Carolyn and I drove up to
Little Bytham for Paul Livingston's 40th Birthday Party. We arrived a bit early, so went for a pub lunch at the Michelin Pub of the Year -
The Olive Branch. We ordered beef stew and it was even better than we had hoped.
After lunch we went to see the
Tower Mill Windmill, mainly because it was the only local tourist attraction on the GPS rather than its claim to be the last Dutch Windmill in the UK. Still, it killed some time before the big event.
Apparently Little Bytham is famous for its fancy dress parties and Paul's 80s themed party didn't disappoint. Carolyn and I were hopelessly under prepared for the onslaught from Hugh Hefner/Playboy Bunny, Adam Ant, Mr. T, Elton John, Princess Leia, John McEnroe, Maggie Thatcher/Miner and Freddie Mercury. One of the highlights for me was
Adam Ant and Mr. T on the Karaoke machine. All were impressive, but the winner was
Freddy Mercury complete with Borat thong.
We spent the night at the
Park Farm B&B. This was my first B&B experience and I have to say it was amazing. Great room and the best breakfast I've ever had. The information pack in the room mentioned that the local railway track was the site where the
Mallard reached its 124mph record. So of course I had to drag Carolyn to see the site of this momentous event ;-)
We had past a signpost for the Aira Force Waterfall the previous day but it was too dark to see anything. We got up bright and early today to check it out before our 6.5 hour drive back down to London. Needless to say, the weather was absolutely dreadful but the extra water made the waterfall even more spectacular. William Wordsworth mentions the Aira Force Waterfall in three of his poems. Pretty cool.
The morning after Paul's Birthday we drove up to Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District where we checked in to another very nice B&B - Storrs Gate House complete with four poster bed. After settling in we walked along Lake Winderemere into town for a quick look around and a bite to eat at the local pub before heading back to the B&B and Strictly Come Dancing/Bed.
We spent the night at the Park Farm B&B. This was my first B&B experience and I have to say it was amazing. Great room and the best breakfast I've ever had. The information pack in the room mentioned that the local railway track was the site where the Mallard reached its 124mph record. So of course I had to drag Carolyn to see the site of this momentous event ;-)
We set off for the National Gallery this weekend to try and soak up some much needed culture. There are some truly beautiful paintings on display, second only to the Louvre in my biased opinion. We saw paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, John Constable, Michelangelo, Joseph Turner and Thomas Gainsborough to name but a few. My (predictable) favourites were the Sun Flowers, Water Lilies and the Thames below Westminster.
