Day 1 - Gibraltar Point
Up bright & early, & set off about 8.30. Nice sunny day, although I did expect it to be a bit cooler on the coast. I actually finished my cross stich on the journey. I know that doesn't sound exciting, but its the first one I've completed since I was ill a few years ago. It's of Durham Cathedral. ok it's not perfect, but I like it! Anyway, back to the day out.
I decided it should be a butterfly day, so my macro lens was the lens of the day. The morning was very sunny, and that was the main reason for the macro lens. Here's a few of the photos of the day.
We had lunch in the café, then set off home calling at an ice-cream parlour on the way back where there were some lovely goats with babies!
It was a lovely day, shame I had to go to work for one day!
Day 2 - Nowhere in particular!!
Started off at the vampire for her to drink my blood. Took 3 lots! My arm was positively limp! Plus she forgot to take the strap off my arm, so by the time I plucked up the courage to ask her to remove it I had pins & needles in my hand!! She was mortified that she'd forgotten it!! So not a good start to the day! Went to Morrisons for brekkie - just love pancakes & maple syrup!! We were going to Potteric Carr, but my awkward tummy put paid to that, so we went into town for a couple of bits & ended up buying 3 lovely pictures - not Dr Who for a change!
Eddie had a meeting at lunchtime, so I was let loose at Lakeside on my own! Why is that a problem? There is a The Works there. augh, all I can say is sorry Mr Bank Manager! I did bump into Pippa & her twins, which was nice. Anyway a couple of hours & a few pounds lighter (not in weight I'm afraid), I escaped Lakeside. We went to the new pub that's opened, The House Martin, for tea. It was really nice, will definitely go again.
We finished the evening off at the Keepmoat Stadium. Rovers v Rochdale in the League Cup. What a drab game. Just managed to sneak a win in the last minute. Quite honestly serves their goalie right for all the time wasting!
So not the day we had planned, but it was still nice.
Day 3 - Potteric Carr
Sun was shinning so off to Potteric Carr at last. Had to call into town first to collect the pictures which were being framed.
Another day of butterflies and dragonflies. Not many birds though, although there was a pair of little egrets and we actually saw a pair of kestrels, which was unusual, but nice. Here's my photos - not all of them, 150 is too many to put on here!
It was then home to make a cottage pie! With a glass of wine cos NO WORK TOMORROW!
Day 4 - Nostell Priory
The day started off with a trip to the hairdressers. A morning of pampering is always a good way to start the day. Then home for a rest, & a Jessie cuddle! Then off to Nostell Priory for lunch & a mooch around the Hall. Well that was the idea!
When we got there is was really busy, never seen it that busy before. We had lunch as planned, but we weren't that impressed because of the high cost of the food for what you get! We aborted the trip into the house because it was so busy. There were so many kids there it would have made the mooch around the Hall unpleasant, cos they just seem to run around & spoil the enjoyment. So we just went round the lake instead, which was lovely even though it was cloudy!
We then went off to Victoria garden centre near Wakie. Haven't been there for ages, so it made a nice change. Then home to make plans for tomorrow & more Jessie cuddles!
Day 5 - Calke Abbey
This was a place I had not heard of before. We found it while trying to decide what to do today. We set off via the Little Chef at Retford for breakfast - mmmmm yummy pancakes with maple syrup!
When we got there, there was a guided walk about to set off, so we joined in that. It was more of an amble than a walk, but that was fine, because learned such a lot about the place. We started off in the deer park - awwww so cute!
We had a nice wander round and learned about the trees and the fields and the monks etc. We even saw a stoat or weasel! It was really interesting. The Abbey wasn't an Abbey at all it was a Priory, but hey-ho who cares! It is now a house that the National Trust took over in 1984. The owner was a bit of a recluse who collected things & when one room was filled up with his stuff, he just closed the room & moved onto the next one! The house is just as it was then, very few renovations have been done, as they feel it's more interesting as it is. One amusing story was that the owner didn't like to talk to people much & that included his kids, so he wrote notes to them. The photo below is of the box he would put the notes into and then the butler would have to deliver them to the appropriate child!! The other photo is just of another bit of the house.
After we came out of the House, we were about to go home, when we remembered there was a bird hide in the car park, so we just nipped into it before we left. First bird we saw was a woodpecker! Not bad at all!! There was also a selection of chaffinches, blue tits, goldfinches, green finches and a dunnock. What a lovely way to end the day.
Brilliant day out - now can't wait until tomorrow!!
Day 6 - Packwood House and Baddesley Clinton
Started off the day at the opticians having my 2 yearly check-up. All went well, don't need new glasses or anything so that's fine. Then off to Morrison's for breakfast. Still love pancakes & maple syrup!
First stop off point was Packwood House. Never heard of it before yesterday, a nice lady recommended it. It's a lovely place. The first bit we looked at was the kitchen garden. It was fab!
The house was lovely, a really nice mix of old and not so old!
The inside was really nice, with a really pleasant atmosphere. We then had a walk around the grounds, which were wonderful, not too big & easy to walk round. The topiary was especially amazing, I could have thrown everyone else out and sat in there reading my book for the rest of the afternoon!
Next it was off to Baddesley Clinton. This was another place I'd never heard of until yesterday - same nice lady! We started off with a spot of lunch, then met Val & Brian for the rest of the afternoon. This was another National Trust house with a mixture of old & older! Again it had lovely grounds that weren't too big with lots of plants and flowers & again a kitchen garden. So this was again a lovely day. Can't believe a week of my hols has gone already. Time really does fly when you're having fun!
Day 7 - The Hub Librarians day out to Howarth.
I was so excited about this day, we so needed something that was relaxing & fun after what we've had to put up with recently! We were chauffeur driven there & back by Eddie, which was so kind of him. Ok so the weather wasn't the best it's been, but who cares? We had a lovely time.
We don't like having our photos taken, so we came up with this bizarre way of showing ourselves having fun! We were watched by Oscar the cat!
We had a walk up & down the main street then went for lunch. After that we went to the Parsonage & church & had a walk to the Moor. It was a bit drizzly & then sunny, my coat was on & off all day! We mooched around in some shops & bought bits & bobs, then stopped for tea & cake, before heading home.
Another fantastic day of my summer holidays!
Day 8 - Shopping and Relaxing
We had to do the food shopping today as the cupboards were totally bare! There wasn't even anything in for breakfast! Shame really, it meant we had to go to Morrisons for breakfast! The original plan was to shop & then head for Old Moor, but I wasn't really up to much today was really tired & to be honest the pain was more than I could cope with, so a day of relaxation seemed a much better prospect!
Finished my book - One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern, another masterpiece by Cecelia I have to say, she's a clever author! I then read Aidan, Bede, Cuthbert - Three Inspirational Saints by David Adam. Since my trips to Durham I have an interest in Saint Cuthbert & wanted to know a bit more. So finished that & am now going to read The Sacred Scroll by Anton Gill.
We found what we thought was an amazing recipe to make for tea. It failed miserably so we ended up with hallumi & mushy peas! Oh well at least we didn't starve!
Day 9 - Denaby Ings and Rovers
Not the best start to the day, went to the doctors & made a right numpty of myself by bursting into tears! Well he did ask how I was coping, after telling me the waiting time to see the consultant was 13 weeks. It seems an eternity and I just dissolved at the thought of it! Bless him he wasn't expecting that, but there again neither was I!
So I wasn't feeling that brill as we headed off into the big wide world. We called at the station to collect our tickets for out special day tomorrow (and what is that I hear you ask? ....... spoilers! you'll have to wait until tomorrow!) We called into town for tea and cake to cheer me up, and I came away with 2 new dresses and ............................. cuddly Dalek!
The cuddly Dalek also talks! Thank you HMV! Anyway, off we went then to Denaby Ings. It's a long walk around there, but it's a pleasant one. It was a bit cloudy so not the best light to take photos. So there's one of a duck on a nest, and a few lapwings to name a couple. However it was then off to The Pastures for lunch.
So what did we do in the afternoon? Well ..... off we went to the Keepmoat Stadium to watch the Rovers reserve team play Mansfield. Hmmm what can I say? There were 8 planes flew overhead, 2 buzzards, a cloud that looked like a spaceship, at 61 minutes it was raining behind the south-west part of the stand. I think while all that was going on there was a football match taking place! We lost 2 - 1 and it was awful, so dull and poor, both sides were terrible. It was that bad it such a relief when it ended!
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Well tomorrow will be better! Off to eat ice cream and drink wine now to cheer myself up.
Day 10 - Train trip to Carlisle
This was a fun day, up early to catch the 7.44 train to Leeds, then the 8.25 train to Carlisle, the pretty way. Fortunately it was a lovely sunny morning, so I got some fairly decent photos even though they were through a train window. I though for the first few miles that we were really popular as there were lots of people on quite a few of the stations with cameras, although I couldn't understand why they wanted my photo. However it seems the steam train was due to follow us (did try to get a ride on that, but it's booked up till 2014), & all the train geeks were out to see it and not me! phew!
The trip was mainly for the train journey and the views. We got a couple of hours in Carlisle. We had a mooch around & had a lovely lunch in café called Circle Café, that alone was worth the trip! It was a lovely day out, & even though most of it was spent sat on a train, it was still tiring. Then at 3,00 it was time to do the journey in reverse, & go home to watch the England game!
Day 11 - Old Moor and Thyrbergh Country Park
Well the weather forecast for today was evil, so we planned an indoors visit. However they got it wrong & the sun came out, so off to Old Moor we went. It was really nice & the highlight of the birds to see was a spoonbill, which I have to say was quite exciting! I managed quite a few insects of various sorts as well. But while we were there someone mentioned something about Thyrbergh Country Park, so over lunch we decided to call there on the way home.
We had been to the Country Park before, but never walked round it before. It was really quite nice - especially as the sun was still shining! There were some lovely babies on the water which helped make it a very pleasant walk. However ....... was really tired at the end of it! Maybe did too much, but it was worth it!
We came home to a rather cute sleeping puppy dog - ok 14 year old puppy dog!
Day 12 - Rest, Hospital, and the Mighty Rovers!
Ooops! I didn't wake up until 9.40! That sort of made us change our plans for the day! By the time I was ready it was too late for breakfast & too early for lunch which made the only solution Brunch! so off we went to The Housemartin for Brunch. Then home for a rest before another trip to the hospital.
Saw a really nice doctor at the hospital, but ended up having blood tests and x-rays as there might also be a problem with my lower back. Not sure when I killed the robin, but I really regret it!!! So have to go back in 3 months & may have to have another MRI scan in the meantime. Pah! Augh! Sigh!
Anyway, after nipping to see Ginny it was off home for tea, and then off to see the mighty Rovers play Blackburn. We actually won 2 - 0! Yeehaa! They even played really well! So then it home for a celebratory drink of wine!
No camera used today, will have to make up for it tomorrow!
Day 13 - Gainsborough - er no quick change of plan Carlisle!
We set off to Retford to have breakfast at the Little Chef & then we were going to Gainsborough to do the shopping at Tesco and then it depended on the weather what we were going to do, but it mainly consisted of shopping. But half way to Retford my phone rang, and it was the camera shop in Carlisle. I had ordered a new lens from them, as it was one I have been wanted for yonks and I have never seen it that cheap. I wasn't expecting it for another 2 weeks, but they said it had arrived. So we changed carriage ways & started to head north, calling at the Little Chef just outside Doncaster for breakfast & headed off for Carlisle.
The weather deteriorated the nearer we got to Carlisle, & I realised I hadn't got a coat, as we weren't going to be outside much! When we got there Eddie crawled in the boot to see what he could find
coat wise, and kitted us both out! We went & collected my lens - a wonderful macro lens which is just brilliant - and had lunch at Circle Café again and came home! At least we got to listen to all the football & Danny Baker's show, however where was Fighting Talk?
We were home before 6.00, which under the circumstances wasn't a bad effort! So no camera use again, but will certainly be using it tomorrow!
Day 14 - Hatfield Moor
Last but one day of my hols, I'm gutted. How fast does time go by these days?
Anyway today was going to be all about macro photography. Out came the new lens and ......................... it was the wrong one they'd sent the one for a Canon camera! Bloody cheek! That now means another trip to Carlisle to take it back, only I've run out of leave! grrrrrrr.
Back to today. We still went out to do macro photography, I still have my lens that does macro but not as well as the new one would have done. So off to Hatfield Moor we went on the look out for butterflies, dragonflies and snakes if we could. The sun came out & I managed to get some decent photos.
That's just a very small selection of my photos. It was a nice walk, but over did it a bit, so we went of finish the shopping, make tea, collapse and nurse the bite on my hand which is proving rather annoying!
Day 15 - Rutland Water
Last day - waaahhhh! I so do not want to go back to work for obvious reasons! Augh! Anyway back to the last day.
Last day so we had breakfast at the Little Chef on the way to Rutland Water, last breakfast pancakes & maple syrup for some time! Yummy! The off to Rutland Water. The sun kept going in & coming out all the way down & as it turned out it was the same while we were there.
Got in a mixture if birdies and insects, but not the best day of photography, not sure why, possibly cos I was tired, possibly the light when the sun went in was not good and possibly I was well aware this is my last day & was not on top form. Who knows? Anyway at least we got to see the Ospreys & a new little bird we've not seen before - still not sure what it is!
Well that's it blog over! I've quite enjoyed doing it, because if nothing else it's reminded me what we've done every day, cos there's no way I would have remembered. I must have taken 2000 photos over the 2 weeks, but I've deleted about 1500. I'm getting picky in my old age about what I think is worth keeping. I had to add the sleepy calf at the end as she looked so cute!
Hope those of you who've read this have enjoyed it.
Carol
