2024-short-trips-2024-leicester

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• 28th Jun
  Escaping Brighton Pop Festival, AKA Brighton Pride. The vast majority of Preston Park is closed off at 8.00pm tonight (Sunday), six days before the event next weekend.
  So, we are fleeing Brighton on Wednesday afternoon.
  This pictures show the awful ten foot barriers being erected.
  

  Pride used to be such fun before the money baggers moved in.

• Wed 31st July
  Late afternoon departure to Annette’s, Frogmill near Henley. A drive round the M25 – again. The traffic jams weren’t too bad, we didn’t actually stop, a very different story going the other way, with miles of jams. Hope they are cleared by the time we return in five days or so. Interestingly, on a glorious sunny cloudless day, we passed two warnings for fog. That’s not the first time I’ve passed a bogus fog warning on this section of the M25. Very odd.
• Thu 1st August
  A slow drive to Leicester, and a garage with LPG, and an AdBlue pump. Both out of action in Brighton, which was a nuisance.
  Arrived at Aylestone rugby club (the wild campers Brighton pride escape field) around mid afternoon. Very hot and humid, after chatting to fellow motorhomes, sorting things out, and thence into the rugby club bar, where we had a pleasant evening chatting, and the excitement of a thunderstorm and a huge amount of rain.
  Had to scurry back to the vehicle to close roof vents and windows, I was very wet, and so was the inside of the vehicle. Mopping up done. Made for a much more comfortable night, warm but not hot, and fresher, less humid.
• Fri 2nd Aug
  A day that could have gone better.
  We decided to go into Leicester, a bus journey of a few miles. 9 minutes walk to the bus stop, the weather was very hot, so pleased not too far. The arrival time for the bus came and went, no bus. A chap we had been chatting to was also waiting, together with two youths. I mentioned a closed road I had seen whilst walking Josie, and suddenly the chap realised that, because of the closed road, the bus couldn’t get to this stop, and he went pounding off to another stop about 20 mins walk away, followed by the two youths, and us trailing along behind. Nothing on the bus stop about no buses, but why would anyone want to know that?
  Anyway, finally made it into Leicester, by now lunchtime. An astonishing number of fast food places, but we managed to find a very small and pleasant cafe, with an equally small garden.
  

  Then on to the cathedral. Turned out to be small (by cathedral standards). Although on the site of a Roman temple, and subsequent Anglo Saxon church, what is now seen is essentially Victorian, and not very interesting.
  

  A modern stained glass window.
  

  Actually looked rather striking, surprised the photo looks a bit of a mess.

• Cont’d
  Then to the Richard III centre, behind the cathedral. Very wordy, displays about the dig looking for his body, and subsequent identification. And, a great deal about the war of the roses, culminating in Richard’s defeat and death. Goodness, all the battles described, together with the nobility vying for power. Really complicated and confusing. And, this is where Richard’s body ended up.
  

  This is a replica of his skeleton.

  

  Feet missing, presumably lost during Victorian building works, following the demolition of the monastery where he was buried.
  And this is his skull.
  

  Now, this is very odd. The blurb with this display describes the hole as a wound slicing the skull, indicating he had lost his helmet. However, I clearly remember a report of the discovery of the skeleton, and the archaeologist who found it, being asked if the hole was a wound, and she replied “sadly not, that was my pick axe”.
  His body was reburied in the cathedral.
  

  Very plain, anything else would have been a poor pastiche, so this seems in keeping.
  Thus, probably the most controversial English monarch, goody or bady? Is our view of him tainted by Shakespeare, writing during the reign of the descendants of his victors, and needing to assert their legitimacy to the throne? And, the princes in the tower……
  A fine mystery.

  Then, walk back to the bus station, through a “square”, which was actually triangular in shape (what do you call a triangular square)? In the centre was an attractive clock tower, circa 1860, and a truly inspired architect designed a fine decorative backdrop, enhancing the city centre.
  

  Inspired, or what….

  Back to the vehicle, and found that the milk had gone off. I think that three bags of lettuce leaves and peas, harvested from our garden by Sue, stopped the air circulation to the bottom drawer, containing milk and wine. And there was I, lots of walking on a very hot day gagging for a cuppa, and now had a 40 minute round trip walking to the nearest (only) shop.
  Then found that the beans I had purchased just before leaving Brighton, and the beans Sue then found were ready in the garden, were all now left behind in our fridge at home.

• Sat 3rd Aug
  Overnight rain, a drizzly morning, gradually clearing up to a nice sunny afternoon.
  We drove the shortish distance to Kirby Muxloe Castle, the unfinished fortified mansion, started in 1480, by Lord Hastings, a supporter and friend of Edward IV, but following the death of Edward, the future Richard III (yup, him again) denounced Hastings as a traitor, and had him beheaded. The mansion was never finished.

  

  The moated gatehouse. The original bridge timbers are still in situ, in the moat.

  

  The tower. These were the only buildings completed, and in fact Hastings widow lived in them following his execution.
  

  Artillery gun port. This is the first building in England to be purpose built for artillery, and this is the oldest gun port.

  

  A view over the moated grounds from the top of the gate house.

  

  Looking back at the tower and gate house.

• Cont’d
  Next stop Stoneywell, a quirky house built around 1900, and furnished in the arts and craft style. It really was a fun house!

  

  Attractively nestled on the side of a rocky outcrop.

  

  The main living room.

  

  I think building control would have something to say about these stairs today! Fortunately, not the only staircase.

  

  Now that could be fun!

  

  The largest bedroom.

• Tue 7th Aug
  Not much from the last two days. Sun, decided to not go anywhere, and have a lazy day. In the evening, there was a quiz in the clubhouse, we steered our team unerringly into last place. Actually, it was quite fun, into the interminable pop music round.
  Mon, decided to go back into Leicester, but we missed the bus. Sue decided she was fed up with buses, so we went back, more laze.
  Now stuck in a huge traffic jam on the M1, four fire engines and several other emergency vehicles have pushed their way through the traffic jam. May be here for a few days at this rate……
• Wed 7th Aug
  Arrived back yesterday, just before 6.00pm. Park still closed, but should open later today.
  The above traffic jam was about three and a half hours. When we could finally progress, very slowly, we went past about six lorries that had obviously been tailgating, and all piled into each other. A real mess. I think there were more lorries involved, because at least three heavy removal vehicles went past us whilst we were waiting, and were not at the crash site.
  An advantage of being in a motorhome is, I was able to go to the loo, make a cup of tea, and make and eat lunch – sardines on toast.
  The M25 was also really slow, so took us about eight hours Leicester to Brighton, a distance of 165 miles.
  Not our best trip by a long way, but after the triumph of Orkney, didn’t expect too much.