Lincoln, Leamington Spa and back to Standlake

On Tuesday 1st November we left Stirling and made the 5 and a bit hour drive to Lincoln, back in England. We got in during the early afternoon and Will headed to the University of Lincoln to catch up with his colleague Paul. Will was Paul's doctorate supervisor at Reading University, and Lincoln is Paul's first lecturing position. While Will worked, I went for a wander around the city (despite being pretty teeny, Lincoln gets city status due to its cathedral). During my 7 and a half years living in the UK I had never managed to make it to Lincoln.

Paul kindly put us up at his house for the night so it was good to meet his wife and young son, and also enjoy a nice home-cooked meal. The next morning he had an hour or so spare to show us the sights of Lincoln before he had to disappear back to work. 

Lincoln is a pretty place, dominated by the huge cathedral up on the hill. It is the third largest cathedral in Britain, behind St Paul's and York Minster.

 

 

 

   

We also walked around the castle area adjacent to the cathedral.

 

   

We found a very quaint little pie and cornish pasty place for lunch with views over the river.

 

 

Here are a few more pics. It was only a brief stay in Lincoln, but it was very enjoyable. It is always nice exploring places you have never been before.

We headed off early afternoon and drove to a pub not too far from Uttoxeter where we caught up with my friend Richard Curtis. Curto was another of my colleagues from my Bearwood College days. He was founder and chairman of the very popular BRA (Bearwood Real Ale) Club, which later morphed into the BRAWN (Bearwood Real Ale Wine & Nibbles) Club, meetings of which took place in the staff common room after Friday afternoon chapel. It was lovely seeing another familiar face from my past. Curto and I spent many a Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning together, coaching the under-14 rugby boys. I have such happy memories of my 6 years living and working at Bearwood. They were certainly social times, I think my liver has just about forgiven me...

After we had caught up with Curto it was onwards to Leamington Spa. We were staying the night with Sandy Boyes, his wife Melissa and their two boys. Will and Sandy have known each other since their school days, which is going back a bit now!  We enjoyed a delicious roast chicken dinner (two home-cooked meals in two nights!) washed down with a fair bit of beer and wine. It was a really fun evening with lots of reminiscing and catching up on the guys behalf. It is nice to have friends that you don't see very often, but when you do it is just like old times.

The next morning Sandy, Melissa and the boys were off to work and school respectively bright and early. Will and I had a more leisurely get-up before driving into Leamington Spa for a wander around. We spent a nice time walking around the town, and also enjoyed the extensive Jephson Gardens on the banks of the River Leam. From there is was an hour or so drive back to Will's mum's place in Standlake, Oxfordshire.