Into the Unknown

Following Frank's directions got us out of London without too much hassle although we did end up on the M1 at one stage. We could have taken the M1 all the way up to Nottingham - just a two-hour blast but boring, boring, boring! Eventually we were on our chosen route up the A11 and coming to grips with Brit road builders favourite toy - the roundabout. Unable to decide which road deserves priority they opt for an egalitarian solution that slows everyone down. And just when you being self-congratulatory about clearing one busy rab (roundabout) there is another to test your resolve and determination. Ho hum.

On one stretch of road we were following a small car with four passengers at quite a resonable speed - around 60mph - when a rab approached (I honestly got the feeling that they approached us rather than vice versa). Well short of the rab the car in front executed what was close to an emergency braking manouvre, so rapid was the deceleration. Fortunately I was quick enough to avoid rear-ending it. At the next rab after that one, following this little car into the rab I was looking intently to the right and inadvertently let our car roll a few inches. I had thought that they had carried through but no - they'd stopped again unexpectedly with the result that they got a nudge in the tail. They were about to jump out and check it out right there but I waved them to pull off to the left exit and we followed them down to sus out any damage. Well there wasn't any damage to either vehicle, not so much as a mark in the dust so we shook hands, they thanked me for stopping and we carried on our way. Oh me.

We lunched at a Little Chef where we were amused when Pat wanted just Egg on Toast (strictly speaking a breakfast-only dish and served only until 11am) and when the bill cam it was itemised to 1 slice of toast and 1 egg.

Passing through Ely during the lunch period we missed a turn and ended up going through the very busy main street. Nothing to do but keep going until we got back on the right track but just the first of our many experiences of country towns with narrow streets and too much traffic.

Crossing the Wash we had to wait at one of the canals as the bridge was up. The countryside there is quite reminiscent of Holland being very flat with canals and windmills. Actually they aren't far apart geographically anyway. After an otherwise uneventful drive we ended up in Nottingham late in the afternoon. Fortunately my memory put us on the right road to Long Eaton but the traffic was very heavy and slow - much worse than when I used to drive here in the early 1970s. Going past Nottingham Uni brought back a lot of old memories.

When we got to Long Eaton we had a bit of trouble locating the hotel but they gave us directions and we eventually found the place. A lot of development had gone on there too. Most of the south end of the town which had just been open country is now built up with residential development. The Ramada Inn was much as we expected but without elevators. Fortunately only two stories so not too many flights to carry the bags.

Next morning (Friday) we set off to our old village - Long Whatton. I lost my bearings a bit and we saw quite a bit of countryside that we didn't expect to see ending up close to Derby before backtracking and eventually finding Kegworth - a village close to where we wanted to be. I remembered Kegworth well - especially the time it was raining on my motorcycle ride home from the Uni and I couldn't get the engine restarted after stopping in Long Eaton. I ended up pushing the bike about 7 miles including up the hill in the back of Kegworth on the lane towards Long Whatton. We drove down that lane and passed the farm where the farmer had taken pity on me as he saw me pushing the bike. He let me put the bike in his barn and gave me a ride home.

Long Whatton didn't appear to be much different as we entered from the North West. The countryside still looked very much the same as we remembered and again we were flooded with memories. More in the next post.