Inside a canal lock gate

Not really what I expected to do for the weekend but had a fascinating trip to Mountsorrel locks near Leicester where the Canal and River Trust are restoring the lock gates.

The lock has been drained – first time in 30 years. No treasures were found at the bottom but it does have the original red  bricks dating back from between 1780 and 1794. The top and bottom lock gates are being replaced, together they weigh nearly 4 tonnes! The lock chamber itself is a massive 28 metres long, 4.6 metres wide and 3.4 metres deep and it can hold 438,000 litres of water, standing inside it was awe inspiring and almost hard to believe how much water should be above my head.

Also had a lovely little trip along the canal in a barge thanks to Sileby Mill Boatyard.

The event is on again tomorrow (28th Feb 2016)
There’s also a lovely pub next to the canal (The Waterside Inn)

Easter adventures with National Trust – Part One: Packwood House

Our Easter adventures started on Good Friday with a trip to National Trust Packwood House

As we approached the estate we were greeted with a beautiful line of Daffodils followed by magnificent yellow Forsythia on the house wall. The contrast between the old bricks and yellow petals was just beautiful.

Brightly coloured Easter Eggs hanging with ribbon decorated many corners of the house making it feel so welcoming, especially to children who were on the look out for “Golden Eggs” Even though our children are teenagers they really enjoyed spotting the eggs, some were rather hard to find.
   Discovered my Easter Bunny trying to hide in a doorway……the Bunny ears gave the game away

Can you spot the golden egg hiding in the Delft tiled bathroom, each of the 460 tiles in this bathroom have a different image. This has to be one of my favourite rooms.

Teacups make amazing bulb planters

Ireton Bedroom and miniature chairs in Queen Marys bedroom

We had to look high to spot this egg!

Beautiful seasonal Daffodil and Tulip displays in the Inner Hall and Study

Super shiny spoons have superb reflective qualities

The rain had just started so it was a quick bunny hop around the garden, unfortunatly the Yew garden was closed due to the amount of rain fall over previous days so we hope to revisit another day.

I had read about the walk to Baddesley Clinton and decided following the Stratford Upon Avon canal which joined up with the Grand Union canal sounded rather beautiful.

It was a nice walk over bridges and past lock gates and on a less rainy day imagine it to be spectacular. However today was damp and drizzly with some very muddy parts, never the less fun and a walk to be remembered, if only for the mud coming over the top of our boots!