A few days away...

At the end of last week once MOH had finished work we jumped into our already loaded up car for a few nights away, heading to a small village just outside of Melton Mowbray. The check in instructions were quite precise, check in closed at 7pm and there were no exceptions. Eek.

If only someone had told the London traffic. We arrived with fifteen minutes to spare in the end, but the traffic put a few spokes in our plans along the way - with delays on the M11 which we were able to route around, and then on the M1 which we weren’t able to. And it wasn’t even Friday night, when the traffic out of London is notoriously bad.

Our plan was to explore around Melton Mowbray, potentially visit Pie Fest (spoiler: we didn’t get there in the end - but what a place to hold such an event!), and explore we did. Here I’ll share some of what we got up to in and around Melton, the countryside around and our discoveries along the way.

DECORATIVE BRICKWORK AND AN ORNATE GARAGE IN MELTON MOWBRAY

A traditional mosaic tiled shop doorway in melton mowbray

A TRADITIONAL MOSAIC TILED SHOP DOORWAY IN MELTON MOWBRAY

Melton Mowbray had a nice feel to it, and we obviously stopped to buy a pork pie and also some local cheese. I mean if you can’t buy a pork pie in Melton Mowbray, then where can’t you buy one! We wandered around, stopped for lunch and found ourselves at the cattle market but too early for the brewery I’d heard about to be open.

We also took a look around Bingham, East Bridgford and Whatton - all of differing sizes, with Bingham being the largest which again had a nice feel to it and a market square with an interiors shop that had plenty of lovely things, all of which I resisted.

Another of our discoveries and another place we stopped for lunch was Southwell, which I was surprised to learn had a cathedral, or rather a Minster. It’s a small place so having a cathedral was unusual, until we learnt that it also had an Archbishop’s Palace alongside it. It was a lovely spot and had been undergoing a programme of restoration, with an exhibition in the newly completed Chapter House. The photographic exhibition was of cathedrals around the UK, many of which we’d visited on previous trips and many which we hadn’t visited at all.

the cathedral at Southwell

THE MINSTER AT SOUTHWELL

A couple of the exhibits in the Chapter House

THE EXHIBITION IN THE CHAPTER HOUSE

There were a set of modern sculptures by Jonathan Clarke depicting the Stations of the Cross - interestingly people were encouraged to interact with the sculptures, touching them (gently) as well as admiring them. I really liked these in a way I hadn’t expected, and it was great to be able to fully explore and admire these.

One of the sculptures for the Stations of the Cross

ONE OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS BY SCULPTOR JONATHAN CLARKE

In the Archbishop’s Palace it was the decorative ceiling that really caught my eye, that is until we came out and I saw the decorative detail around the Minster’s doors.

A decorative painted ceiling in the Archbishop's Palace

THE DECORATIVE CEILING IN THE ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE, SOUTHWELL

zig zag carved detail around doorways in the cathedral

ORNATE STONEWORK AT THE MINSTER IN SOUTHWELL

We’d heard about a large garden centre close to East Bridgford and decided to take a look around there too hoping to get a cake there too. And it was so much more than a garden centre - it was one of those giant ones, with everything. This artwork, which we were also to spot another version of during our stay, caught both of our eyes - it’s the type of artwork that every time you looked at it, you’d see something new.

Artwork of a book shelf

We had our cake - for me a home made supersized battenburg and for MOH a squidgy chocolate creation. Remembering we were heading back to the car for an unknown amount of time I sought out the loos, well you knew I would right? The loos themselves were perfectly functional and clean, but it was the ‘Ladies’ that really stood out. Very Audrey Hepburn-esque, don’t you think?

A cut out similar to Audrey Hepburn to indicate the Ladies toilets
Geometric mirrors above a row of sinks in the Ladies toilet

After plenty of food and cups of teas we decided to explore our surroundings on foot. Parking in one village, we set out on a circular walk taking in the next village along. On the way out of Elston on our way to East Stoke we took an off road path and then bridleway, and it was everything you’d expect a country walk to be. The route back was more along the bigger road, which while cars were considerate wasn’t quite so tranquil as on the way there. Though we did walk past a wooden sculpture than probably most driving past would miss.

Blackberries - affected by the lack of water

BLACKBERRIES, NOT QUITE SO LUSCIOUS THIS YEAR

walking along a country path

WALKING ALONG A COUNTRY PATH BETWEEN ELSTON AND EAST STOKE

walking along a country lane with greenery around and a brick bridge over the road

WALKING TOWARDS THE RIVER TRENT

We wandered through the village of East Stoke, which while small has plenty of history hosting a battleground from the War of the Roses. Not that you’d know it from the quiet country lanes which were amazingly still quite green.

Ferns growing out of a brick wall

FERNS AND A BRICK WALL

And here’s that sculpture I mentioned before - it’s quite unusual:

A large wooden sculpture of a digger on a verge outside a house we walked past

AN UNUSUAL CARVED SCULPTURE OUTSIDE ONE OF THE HOUSES WE WALKED PAST

On our last day we headed over to a cycling cafe - Caffe Velo Verde - for lunch and a look around. It was well equipped for passing cyclists and for those on four wheels - and the food was tasty too. For cyclists there were locks and places to clean cleats, as well as a charging point. We ate cheese toasties and shared a spicy sausage roll, and I’m pretty sure MOH has this earmarked for future visits as a place to stop.

The bike sign outside Caffe Velo Verde
A painted yellow step through bike outside the caffe velo verde

As we were close to Belvoir Castle and its Engine Yard, we stopped there for a quick wander around the shops. It’s a place we’ve been too a couple of times before and it never fails to disappoint. This time we went into a shop we’d not been into before, and I discovered a new artist to look out for. The pouches and mugs by Katie Cardew were great, loved the colours and loved the designs.

peacock pouches
A round mirror with detail on the edge of the mirror plate
A brightly coloured pheasant on a mug
A triangular display of colourful guggle jugs

And how many different coloured guggle jugs? One of these is definitely on my list, I just don’t know which colour yet.

Back at our holiday accommodation, we had another surprise when this peacock stopped by for a visit. We saw him once, but heard him more often at first mistaking his call for a rather loud cat. Given how the hosts and their dog went about their business, unlike MOH and I who were in awe of the bird, we take it that it was affiliated with them in some way.

A peacock on the wooden gates of our holiday annexe
the peacock starting to show his tail feathers

I was surprised by the size of his claws, and was very happy to keep my distance. When I next looked out and he was wandering between the parked cars, I took that as my cue to come back inside. He was still about, but out in the lane, when we went out for dinner and we both laughed as he wiggled and waddled at speed away from us (but mostly because we were in the car and not on foot!)

We packed a lot into a few days, but it was oh so good to have a change of scenery.

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Interiors inspiration at Margo & Plum

We were lucky with the weather for our short trip away last week and it was great to spend time outside feeling the sun on our skin. It also helped to get us out and about and one of those stop offs was at The Engine Yard which is right next to Belvoir Castle. We’d stopped there before and remembered a vibrant, thriving space and it still has that potential. We last visited in August, and on this sunny March weekday morning it was much quieter, understandably so. But it was nice to enjoy the space, pretty much unhindered.

Also not surprisingly some of the shops had changed, and some chalet-style huts had popped up for weekend pop-up market stalls, which seems a great idea. We had a nose around all of the shops, but by far my favourite was the interiors shop of Margo & Plum who, as their website says, offer the most glamorous decorative pieces for your home.

And here, I have some snaps to prove it.

A luscious table with black gold and white striped ornate pots, gold fans, a silver cockatiel (not real) and tropical like greenery

The relatively small space is full of the most sumptuous things for your home. While they look great together and the displays are full of inspiration, most of us won’t need quite so much, but together it’s quite a statement!

MOH was very taken with the neon signs, and I’m not sure he could quite decide which. Maybe at some point we’ll get to the stage where a decision is needed, who knows?

A circular drinks trolley with a champagne bucket, glasses and a neon sign saying cocktails
Another neon sign, this time on a shelf - the white gin bar writing - with diamante  decorated glasses and lemons alongside

I had a couple of favourites, and definitely more than a couple of things I could have quite happily brought home. The first is this aqua jungle decorated vase, it’s quite unlike any vase I already own which have much wider openings, though I suspect this one probably doesn’t need anything more to improve it.

A close up of a round aqua vase painted with a parrot and tropical birds and plants
A stunning round gold mirror with sunburst spokes in the shape of a square above a mantelpiece decorated with the vase in the previous picture, ornaments and candelesticks

The other thing that I was really quite taken with was the sunburst mirror above - the ‘squareness’ of the sun’s rays really appealed and this feels a much more modern take on the more usual sunburst mirror design. We don’t have much, for want of a better word ‘bling’ in our house, but this shop tested my mettle (pun intended).

Black and white geometric patterned lidded pots alongside golden leaf imprinted vases
More pots, a taller/thinner pot with black/white vertical stripes and gold on the top next to a black white and pink leaf design lidded pot

The final thing on my list was this flamingo plate - the vibrant colours and the design were the attraction for me.

A green plate with two flamingos alongside white orchids

One thing I’m sure of, we’ll be back here again at some point for more mooching around, and maybe even a purchase or two.

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The loos at the Engine Room

The Engine Room is just over the road from Belvoir Castle in Lincolnshire, where we visited on our short break back in the summer. The castle is fabulous, the gardens more impressive than you might imagine as they’re set on a steep slope - you don’t get many castles that aren’t at the top of the hill do you, so that’s to be expected.

The Engine Room is a new development and mixes retail, entertainment and from what we saw is looking to build community. There’s a mix of food, garden and restaurants, and plenty going on. And some loos, of course - and more than your standard loos at that. That much was clear as soon as I saw the tiles.

Apart from the colours, it would have been easy to believe you were in Portugal - the weather the day we visited though, was far from warm and sunny!

I know a loo is a loo, these were pleasantly stylish - and I’m sure that was on purpose and reflected the ethos of the whole development. As well as the retail options during the day, there were also social spaces with entertainment planned. It looks like it would be a really good place to meet friends throughout the year - I’m sure we’ll be back there at some point.

But yes, those tiles. More muted than the blues and yellows I’ve seen in Portugal, but definitely no less beautiful/

PoCoLo