Being out in the sticks last night meant that it was very quiet, no loud trucks or early morning traffic and we had a good night’s sleep in a big bed.
We spent a couple of hours looking around Stamford, another very attractive town with almost all buildings built of the same colour stone (sandstone I think). Bought a cork screw from an op shop so we could open the wine properly, doesn’t matter now if we buy screw cap bottles or not. Had a look at another Church Conservation Trust church and spent a while talking to the man who repairs/tunes organs. It was interesting to see him disappear through a small opening (what it is to be agile and supple) and end up about 5 metres inside the organ works.
Starting to run out of time, so we used a big road to get to Cambridge, actually bypassing Cambridge and going on to another National Trust property. Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill was really impressive. The house was formerly a priory and is Jacobean-style and the property has a 46 ha garden and a working watermill.
“At the age of 30, the future Lord Fairhaven began to create his first home. Wanting to inspire and surprise visitors, he created a spectacular garden with planting for all seasons and a cosy house in which to entertain. Life revolved around horse racing and shooting, and guests enjoyed 1930s luxury”.
We left around 4:00 and once again, the search for accommodation began. We tried a couple of pubs and the receptionist at the last (very expensive) offered to let us use their wifi to try to find somewhere. After many ‘phone calls and internet searching, we found Oakley Lodge. We booked it, set the destination in the sat nav and found that it was only 3 miles from where we were and only a few miles out of Cambridge. When we got there, we checked out the rooms and booked for tomorrow night as well. We can spend the full day in Cambridge tomorrow. There is a bus outside the Oakley Lodge that takes us into town, so we can leave the car here. We asked about laundromats nearby, but were told that we’d get lost finding one and the owner offered to let us use her washing machine. Makes it much easier for us and we’re grateful. Looking out the bay window in Gary & Jan’s room, we can see the fish and chip shop we’re about to buy dinner from “The Codfather”, and the Spar where we’ll buy another bottle of wine from. The one we opened a short while ago is empty. I’m sure that there is a scam going on. The bottle was marked 750ml and looked like 750ml, but must have been 375. No rain today and very mild outside, so we’ll eat in the back garden.
We’ve booked tomorrow night at Oakley Lodge as well. It’ll be nice not to have to move on after only 1 night.
