Hardwick

Packed up and headed off to Cambridge this morning. We have a 2 night stay outside Cambridge before meeting Damian at St John's College on Sunday. We decided to take a less direct route which took us through Rutland ( the smallest county in England) We headed for Rutland Water which is a huge man made lake. The village of Hambleton sits on a peninsular which juts into the lake and is mainly farming land. Hambleton itself is a very gentrified town where Noel Coward wrote Haywire, one of his big theatre hits. Apparently, the town was the scene of many weekend parties for the set and various aristocratic types. Speaking of which nearby is the home of the Earl of Gainsborough at Exton Hall. The house isn't open to the public but the whole village of Exton is part of the estate and is such a pretty place. The church is also set on the estate and can only be accessed down a walking lane. We wandered down and had a good look around. Very pretty setting with a folly by a lake nearby and very brown cows in the foreground. It was great to see lots of sailing, nature reserves and bird watching activities in this area. We also stopped at a larger market town called Oakham where we had a delicious lunch at a healthfood cafe, and a delicious coffee at a roaster. Oakham was nice and we we were a bit sorry we weren't staying for a night or two. At the centre of Oakham are the remains of a small 12th century castle. The castle hall is still there. Inside the walls are covered in horseshoes that historically have been given to the local lord by visiting dignitaries as a tribute. Anyway, we continued to Hardwick just outside Cambridge to our " farmstay" We have a nice room with a kitchenette but it's nothing like a farm and not very rural. Must say after our wonderful scenic cottages to date we were disappointed. Just down the road though we went to a 17C pub called the Blue Lion and had a nice meal.Read more