02 Saturday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridgeshire, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

09:00.

Good morning from Saxon mound (as this collection of chalets is named). I was up first and had a lovely solo interlude sitting on the balcony overlooking the lakes, sipping coffee whilst watching the Coot, Ducks and Herons on the fishing lakes. Now the house is awake and the rest of the family are indulging in the same sport. Thankfully, I remembered to bring the binoculars this time!

Now it’s time for a leisurely breakfast before heading out to explore. Feel free to pop back and see what we get up to…

19:30. Well that was a crap ‘rolling blog’, wasn’t it? The reality was we were too busy moving around and I was too busy acting as tour guide and Dawn’s navigator to be able to update the blog. So from now on I’ll only do a daily update – bearing in mind I’m in company and meant to be on holiday. I could write volumes about today as we visited some really interesting places, many of which I’ve never seen before. Our first stop was to explore the nearby village where we just had to stop so that I could get a picture of this.

Moving on our first proper stop was at St Ives (no, not the one in Cornwall) which is a lovely little place with shedloads of history, a relaxed feel and some lovely buildings. There’s also a very rare bridge across the river in that it’s only one of four left in the country that contains a chapel as part of its structure.

The bridge across the Ouse at St Ives has a fascinating history. The old chapel in the centre is one of only four left and that’s had an interesting and varied life too…
“You – boy” – the statue of Cromwell in St Ives.

We really enjoyed our visit to St Ives – a place we’ll be popping back to again before we go as it’s only up the road. Our next stop? Maybe not – although Huntingdon was interesting in a different way. The old county town certainly has a lot of history. It was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, became a battleground between Royalists and Cavaliers during the English Civil War, and has later political ‘form’ as the constituency of former Conservative Prime Minister John Major. The town centre’s been knocked about a bit since I was last here 30 years ago, but there’s still a lot of old buildings that remain, including a lovely old pub called the Falcon Tavern at the back of the market square. I spotted it so popped in for a pint when I was checking out the sights whilst the rest of the family had gone for their Costa coffee fix. Having seen the Falcon had Hopback ‘Summer Lightning’ on tap and outside seating in the sun I couldn’t resist. As usual, my camera proved a talking point and I soon ended up in conversation with some of the pub regulars who were an interesting and eclectic bunch. Lets put it this way, I don’t think any of them voted for John Major when he was the sitting MP!

Once the combined coffee/beer break was over I took the trio to the Cromwell museum in the square. Its’ only small but a really interesting place as it makes you realise some what you thought you knew about Cromwell (and the Puritans) was Victorian make-believe. The very helpful and informative young lady staffing the single-room museum really added to our visit thanks to her own knowledge and interest in Cromwell. There’s good reasons for the Scots, Welsh and Irish to have an intense dislike of him but the idea that he ‘abolished’ Christmas (that was Parliament, not Cromwell) or that he was intolerant of other faiths and denominations (he wasn’t) are fictions. Oh, the idea the Puritans always wore black is cobblers too. Apparently, black dye was expensive, so they were far more colourful than people think.

Versions of Cromwells death mask on display in the museum.
A single-room museum that fits a lot in. I’d certainly recommend a visit.

Suitably enlightened we headed home to enjoy the rest of the evening rejoicing in the dying rays of the sun before Dawn got her chef’s hat on and cooked the evening meal. Nothing fancy today – we just had fish and chips, but what a great end to the day!

Relaxing after tour guide duties.
Time to eat…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Cambridgeshire here we come…

01 Friday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridgeshire, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

12:20.

Well, almost! I’m sat at Dawn’s parents. Having repacked the car with all our stuff we’re just waiting for Madame, who’s gone off to have her nails done whilst we sorted out the jigsaw of suitcases, shoes and jackets plus the bags of condiments and spices we always take with us. The weather’s done its best to delay us by throwing the odd shower our way but the job’s done. Now we’re waiting on our driver…

13:20.

We’re now en-route…

13:55.

The joy of the M1 motorway – but only for 11 miles before we cut across country to the A1.

14:45.

Having left the M1 we cut across country on the A57 which passes South of Worksop.It’s not the most scenic of routes, it’s also very busy. But anyone who remembers the miners strike of 1984-85 will recognise some of the names – like Manton, and Thoresby.

A lot of housing in the area looks like it was built by the council or National Coal Board. Unlovely houses for the most, many haven’t improved as now it’s like living in a car-park as what once were gardens have been concreted over.

Right now we’re heading South on the A1, fortunate that we’re not going in the opposite direction as an accident by the junction where we joined the road has caused a tailback several miles long.

17:00.

We’ve made a slight detour to a very pleasant place to stop for coffee where you can admire the scenery. Rutland Water.

19:00.

We’ve arrived, unloaded the car and started to settle in. We’re all really impressed with the accommodation, which is one of a new group of five chalets just outside the village of Elsworth.

There’s certainly plenty of space…
Both bedrooms are doubles. This one’s en-suite. The other has a bathroom opposite.
The chalets are constructed from ‘timber’ made from recycled plastic so both hard wearing and eco-friendly.
The view from the deck which overlooks a pair of well-stocked fishing lakes. There’s a tackle shop on site. The woods in the background are a SSSI so protected and off limits.

It seems that even here I can’t get away from railways! In 1946 the local church recruited a new Rector. His name? The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote the ‘Thomas the tank engine’ children’s books! Apparently, there’s a blue plaque in his honor on the vicarage, which I’ll have to seek out.

22:15.

Time to bring this blog to a close. The trip down here was pretty good and what we’ve seem on our foray to the Waitrose supermarket in St Ives makes us want to spend tomorrow reconnoitering the area so we can decide where we’d like to spend more time. The weather’s certainly a lot better than where we’ve come from and the forecast is looking good. I might even be able to break out the shorts and sandals!

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312