Grantham

Yesterday, with nice weather promised, I was in the mood for an adventure and a day's walking in unfamiliar countryside from a town I did not know at all.

I was up early in my cosy little room in "The Angel and Royal Hotel". It is a very historic hostelry that can trace its origins back almost a thousand years. Kings have stayed or held court there - including King John in 1213 and Richard III in 1483. Quite amazing really - just like the hotel's exorbitant breakfast prices.

After my shower, I was out into the morning sunshine. The town was bustling with work traffic and secondary schoolchildren in their various uniforms. I made for Thatcher's birthplace and then afterwards snapped the top picture of St Wulfram's Church before heading to St Peter's Hill for an economic breakfast and coffee in the town's only Wetherspoons pub - "The Tollmarche Inn".

St Mary Magdalene Church, Old Somerby

By 9.30am I was ready to begin my long country ramble, plodding east to Beacon Hill and then on to Cold Harbour, across the broad fields then down to the charming village of Old Somerby where I photographed the parish church - dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. By then I had walked almost five miles so I rested for a while in the sunshine and read another chapter of "John and Paul" by Ian Leslie. Sadly, the little church was locked. I would have loved to have a nosy round inside which is what I do whenever I find an open church.


St Guthlac's Church, Little Ponton

Suitably rested I plodded for a further four miles before sitting on a bench in the peaceful graveyard of St Guthlac's Church in Little Ponton. Like most old village churches in England it evolved through time so that the original eleventh century features are tricky to discern. Once again the door was locked so I ate an apple, drank water and read my book before striking north - back towards Grantham.

As the afternoon advanced, the sky clouded over.  From the water tower on Gorse Lane I descended to the southern edge of Grantham and walked through a tightly packed estate of modern houses. I couldn't ever see myself living in one of them. It was just an arrangement of boxes - no sense of community - and by packing them in so tightly the developers had clearly intended to maximise their profits.
Back in Grantham town centre by four o'clock, I was happily knackered. I went back to St Wulfram's Church to check out its magnificent interior then I bought a theatre ticket at The Guildhall. I had noticed there was a two man show on at 7.30pm - an adaptation of "Of Mice and Men" and I had also noted that the performance would only last for sixty five minutes, leaving me plenty of time to get back to Sheffield at a reasonable hour.

I was hungry and thought about a curry. Meals are served throughout the day at Wetherspoons so I was back there by five thirty. I ordered a sweet potato Kerala-style curry with rice and nan bread plus a pint of orange cordial and soda water. It was more than adequate. Then a mini chocolate brownie with ice cream and a coffee.

"The Nobody Inn"in Grantham

More reading time followed but I kept being bothered by a sixty-something Welshman with wide eyes, a woollen bobble hat and probably some mental health issues too. He wasn't unpleasant or aggressive  but he failed to read my non-verbal signals that yelled, "Please! Just leave me alone!" I was so relieved when he departed to catch his bus home after downing his third pint of Guinness.

I had a front row seat in "The Guildhall" and the two competent jobbing actors delivered a convincing, intense performance. Nigel Miles-Thomas was well cast as the lumbering Lenny while Michael Roy Andrew captured the quick-wittedness of George's character very well too. I was very glad I had bothered.

It all made for a great day out.


Sheep grazing near Woodnook Farm



from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/NBIAod4

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