Here be Dragons

Back in August we stopped by Doddington Hall on our way to Lincoln with Ian, our Ex-Pat friend from Spain. There's a decent coffee shop and farm shop that sells good local produce.  There is also an incredible cycle shop (the biggest in Lincolnshire) which has its own coffee shop as well.   During the summer it also staged a sculpture exhibition.  The dragon stands outside the hall, and visitors are invited to hang strips of brightly coloured cloth on the sculpture.

Ian and the Dragon

Behind the hall is a small lake complete with arched bridge.

There was also a very elegant sculpture on the water.

Of course, if you have a decent sized body of water, then you'll also have ducks and the Doddington ducklings seemed to have learnt very quickly that humans can be a great source of food.

There are also several walks around the local area that you can follow. There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

Rock of Ages

  

For years, driving around the surrounding area we've seen signs pointing the way to Creswell Crags and haven't given it a second thought.  Last month, we eventually got round to checking it out.

Creswell Crags is a limestone gorge riddled with caves formed during the last ice age.  There have been a number of animal bones and other archaeological objects  found on the site over the years and you can arrange a guided tour of the caves (we didn't realise that you had to book for this).  Helpful signs inform you of where such creatures as hyena bones were found.  The thought of them roaming across Nottinghamshire does seem hard to imagine.

The visitor centre is an impressive structure with cafe, conference and exhibition spaces. It sits nicely in the landscape and with the silvering wood exterior designed to soften its impact.

The Visitor Centre

The gorge itself, on a warm Sunday afternoon was beautiful and surprisingly free of visitors.

 The paths are accessible for wheel chairs and not to demanding.  The crags are a haven for bird life.  When we visited, jackdaws that where nesting in holes in one of the limestone rockface where fighting with each other for possession.

Fowl Play

We've had a good friend staying with us recently and as we also had the week off we opted for an afternoon out and paid another visit to Rufford Abbey.  I have posted pictures from here before (you can find them here) but this time I actually brought my camera with me rather than relying on my mobile phone.

I've grouped the photos together and decided to split them into three separate posts.  This one is on the wild fowl that call Rufford and its lake home.

Park Life

 By the time you read this post, we'll hopefully have moved into our new home (I'm doing the cheat of actually writing this post the weekend before it will publish).  We were wanting some ideas for an artwork that we could hang on the walls and had taken a drive out to Thoresby Hall to look at the art gallery there.  Unfortunately we timed it badly as it was a textiles exhibition on display.  I then remembered reading on the internet that Rufford Abbey Country Park had an art gallery. As it was just a few miles away we decided to take a look.

As the trip was unscheduled, I had no camera with me so took these on my trusty iphone.  I'm quite pleased with the results and I should really experiment with it a little more.

We took the long route to the country house and abbey ruins by taking the lakeside walk.

The ducks where keen to follow us

 The country house was built next to the remains of the 12th Century Abbey.  There is a popular restaurant as well as a cafe and The Orangery also plays host to art installations like the one below.

The remains of the abbey and the amazing oak tree.

Watching the world go by