Wynmelvin » traffic

October 16th, 2009

Russell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:32:04 +0000

NOTTINGHAM — This morning dawned brighter but decidedly chillier. I went north on the M1 and followed the signs to Bolsover Castle. This is a 17th century home built by William Cavendish as a medieval-style fantasy castle. He was an accomplished horseman and his horses lived in style as well.

I did the audio tour of the castle which took me a couple of hours to go around the buildings and grounds. Very interesting, especially many of the rooms in the Little Castle (as the castle part of the buildings is known) which still have the original painted ceilings and walls.

Leaving Bolsever I noticed directional signs pointing the way to Chatsworth, so I decided to follow them. In the end I spent about three hours at Chatsworth though you could easily spend the whole day. This is the house that featured as Pemberley in the recent Pride and Prejudice film, and as itself in the film The Duchess. The home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the interior was awe-inspiring—which, I suppose, is really the whole point of the house.
The gardens were just as interesting. There were a lot of modern sculptures dotted around the landscape as part of an exhibition that I gather was arranged in conjuction with Sothebys.

If I could have the day over again I’d probably visit Chatsworth first. On the way back to the Travelodge I struck my first traffic go-slow on the M1. Thankfully it didn’t stretch for miles and I got back in time to catch the news.

October 15th, 2009

Russell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:27:22 +0000

NOTTINGHAM — After checking out of the Travelodge I drove into Lincoln and found a park in the cathedral quarter. The weather was overcast with patchy drizzle so I thought a visit to the cathedral might give the weather a chance to clear. I was very impressed with Lincoln Cathedral—from its impressive west front to its stained glass windows. Its windows are probably the best and most colourful I’ve seen in a cathedral.

The drizzle had cleared away so I went and had a quick look at the castle very handily situated opposite the cathedral. I didn’t have much time as I’d only paid-and-displayed for a couple of hours. I climbed to the top of the observation tower of the castle primarily for the views over Lincoln; except the low cloud meant one couldn’t see much at all. Very good view of the cathedral though.

I also managed to see the display of the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forests held in the castle’s prison buildings. Lincoln’s copy of the Magna Carta was a facsimile though as the real one is on loan for an exhibition in the United States.

I now headed for my next Travelodge at Nottingham with a detour to visit Belvoir Castle. Unfortunately it was closed so it was on to Nottingham.

Now the Travelodge is situated on the M1 northbound between junctions 25 and 26. So I headed for junction 25 and followed the signs for the M1 north. I’m not sure what happened but I must have joined at junction 26 as I reached junction 27 without passing the service area. I exited at 27 and rejoined going south until junction 25 where I exited and rejoined going north. Luckily the traffic was flowly smoothly. The directional signs for motorways really should include the junction number!

October 14th, 2009

Russell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:43:57 +0000

LINCOLN — Leaving Norwich, I headed west towards King’s Lynn and a Norman Keep called Castle Rising. Hmmm, I seem to have a bit of a theme going here. This one was in a much more ruinous state than the last two and wasn’t being used as a museum but there was still plenty to look at and climb over. The castle was once the residence of the widow of Edward II and later belonged to the Howard family.

After spending about an hour at Castle Rising I headed south towards Cambridgeshire and Godmanchester. It was a fascinating if slow drive. You finally find yourself on a straight stretch of road with no oncoming traffic so you can pass the truck in front of you only to almost immediately come up on a roundabout where you have to give way to another truck slotting in ahead of you!

I actually drove through Godmanchester without realising it, thinking I was still in Huntingdon. I stopped for some photographs and then headed back north towards Lincoln. The trip north was a lot quicker—for some reason there were less trucks going in that direction.