On Wednesday we went over to Lincolnshire to meet two of our friends for lunch. We set out at about 8.30a.m. and driving along the A50 we left Staffordshire and passed through Derbyshire. By the time we reached the end of the A50 we were in Nottinghamshire. We drove through Kegworth, Zouche and Rempstone before entering Leicestershire near the pretty village of Wymeswold - one of my ancestors, Samuel Stubbs, was born there in 1822. From there we drove through Melton towards Oakham - we were now in our fifth and smallest county - Rutland - from here we drove to Stamford and our last county of Lincolnshire. Six counties before 12 noon - that's not bad going!
We stopped for a coffee break at one of the parks on Rutland Water between Oakham and Stamford. It was quite chilly and spotting with rain. Luckily we had packed a flask of coffee and a couple of homemade biscuits as the cafe was closed.
From Stamford we struck out across the Fens towards Market Deeping and Spalding. We lived in this area for about twelve years during the 80s and 90s and I'm always drawn by the flat landscape, distant spires and huge skies. We passed barley fields, drainage ditches and wind farms. The yellow in the photo below is a field of daffodils; there were people picking flowers in the fields as we passed by.
As it is two weeks since I last joined in with Simone's Friday cake bake and as I had two large eating apples in the fruit bowl, I decided to make a Dorset Apple Cake.
The recipe is from the Crank's recipe book which I posted about a few weeks ago. It was so easy to make and was delicious as a pudding after our evening meal, with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.
Last, but not least, I took this photo at Trentham recently. We sat for a while after a walk and were joined by two robins. This one, his soft downy feathers ruffling in the breeze, sang to us for a while before moving on.
What a plump ittle robin. Our resident robins often keep me company while I'm busy gardening - on the look out for a juicy worm or two!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly did some driving there Rosie, but its nice to have a leisurely drive for a change isn't it.
Your Dorset Apple Cake looks delicious - I'd have that with a nice dollop of cream! yummy!!
Have a lovely weekend. Jeanne
Thank you for taking us on your travels Rosie! It's nice to get out and about! I would love to try your apple cake with yogurt - especially if the cake was warm from the oven. How nice that the robins sang for you!
ReplyDeleteDid You wave to me?? I live near Holbeach! xxx
ReplyDeleteHello Tracey - we could have done - we had lunch at Moulton:)
ReplyDeletei do love robins, they are so very friendly and inquisitive.
ReplyDeletethe cake looks wonderful...yummy!
hope you are having a lovely weekend
hugs xxx
sumea
Wow - thats a journey and a half Rosie. Ive never been to Rutland - but Ive always wanted to go. Your Apple cake looks the biz - If you lived nearer, I would be popping in on my way home from work every Friday!!! I have noticed that the birds are singing really loudly at the moment. xxxx
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes it has been busy, I am feeling quite tired today! I always love browsing the shops in Bridgnorth as there are some really nice unique ones, different to a lot of town centres. We also love all the twisting lanes and so many choices of steps in between the towns. The drinks were delicious, I recommend Bailey's wine bar/bistro, which is just on the corner of the lane leading to the church... a lovely buidling and good quality! Hope you have enjoyed your weekend :)
ReplyDeleteLovely photos Rosie. We sometimes take a flask on our bike rides, it's good fun. Your lovely Dorset Apple Cake reminds me of the Apple Bread Pudding my Mum used to make. I am having great difficulty in taking a photo of the robin in my garden. x
ReplyDelete