I’ve already blogged the National Memorial Arboretum and my 5 mile walk there on the 1st of the month. We opened St Edmund’s in Allestree on 2 August – so both my churches were open within three weeks of it being possible. I commented it would have been so helpful if the Church of England had provided all the signage we needed – which they did, in the middle of September (8 weeks after I’d needed them).
After the service we drove to the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway for tea in Queen Victoria’s carriage. Built in 1885 for the London & South Western Railway, altered to become Her Majesty’s personal coach in her Golden Jubilee year 1885. She used it on her trips from London to Gosport for the boat to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, and she was kind enough to join us today. After her death it remained in Royal use for several years, then became a family saloon, then the body was sold for a gamekeeper’s home. It was restored by Stephen Middleton of Stately Trains, and he was a very pleasant host.
A 5 mile walk round Calke Abbey on 5 August. Gorgeous gardens, but the church was locked.
Powis Castle on 10 August, a 6 mile walk, and a ride on the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway. The heavens opened while the engine ran round at Castle Caereinion, thank you to volunteer train crew – getting soaked is all part of a day’s work.
4 miles at Kedleston on the 13th. Now Julie has Morgan, her new powerchair, she can get round the Long Walk. A trip to Hardwick, then 3 miles at Shugborough on the 18th – a National Trust property we had never been to. I’ve already blogged the 5 miles at Blist’s Hill and Lilleshall Abbey.
3 miles along the Cromford & High Peak Railway on the 22nd, my first trip on an Azuma on the 26th, 4 miles at Kedleston on the 27th, and again on the 29th. That makes a total of 38 in August. Add that to the 284 in the first seven month and I have now reached 322.
Walking is a good way to cope with the continuing incompetence of the Prime Minister and his government. One of several fiascos in August was exam results – an algorithm to predict what pupils should have got favoured private schools. There were protests. The government U-turned, but no minister walked.
I kept posting on facebook