Whitsuntide tour of the East Midlands, 23 - 26 May 2024

With a few things on our 'to see' list we struck out into the East Midlands over the Whitsun bank holiday weekend. My birthday often falls over this weekend and this year it did so all the more reason to get away!

Things didn't start too well with the battery on the motorhome failing the day before we left but our local garage are excellent and quickly sourced and fitted a new one. At least we're now set with a new battery for future adventures - despite the cost! 

Our route for the 4 days took us via Crowland in Lincolnshire to see the famous Trinity Bridge and ruined Abbey followed by some botanising at Barnack Hills and Holes near Peterborough (see my nature blog for details). The first night was spent 'wild' camping at a shady wooded spot by the River Trent close to Nottingham Racecourse and Colwick Country Park. Despite being a dead end road it was surprisingly busy but other than a random car turning up at 02.30 it was an uneventful if sleep-deprived night.

The following day we relocated to the nearby park and ride and set about exploring Nottingham. Visiting the City of Caves, the Park Tunnel, the Arboretum, Beeston Canal, Green's Windmill and having lunch in the oldest pub in England - Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem (1169) ensured we had a busy if tiring day. The pub has long been on my radar and it was fabulous with a very nice atmosphere and a friendly landlord who was more than happy to tell us about the history of the place and it's hidden tunnels!

For the next 2 nights we had booked into the Field Farm Animal Sanctuary neat Costock south of Nottingham. This site accepts motorhomes and campers in return for a donation but has no facilities. Expecting to find it quiet we found that a religious group had a private rally there over the weekend so we had to squeeze into a spot away from them. In the end the spot we found was lovely and for a £10 donation for 2 nights you can't go wrong. 

Saturday was spent walking the scenic Bradgate Country Park near Loughborough. We were very pleasantly surprised to find nice hills and rocky outcrops in Leicestershire! The ruins of Bradgate Hall there were very interesting being the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey, the 9-day queen. A birthday bbq back at Field Farm rounded off a lovely day.

On Sunday we had 2 things we wanted to do - visit Calke Abbey, a NT property near Derby and Anchor Street Cave, beside the Trent nearby. Calke Abbey was superb - preserved rather than restored with the place looking like they found it - decaying and full of the eccentric owner's extensive collection of, well, everything you can think of! Caught out in a mega thunder storm while miles away from shelter had me jokingly sticking my thumb out to a passing vehicle used to take less able people around the grounds. The kind driver took the bait and took us back to the carpark to save us a soaking! A steamy and hilly walk along a section of the Trent Valley Way took us to Anchor Street Cave, a curious but very interesting cave right on the riverbank that was once used as a church.

To avoid the bank holiday traffic on Monday we opted to drive home on Sunday night which worked very well.