Mr C took part in a webinar on Sunday morning so I spent my time colouring a page in one of Johanna Basford’s books. I started colouring the picture a couple of weeks ago and was keen to finish it before my colouring ideas faded into memory.

The webinar finished on time which meant that after Mr C’s late lunch we were able to go out for the afternoon as planned. Mr C suggested Hodnet Hall which was a perfect choice, it is local and open till 5pm. On arrival, the teashop was calling and on entering I was tempted to a slice of Elderflower and Gooseberry cake. Alas, Mr C, after his late lunch was in a sharing mood rather than a cake of his own!

Following our refreshments and cake sharing I decided that we should walk to the kitchen garden rather than a lake walk. I thought the garden would be full of flowers at this time of year. I wasn’t disappointed the kitchen garden was spectacular.

PS: I will photograph my colouring creation to share with you soon.

For many years Mr C and I have wanted to visit the Temple church in London. The church is only open to visitors Monday to Friday and we have historically visited London on a Saturday.

We recently took a day trip to London using our discount railcards with the specific aim of visiting the Temple Church.

Before visiting the church, we had lunch in the Spaghetti House where due to the glorious weather we able to eat outside.

We enjoyed our visit to the church and learning the history behind it.

“Temple Church, steeped in the history of Christendom, this country and the whole Common Law World. 1162: the Round Church was built to be London’s Jerusalem. 1214–19: Magna Carta was negotiated in the Temple, and its greatest hero was buried in the Church. 1584, 1776, 1787: from Raleigh’s expeditions through the colonial constitutions to the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the Temple was the birthplace of American Law. And to this day the Church serves the legal colleges Inner and Middle Temple, London’s residents, visiting jurists and travellers from all over the world with some of the most uplifting services, music and discussions in London. “

After our visit we walked through Victoria Embankment Gardens soaking up the sunshine. Then with time to spare we intended to visit the National Gallery but there was a long queue so we decided to walk around the corner and visit the National Portrait Gallery instead.

Before entering the galleries, we had cake, sharing two different types with a raspberry and lime refresher to drink. We were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed the gallery and how much we had changed since our previous visit over 20 years ago.

Next, we visited Foyles book shop which was on Mr C’s ‘To Do’ list for the day. He didn’t purchase anything but somehow another board game found its way into my bag…

Now it was time to head back to the station for our return journey. We purchased refreshments including a New Yorker Rye Roll to eat on the train.

The train was on time and much to the surprise of our friends were able to join them for last orders in one of our local hostelries.

We arrived at breakfast to find our proprietor, Paul, cooking and serving breakfast assisted by a lovely young lady who hadn’t long been working at Cathedral View.

By the time we had finished our breakfast and checked out it was still only 9.30am, which was too early to visit the Parish Church of St Mary Magdelene or the Saturday market. So, we left Lincoln and travelled the short distance to the outskirts, where the International Bomber Command Centre is located.

As we arrived it started to drizzle with rain so we opted to visit the exhibition. The exhibition is engaging and thought provoking. It acknowledges the efforts of Bomber Command during WWII and also covers the stories of those who suffered as a result of the bombing campaigns.

By the time we had made our way round the exhibition the sun had come out so we were able to take our time walking to the spire memorial and the walls of names of those who died with Bomber Command during WWII. The panels are designed so that memorial poppies can be added next to the names.

We took advantage of the café for lunch before setting off homeward. We called in at Essingham farm shop to pick up something for our evening meal and other essential (food) supplies to see us through the weekend.

Back home we unpacked and caught up on the latest episode of Doctor Who before dining on the patio. It was a little chilly outside so after dining we retreated to the warmth inside.

One of our friends arranged a breakfast gathering because her family were over from Germany for a few days.

There was much fun and laughter and the extensive menu options proved a challenge for some. For me, the small vegetarian breakfast hit the sweet spot.

All too soon it was time to part ways leaving Mr C and I in the ‘not quite’ ready to go home mood. We eventually settled on a visit to Bridgnorth where we had fun on the recently re-opened cliff railway.

We took the train down the cliff from high town to low town and enjoyed a delightful walk along the river bank where I saw my first goslings of the year. One of the goslings was so cute and funny, climbing up the steep river bank then slipping and rolling back down, only to be determined to reach the preferred spot for grazing.

As we made our way back to the cliff railway to ascend into high town Mr C helped a young jogger who tripped over a curb and hurt herself.

Back in high town we sought out ‘cake’ and settled on Violet’s Tea Room, where we knew we could sit outside and soak up the rays even if it was a little chilly. We both chose ginger and lemon cake which was delicious.

After our ‘naughty cake’ indulgence, we headed off home in time for our usual Sunday pre-dinner aperitif with Mr C’s parents.

Mr C overslept which meant we were a little late for our breakfast timeslot. As the day evolved the reason for his oversleeping became apparent; he had come down with the lurgy overnight.

After breakfast we loaded our luggage into the car and drove to Bekonscot Model Village, a place that Mr C had wanted to visit for a long time due to seeing it signposted on his many journeys along the M40 The miniature village didn’t disappoint with its well crafted models, fine attention to detail and whimsical names. I learned that Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret, loved to visit Bekonscot as children.

When we had finished the tour of the village it wasn’t quite time for lunch so we headed off to Berkhamsted to tick off another item on Mr C’s bucket list, Berkhamsted Castle which he had seen often as he travelled by train to London. By the time we arrived in the village it was time for lunch. We dropped lucky with the only parking space available being outside The Dower House Coffee where we both indulged in a slice of Lemon Fudge Cake that was delicious.

We had time to visit the delightful Parish Church of St Peter before moving our car nearer to the castle. Parking near to the castle proved more of a challenge. It was next to the railway station and most nearby parking was blocked by double yellow lines. It took a few circuits around the site of the castle before a suitable space presented itself.

The castle didn’t quite live up to the Romantic Ruin that was teased by those glimpses from the train, but Mr C was glad to have ticked it off his bucket list.

Whilst in Berkhamsted we picked up a ready meal from Waitrose before continuing on our journey homeward, stopping at the motorway services for a leg stretch and choosing to sit outside on the picnic benches with bottled water from the car rather than fight the chaotic options within.

We arrived home to find that a couple of family members had come down with the same lurgy as Mr C…

The morning weather looked unpromising so we tried to find a rainy day option for our adventures. This proved challenging because the things that inspired us were surprisingly all shut on Sunday’s! We opted to have lunch at home followed by a trip to a garden centre. On the way we stopped off for me to photograph local Jubilee ‘post box topper’.

After the photo shoot we set off on our afternoon excursion. The rain stopped and the sun came out lighting up the leafy trees that lined our route.  Our plans were short-lived, we failed to find the garden centre and on checking found that it was permanently closed. We quickly formulated a plan B and set off to the nearby Sugnall Walled Garden which is always a delight to visit. The in-car SatNav took us on a rather circuitous route but we got there eventually.

By the time we got there it was time for afternoon refreshments, we couldn’t resist the temptation of a ‘Naughty Cake’. Whilst we were waiting for the ladies to come back from delivering afternoon teas to a party in a garden room we got chatting to a regular visitor of the tea room. As we couldn’t decide on which cake to choose she suggested that we had two different ones and share them. We agreed this was a good idea and chose ‘ginger and rhubarb’ and ‘rosewater and pistachio’. The cake slices were split into two pieces and we were served our own individual portions. After the saga of our days adventure I wasn’t quite relaxed enough to remember to photograph the cake!

Naughty Cake consumed I enjoyed a walk around the walled garden whilst Mr C sat and kept tabs on what was happening in the Grand Prix. The garden was lush with vibrant green colours interspersed with the occasional flower. On the way back to the car I was treated with the unexpected delight of fluffy Moorhen chicks walking close to me.

After lunch on Saturday we headed off to Ludlow for the afternoon where Mr C had it in mind to visit the castle. On our way there I suggested we had a quick look inside the Church of St Laurence. I was keen to see how it looked now the Victorian pews had been removed. To my dismay I had learned on our previous visit to the church that the Victorian pews were about to be removed.

On stepping inside the church I was amazed at the transformation. The church looked light and airy with my eye being drawn to the building structure and stained glass windows whereas before the pews dominated the setting. Mr C was inspired to explore the church including the opportunity to climb up the bell tower.

We decided there wasn’t enough time to do the castle justice and that we would leave it for another day, although we visited to the castle shop  to see if there were any interesting books. We came away empty handed as we did on our subsequent visit to Castle Bookshop.

Then it was time to seek out a tea shop for a naughty cake. We has almost given up hope of finding the ‘perfect’ teashop, then we saw Carvell’s The Art of Tea. The tea shop was inviting with china cups set out on the table and a cabinet of interesting cakes to tempt. We choose to share a wedge of courgette and avocado cake, it was delicious. I was so busy enjoying the experience that I forgot to take photos. Visiting the castle will be a good excuse to go back and sample some other tasty delights and maybe I will remember to take a photo or two.

We had an afternoon jaunt that ended up with a visit to Stokesay Castle.

After our visit we enjoyed afternoon refreshments (including lemon drizzle cake) from the tea shop. I am so out of touch with ‘almost normal’ days that I forgot to take a photograph of the tasty indulgence.