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2017 - UK North
In early July we travelled north in UK. Our destination was to be Bishop Auckland to watch the
spectacular show, Kynren. After visiting Puy Du Fou in France we were keen to see the English version
of history.
However, our first stop was Greetham in Rutland. In 2018 we are planning to hold the spring
Gathering of Carthago Owners UK at this campsite and so we were keen to explore the campsite and
surrounding area.
The drive north was horrendous. The M25 was one long traffic jam and then the M11 and the A1 were
not much better. It took us 6 hours from Worthing to reach Rutland. We arrived tired and bad tempered
and vowed never to travel on a Friday afternoon in future.
The campsite was very spacious and the staff welcoming. The village of Greetham is charming and we
were pleased with everything we discovered there. (below) Rutland Camping and Caravan Park on a
sunny July day.
Some views of Greetham village.
(above) a rather quirky house which has
incorporated various stone features which have
been recycled.
(above right) There was a scarecrow festival taking place and many of the houses had scarecrows in their
gardens. This one in particular made us chuckle. It is the Teddy Bears Picnic.
We were joined by Tony Herridge and Helen Rawlinson who are fellow Carthago owners and live in the next
village.
They very kindly offered to drive us around the next day so that we could see Rutland.
The county of Rutland is the smallest English county
and is only 151 square miles (approx 16 miles north
to south and 16 miles west to east).
Contained within the county is Rutland Water.
Our first visit was to Stamford which sits just
outside the county but which is well worth a visit.
It is one of the best stone built towns in the UK and
is often featured in TV dramas.
Perhaps the most famous building is the George
Hotel which is thought to date back 900 years. It sits
on the original Great North Road just south of the
Welland river bridge and is a fine a coaching inn. It
is beautifully preserved and a delight to visit.
(below) some views of the hotel gardens and the
town and the River Welland which flows through the
centre of Stamford.
After leaving Stamford we visited Rutland Water and
enjoyed a cream tea at a lakeside hotel before walking a
short distance to view the iconic Normanton Church (above)
(right) two ladies smiling at us outside the church - Helen
and Desnée.
From Rutland Water we travelled a short distance to
Oakham, the county town of Rutland. Another lovely town
with a spectacular market place, and a famous school.
Tony squeezed the car through the gateway
to Oakham Castle. Actually the castle has long
gone but the Great Hall still stands (left).
If you peep through the windows of the Great
Hall you will see an amazing display of most
unusual, ornamental horseshoes, some of
which have been donated by royalty. (see
below)
After Oakham we were invited back to Tony and Helen’s for dinner.
They have a beautiful country house and it was lovely to look at
their man-made lakes which has been designed for wild life.
Tony showed us his 70th birthday cake. Very good likeness of a
Carthago
It was time to move on as we had an
appointment to keep with Adrain and Debbie in
Yorkshire.
