Rutland Water

Took some time out from working to take a look around a very sunny and autumnal Rutland Water and it was well worth it.

 

 

 

I hope you like some of the pictures and although it might be cold outside there is still loads to see and appreciate in this beautiful country we live in. See it now before the developers ruin it and turn the countryside into one big city.

Autumn Sunset

We are well and truly into autumn now but with it we have countryside full of luscious colours before the final fall of leaves and the beautiful bleakness of winter descends upon us.

 

Sometimes you get those sunny days and a lovely sunset that makes you smile and gives you hope that a nice day will follow tomorrow. It was one of those sunsets we had today, which I managed to photograph as the sun set from Hambleton in Rutland. I just hope it promise is fulfilled tomorrow to make me smile.

A Lost Weekend - Cancelled

Ironically the "A Lost Weekend" music festival planned for the coming weekend has become a real lost weekend for music lovers in Rutland. The event has been canceled by the organisers on safety grounds because of the wet weather and the threat of further wet weather making the site unsafe.

I can understand the organisers safely fears with a waterlogged and unproven site next to such a large expanse of water as Rutland Water. The ground in the area is saturated after the rain fall we have had and you just have to look at the reservoir and wonder if it's not the end of winter given the water levels. It seems to be full compared to what it was like three months ago when hose pipe bans were introduced. 

Despite having lost out on the festival itself, and all the fun that goes with it, those people with ticket look likely to lose money on the whole event too. There are no details yet on the festivals website about refunds for ticket holders. My opinion is people might receive something back but not all of their money unless the organisers insured against bad weather.

The reasons for being only able to offer part of the ticket price back is simple and logical. The organisers will incurred  expenses on setting up the festival in terms of administration, ticket printing, retainers for the bands and so forth. These are all part of the cost of the festival which they will have reasonably expected to get back from ticket sales. So simply giving back all the money will be impossible as some of the money has already been spent.

Of course there are alternatives like making the tickets valid for next years festival and offering part refunding to others. Hopefully the organisers will come up with something that means people with tickets are happy and we have something like this in Rutland next year. 

Although I think it is right people should get all their money back, and I would expect this to be case, the fact is that is the first year the festival has run and the organisers have no pot of money from pervious years to draw on for full refunds. I hope I'm wrong but I fear I might be right on this one. 

The organisers now face a problem. If they go bust then that is the end of the festival and best people can expect people is part of their tickets refunded. If they try and carry on then they have a massive public relations job on their hands and people will still probably get only part of their tickets refunded. It will be interesting to see how this pans out but unfortunately for the festival the easiest option is the former.

UPDATE 18th JULY - It has seems that the organisers all giving all ticket holders full refunds. Details can be found here. This is great news for the public. I hope this experience doesn't put of the organisers off and mean we won't have a festival next year. It is such a great idea and set in a beautiful part of Rutland.

A Lost Weekend - Music Festival

Continuing the theme of of up and coming festivals in the local area this year there is a new music festival in Rutland. Organised by Richard Garton it is attrachted attracted sponsorship from The Grainstore Brewery, hmvtickets, and gigamtic. It looks like it going to be a fun event.

The festival runs from 20th until the 22nd July and will be located at Sykes Lane site near the banks of Rutland Water. Given the location it will be one of the most picturesque music festivals in the country. The festival has been named "A Lost Weekend " and it has attracted enough acts to keep two stages busy for the three days. In fact there were enough acts to keep even more stages busy, but I guess it is it first year. It is hoped that it will attract around three thousand music fans a day.

Personally I think it is a wonderful idea and the site is ideal for the people of the three nearby cities, Peterborough, Nottingham and Leicester, as well as for the people of Rutland itself. The nearest music festivals to Rutland are ones like Summer Sundae and Glastonbudget all based in Leicester. Not sure I will make as the cost is out of my league at the moment, but hopefully it will run again next year and I can get along and see some of the bands. It is just what I need, I love live music and maybe I can take all the girls.

Former Butterfly House - To Let

One of the first places I ever went to in Rutland was the Buttery House and Farm at Sykes Lane on the edge of Rutland Water. I remember have a smashing hour or so looking around before going with the girls to the adventure playground there.

Since then the Butterfly house was closed down to the general public and for a while it was open only to prearranged trips. More recently the building had been used as a visitor centre for Rutland Water while doubling as a outdoor clothes outlet. It also contained a number tanks containing various fish. 

It is now up for Let again and sits empty waiting for a new owner to give it a new lease of life. Although I can see it being a Butterfly house again, it just to small by modern standards, it would make a good out doors sports outlet, possibly hiring out bicycles. It even has a car park near by that people could use as the set off cycling around Rutland water.

Whatever happens to it, I just hope it doesn't remain empty for too long. The summer is nearly upon use and if someone wants to make a profit from the site before the winter is upon us they will need to get their bids for the site in soon. I;m sure with the right idea someone could make money from it, especially with some major events happening near by over the coming months.

Out and About Again

With the girls away there was the chance to enjoy a cool but sunny day and continue to explore the villages of Rutland and the surrounding area, that we started a couple of weeks ago.

We started out by going to Upper Hambleton which is on the peninsular which sticks out into Rutland Water. It is were I use to take George to have him clipped when he was a puppy, many moons ago. It is a lovely unspoiled village that time seems to have forgot which I guess is partly due to the fact that there is nowhere to go from there accept back the way you came. Some of the buildings in the village date back to the 16th and 17th Century. Although there is not much to do there is enough to see to make a visit worth the trip just soak in the atmosphere. 

From the centre of the village there is a sign which in every direction but one, says "no through road" setting out on the longest of these roads takes you towards Rutland Water and that is where I headed today. From the end of the road there was a lovely view across the water to Normanton and the sailing boats that were on the water. A few cars were parked there and a lot of people seemed to be enjoying walking along the footpaths.

On the way back to Oakham form Hambleton is the village of Egleton, which is close to the western shore of Rutland Water. That was our next port of call. Like many of the villages in Rutland, Egleton dates back to the time before the Domeday Book of 1086 when it was part of the land held by the lords of Oakham Castle. Nearly all the Churches in Rutland have a open door policy so while we were there we popped into the 12th Century Church. It has some lovely craved woodwork and an fragment of a wall painting from years gone by. What I loved was the small village school that was so small it looks like it was just a single school room. It really summed up the community nature and feel of the villages in the county. 

From Egleton we headed along the south shore of Rutland Water passed Manton and onto Edith Weston. I have passed through the village many times but I have never ventured into the heart of the village before. On the edges it looks quite modern with it's ex council houses and the near by ex RAF base now used by the army, but when you head into it's centre it is just as lovely as all the other villages in Rutland. Again we popped into to the Church to take a peek at this lovely building that dates back to the 12th Century. It is a real jewel of a Church with a lovely simple side chapel with a small blue stain glass window. the building is so beautiful and well worth a visit. Interesting the the village is named after Edith the queen of Edward the Confessor and like Egleton dates back before the Domesday Book. 

From Edith Weston we head through Empingham and passed the 13th Century parish church of St Peter on our way to Exton. It is a very pretty village and of note is The White Horse public house which serves a tasty meal and a nice pint of John Smiths. It also has a real village shop in every sense of the word that sells almost everything.

Soon we arrived at Exton. It is one of the few villages in Rutland that never lost it's village green and it is a real mixture of of old and new. Thankfully all the new building is around the edges of the village and old village is unspoiled. The village it self is very old and dates back as a settlement well before the Norman Conquest. 

The Church in Exton is a real gem and it came as quite a surprise at the amount of history that it contains. One family name that crops up a lot when you read about Rutland is the Gainsborough family. It would seem that most of them are buried there. The Church is full of elaborate monuments to the family as well as some of the older wealthy families, such as the Haringtons that have lived in the village back in the 16th Century. Clearly the village was once a major settlement in the county.

The final place we visited was Cottesmore before heading home. Like Empingham it also has a pub of note, in this case the The Sun Inn which again serves good food and a great pint, but when we arrived it was a bit late in the afternoon for a meal. The Church there is steeped in military history which you would expect from a village that has a RAF base. What was a surprise was that history went back before the base itself. In the Church hanging from the walls are a pair of battle honors for some long forgotten regiments from the area. Although they are badly faded you can make out on one of the flag's the word "Waterloo" which would date them at least from the last Century. It seems from talking to someone in the Church how they got there and what they are is unknown. Maybe if I go back there I will get some photographs of them and see if I can date them and find out more of their history.

It might not be the most exciting thing to but it has been a lovely way to send an afternoon. A lot better than just sitting around watching television, reading a book or being stuck on the computer. It is nice to get out in the fresh air and see what out there to look at.

I was never one for history at school, but maybe there is more around us than what is on television and in film if we bother to take a interest in our surroundings. Rutland is a lovely place if you look rather than pass things by and reject them for what they seem at first sight, but maybe that is true of life in general. Things of beauty easily go unnoticed if we never care to look for them and don't fight for them once we see them.

Rutland Water

At last a sunny start to the day after all the grey mornings of days gone by. It was the first thing that Lucy  commented on after giving me the lowest smile as I went in to her room first thing this morning when I heard her calling my name. It was just what we all needed to get out the parks around Rutland water and have some fun.

After Lucy got out of bed and gave me a hug went straight into Emily and Catherine's room to open the curtains let in the sun and welcome them both to a new day.  As usual she climbed into Catherine bed to make sure she got up. Got to give Lucy one thing she has her head screwed on, Catherine the one that makes her breakfast when they are altogether. 

After breakfast Catherine and Lucy sat down on the sofa together and watched television to Emily appeared and they all went off into the family room to play.

Just after ten we headed out to Rutland water to play in the parks there. The opportunity to play in the sunshine was one we could miss even if it meant we didn't get a Sunday lunch together. In fact that lunch which we were going to have for dinner never happened either, but more of that later.

The first of the parks we went to was the one near Empingham which has an adventure playground as well a play area for smaller children. They all love it there and there is lots for them all to do. Lucy has even found her own ways of doing things on the assault corse that she just to little to do. On the stepping bridge she made it the step over bridge so she could join in with Catherine's games. In return Catherine played Lucy's horse game on the same piece of equipment. It was also lovely making a pretend fire with them from sticks they all gathered for me. They might not get on occasionally, Emily and Catherine have there fall outs now and again, but when they do all get on it is lovely. I hope they all enjoyed there time together.

Before we left Empingham part of Rutland Water we also popped to the aquarium to look at the fish they have there. It isn't very big but it is still interesting to look around and the girls like it. It is meant to be a shop, but I do wonder if they ever sell anything.

When we got the Barnsdale playground it was closed for refurbishment. I must stay it does seem a silly time to refurbish a playground in the summer when it going to get use the most. It wasn't like it was in a bad state of repair or anything, all the climbing frames were in good condition and I know Emily, Catherine and Lucy loved that little playground to bits.

So with the play ground closed we had to find something else to do so we headed through a gate and down the hill to the waters edge avoiding the fresh sheep droppings. When we got to the waters edge Catherine and Lucy both started throwing stones in the water with Catherine showing Lucy how to throw her stones further. It was lovely down there and so picturesque with the sailing boats on the water and the lovely countryside that surrounds Rutland Water. It was quite a hill for Lucy to climb up on the way back to the car park, but I was amazed she made it on her own. She is really getting good on those little legs and she doesn't complain wherever we go that her legs hurt. 

Because the Barnsdale play area was closed we decide to pop to Langham Park for a bit to make up for the missed playground time. Although Lucy was tired after all her hill climbing she did eventually start playing although in general she wanted to sit about. Catherine and Emily on the other hand were soon doing time trials on the assault course and having a ball of a time. We didn't stay there long but they all did end up having fun.

Time was very limited when we got home we had cheese burgers with tomatoes for lunch. All the girls loved it and they didn't seem to concerned that lunch had turned into dinner. After all they still got there ice lollies for pudding which they seemed to think was the main thing on a hot day to cool them off.

After lunch the girls had forty minutes to play together at home before little Lucy went back to her mummies. After her food Lucy had picked up and seemed to have found new energy. They had a mad forty minutes together with lots of laughter and giggling. It was a shame it had to end, but it did. After getting Lucy changed into her clean clothes we both head into Oakham playing music and chatting along the way. After getting out of the car I gave her a kiss told her to be good. 

Returning home we all got ready to pop to the shops just get the things we ran out of. It was then that I decided to postpone Sunday dinner for another day and have something simpler for dinner so we could all enjoy the rest of the lovely sunshine. So with that in mind we brought some pork chops for dinner. Far easy to do than a pork joint

After we got home and put the shopping away we head out to Normanton with George to have more fun around Rutland Water. As far as I can remember I don't think Emily and Catherine had ever been there before. As there is no play area there to make sure we had something else to do we took a football with us too. Emily loves playing football and was looking forward to having the space to kick the ball around. George loved it a Normanton and all the chance to meet and play with other dogs. He especially loves meeting other westies and he gets so excited when he sees one. We also discovered he likes chasing ducks. Good thing he was on a lead for the ducks sake. Emily walked him first and then Catherine took over while Emiy played football with me. We were have loads of fun until I my shoe decided to split and then we all had to head home.

When we got home Emily went of to George's to play on the Xbox 360 while I cooked dinner for everyone. Emily was having such a good time that after dinner she wanted to go back to George's, but unfortunately there wasn't time, however she is going there on Tuesday to stay with his sister Charlie for a sleep over. 

They had a lovely day and I hope they have as much fun tomorrow. Lucy is back tomorrow. The picnic food is ready to be made and the drinks are in the fridge chilling nicely. If the sunset is anything to go by then we should make it to the country parks in Northamptonshire. New park's are so much fun for them, and it is always nice even as adult to go somewhere new. Roll on the new day! 

Parks and more parks!

With Emily off out for the day at the "Art of Sound" event at Rockingham Speedway, which she won for being an outstanding science student, and I was determined that Catherine and Lucy weren't going to miss out on having some fun too, so I planned a mystery tour and a picnic. 

I picked up Lucy from her mummies early so we could make a day of it. Our first stop, after Catherine came home from her sleep over, was the farm to see how the pigs were doing. It was amazing to see how much the little things have grown in just over 3 weeks. The are so much bigger than they were when we first saw them. Of course we just had to see the goats too. Lucy loves the way they just follow her around. She always saying "come on goats follow me" as she walks around the edge of there little field and naturally they do as they are told in the hope she will give them some grass of something else nice to eat. We also stopped off to see the donkey and the small horse that Catherine loves so much and lets not forget the rabbits and other small animals on the farm.

Before we left the farm we popped into the farm shop to buy some homemade cakes for our picnic lunch. That was just part of the shopping we needed to do for picnic so it was off to the Co Op in Melton to pick up the rest of the supplies and a go on Clifford the Big Red Dog for Lucy.

As we were in the area the first of the parks we went to was the country park in Melton. There is stuff there to do for Catherine as well as little Lucy. It makes it an ideal place to take them and they all love the little coffee shop that is part of the visitor centre. Lucy seems to love the little park area and played happily with any child that would let her. She kept running over and telling me that they were her friends. It is lovely to see how they make friends so easily at that age. It never stops amazing me. After a bit we went off in search of Catherine who had headed off to the climbing area. She was happily going down the aerial runway with the biggest of smiles on her face. Lucy wanted a go after she made me have a turn, so I put her on Catherine's lap and off they both went again and again. It was sweet seeing both queue up to take there turn on the slide hand in hand.

After a while there both started getting hungry so it was off to the car too get the food. Two cakes had already gone but there were still 4 to share and all the other food to eat. We settled down under some trees away from the heat of the sun that had decided to grace us with a visit. There we watched the world go by as we ate our picnic and enjoyed the cool breeze.

After lunch, and a change of top for Lucy, it was back to playing for the girls. Full of new energy Lucy went back to the small park to make more new friends and Catherine went back to the climbing area. When Lucy eventually got bored of the small park we went to find Catherine who had secured the large swing. Lucy climbed on beside her and got me to push them with the words "Higher, Daddy Higher"

As we were leaving the country park I asked them what they wanted to do next. The choice was go to a "Wacky Warehouse" I had found or more parks and ice creams. Catherine, bless her let Lucy make the decision and she opted for more parks. So off we set again for a new park with Lucy having an afternoon nap as we drove.

We ended up at the adventure playground at Rutland water. The first port of call being the shop to get the ice creams and the change for the parking. Lucy was fascinated by the little ice balls that Catherine got from the shops. Luckily for Lucy Catherine was up for sharing.

After we finished the ice creams we set off for the adventure playground. Lucy headed for the swings and Catherine for the trim trail. On the swings Lucy made friends with a little French girl and charmed her mother while Catherine did the chain walk. At one point Catherine dragged me and Lucy away to show me the fantastic climbing tree she had found. We got our own back after Lucy had found a small camp fire arrangement of sticks which added too. She insisted that Catherine came to take a look. After they had enough of playing at the adventure playground we set off for another park after stopping off to look at the fish and terrapins. Catherine mentioned as we left the first time we saw what is a now a shop and an aquarium. It use to be a butterfly farm and she remember the first time she went there and how much fun that day was. I was surprised how much she remembered of that day.

Next we headed off to the secret park we first found back in April. It is much smaller than the adventure playground but the climbing frame is big enough of a challenge for Lucy and still fun for Catherine. Having spent most of the time at the other two parks we didn't have much time there but there was enough time for Lucy to make yet another friend and get them following her around the park and for Lucy to start ordering her about. As always when we left she said goodbye over and over again to her new friend and waved madly. 

There was just one thing to do before we finally got home. That was a quick shop in Tesco's to get something for Dinner and all the things we needed to make our Sunday Lunch. Lucy as always wanted ice lollies which I got for her and the girls for pudding.

Both girls had a smashing day and it was good for them to spend some time together without there big sister.

Park to Park

It was a lovely early summers day. The weather was hot and sultry. Just the weather to laze about in a park and to enjoy the sun while having a picnic. 

As usual I picked up the lovely Lucy at 10 o'clock. It so nice when I pick her up she gives me the biggest hug ever, a lovely kiss and then starts chatting as she clambers in the car. 

We arrived home. after a quick detour to the shops for bread where we saw her cousin Katie, and started cooking boiled eggs to make some sandwiches with for our picnic lunch and while they cooked we gathered other treats to add to our goodies bag for later. 

With the weather set fine the plan was travel round the parks that surround Rutland water eating at the first park before moving on to the next. With all the parking just costing £2 it was a cheap way to spend the day in lovely surroundings. And I mean lovely, I will never forget when I first saw Rutland water the memories of it beauty will e with me forever.

We first set off the secret park to have our play and have our picnic. It lovely there for picnic's the surroundings are lovely set in woodlands it a lovely place to sit and watch Lucy playing. It is amazing how good and careful she is at climbing up to the slide and how much joy she gets sliding down. She seem to love picnic and all the food and drink. She likes to eat then play and then return for more with a happy smiling face.

After we finished there we set off to find some ice cream from the shop at the adventure play ground further around Rutland Water on the north shore. There Lucy tucked into a ice lolly and another bottle of juice before setting off to play on all the things there are to do there. We stayed there quite a while, occasionally seeking the shade to cool down. Lucy thankfully was really good at keeping her hat on and only lost it a few times, although I guess it didn't matter if she did she was covered in sun cream.

After we left the adventure playground we set off for the south shore to go and look at Rutland water. It always looks bigger from that side than it does from the north shore. You get a real impression of the size of it. Lucy loved the pine cones and I told her how they close up when the air is damp and it is going to rain. She picked one up and carried it with her and later took it home to her mummies.

With time moving on we set off for home. Lucy had a grand time playing as I got dinner. Just a simple pasta dish but she loved every mouthful and the plate was clean by the end. Then it was time for her to go back home to her mummies which she did with a sigh. I think she must have had a good day but my day wasn't over yet...

With Emily, Catherine and Lucy all there mummies I had a lovely evening and managed to go out for a change. Along the way I took the photograph above of the sunset over Rutland Water from the south shore. I was thinking of going out in Oakham but the best made plans of mice and men all go wrong! But that is a story best left untold... One thing is for sure I would never have seen the stunning sunset and the DC3 that flew passed just after I had taken the picture above.