Monday July 4 - Out and about in the National Forest

First order of the day was to see if we could get an upgrade to our room - since we're spending another three nights here. Our room was so small that we only  had enough room to walk around the bed and that was about it. Well, our new room is huge with a king size bed (vs the double which isn't big enough) and it's located in the main building - the actual Hall - and it didn't cost a penny more. The hotel is "tired" and in desperate need of some love. A bus load of seniors arrived as we were heading out. I think that's a lot of the clientele.

We had breaky in the hotel but won't do it again. It was expensive and we weren't impressed. While I blogged, Dave went to find a tourist information place. On the way he stopped at a John Deere shop to chat. The guy sold lawnmowers. When Dave told him what he sold, the guy said, "Oh, you sell the big boy toys." True enough.

Dave had paperwork on enough options to keep us busy for weeks. We sorted through it all and made plans for the next four days. This resulted in a late start as we headed out about 1. The first stop was Ashby de la Zouch - a historic market town. The flyer made it look amazing! It boasted of a great market and that's the first place we went. The entrance was so beautiful with flowers, fruit, and vegys. And then it was quite disappointing. Very small with cards, hardware supplies, make-up etc. Dave said, "Well this won't take long,"  and it didn't. But! I was able to find the best gummies ever. Trevor you will LOVE them. :)

We wandered down the main street, had a bite to eat (egg mayonnaise sandwich and a milkshake that was really chocolate milk) and headed back to the car. There was a castle in town so we headed there next. It was closed - only open on Sunday and during the summer (school) break. We could see a bit over the fence. Disappointing.

Then we drove a few miles to Moira Furance - a place where a blast furnace once made iron (for about two years in the early 1800s). Guess what? It was closed. Same schedule as the castle. We were able to walk around the grounds and along the small canal. It's a very popular place for people to take their dogs. There was a boat that was cutting all the "seaweed" in the canal. They'd circle back and then scoop the weeds out with huge pitch forks but only got some of it. Didn't quite understand that operation.

Next on the agenda was to see some windmills and watermills. It was now about 4 pm and, you guessed it, they were closed by now. We were getting discouraged. I mentioned the National Forest in the title of this post. The area in which we're staying is situated in the National Forest. This would lead you to believe that everything is surrounded by woods. Not so. It looks like "anywhere else" - fields, trees, houses, towns. Bit of mystery to us.

Driving down a road (the whole day we were within a 30 mile radius of the hotel), we saw a sign for the Foremark Reservoir - a park like place for hiking, picnics, etc. We went in and walked around. The temperature was just over 70 today (much warmer than it's been) but it was cooler here. A short hike through the woods was really nice. There was a constant choir of birds - something you don't hear hiking at home.

Last night we had driven through this adorable little town, Ticknall - which is running a close second as my favorite town on the trip. There was a sign for the Calke Abby which sounded interesting so in we went. The "driveway" was about two miles long. Sheep roamed freely and there were a few cows (not a breed I'd ever seen before) to keep them company. Originally (1100s), the site had an Augustinian priory on it but Henry VIII saw to the end of that. In 1704, a mansion was built by the Harper family who owned it until 1985 when they lost it because they couldn't pay the property taxes.  It too was closed but we were able to wander around the grounds. We hung out with the sheep for a bit. There was a massive tree that was very lush but the entire trunk was rotted out. It felt spongy. I don't know how it's still standing. We got a picture of me sitting inside the tree - with lots of room to spare.

Supper was at the The Staff of Life Restaurant (1843) in Ticknall (just down the road from Milton, Elaine) where I had a nice salmon meal and Dave had ham and eggs. Just about everything comes with fired eggs. The strawberry rhubarb cider was really good. When we take these kinds of trips we try to eat outside as much as possible.  It's one of the really pleasurable parts of traveling. This trip is different. Due to the weather, we've only eaten outside twice - our first day and today at lunch. The theme for this trip is eating in old pubs. That too has a charm all its own.

A few interesting side notes.
When large trees die, the top branches are removed leaving about 20' of the trunk which is then covered in vines. Quite attractive.
Roundabouts are everywhere and make travel quicker, but at times quite frightful. We saw one called the "Bumble Bee Roundabout". It was filled with wild flowers for the bees. So beautiful!
Everywhere we go they play Amercian music. I find this frustrating. This morning is was music from the 50s and 60s as we ate breakfast. At supper it was Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, etc. All good music but do American movies, music, food (McDonalds) etc. have to be everywhere?
While eating supper there was a coaster with a map for a pub crawl. Made me think of the fudge crawl Amy put together for us. :)

One thing I learned today: Tourism, for folks who aren't on the school schedule, isn't important to the locals folks.

One new thing I experienced today: Shopping in the British drugstore "Boots" which are also in Canada.

Most powerful moment of the day: Discovering that the King Richard III exhibit is just a few miles away! His bones were recently found when a new parking lot was being worked on. I remember reading about this and how interesting I found it to be. On Thursday we get to see the exhibit!!
 
 One pleasurable experience: Sitting in the sun by a huge window overlooking the gardens while sewing buttons on my sweater. It was so warm, quiet, and peaceful.