WANSFORD WEEKEND

It's time to catch up on some blogs having returned from our Easter break in France.
On March 31st we drove up to meet our good friends Tim and Ruth staying the night with them in their lovely house in the village of Wansford. When we arrived two of Tim's daughters were visiting, and it was great to meet Jemma and Lucy and the two exuberant Springer Spaniels belonging to Lucy.

We went off to take the dogs for a walk in a delightful 1000 year old forest, where the dogs had a ball and displayed a general lack of togetherness! On the way back to Wansford we called in to see Lucy's renovation project. She and her husband had bought a decrepit house some time back and were determined to restore it to a better than past glory. Parts of the property were 15th century, and one can only admire the perseverance and vision that has enabled them to create a wonderful new home. As a listed property, there would have been a lot of frustration in obtaining approval for the rebuilding.It's a good job that Lucy is a GP as the project would have been a virtual sink for money!!!

Jemma is a University student and was at the end of her course and preparing her Dissertation - she visibly relaxed as her preparation got closer to completion.

Sunday we drove to Rutland Water the largest man made lake in Europe. There was a large fleet of Toppers sailing - a dinghy much like a Moth - and they made a colourful sight.As the wind was quite strong (and cold) I didn't envy the sailors battling the choppy waters. There was a museum in the old church (photo above) and we watched a fascinating video of the successful efforts made to achieve a return of the Osprey to its natural habitat in the area. Over a period of years, a band of dedicated volunteers monitored and recorded these beautiful birds in their migration to and from Africa, their breeding and eventual successful establishment on the Damn.

We had lots of conversations about travel, as both Ruth and Tim are seasoned travellers to all parts of Europe and elsewhere, and we received some good advice about Venice in particular.

A lovely weekend.