Catching up

Having a rental car has given us the freedom to explore the countryside with ease. We collected our cute, manual Citroen and headed north, finding our way out of London without many wrong turns.

Our aim was to stay off the motorways and use the less busy roads, passing through the gorgeous Spring countryside and stopping at villages and towns between destinations. A quick stop at the elegant St Faith’s church (where Wanda got her droning skills up again) was an enjoyable break. Our first target destination was Coventry, to meet up with a former flatmate of Alistair’s. Several hours were spent sharing information and updating each other of 20+ years of events! Rob was a fantastic guide to the city, sharing information and stories about the town. The post-WWII cathedral is truly magnificent, sited next to the bombed-out ruins of the medieval church. Basil Spence, the cathedral’s architect, designed a building that has such a special feeling to it … and the stain glass windows are stunning and add to its majesty.

Other parts of Coventry are equally interesting or ancient or both. Weird aside: there are a lot of elephant symbols in Coventry – on flagpoles, buildings, pavers and bollards. Our hypothesis is that elephants were adopted as the town’s protective mascot (though I doubt anyone had seen a real elephant!). The other symbol is the phoenix, which makes sense as Coventry was levelled by the Luftwaffe (hamper British war efforts by destroying factories) and had to be rebuilt. Leaving the city was a challenge, as we tackled the many the roundabouts and ring roads on our exit from town.

Next stop was Brixworth, a small town in Northamptonshire. We were catching up with Wanda’s longest standing friend, Gayle; we worked out they have known each other for nearly 50 years! Brixworth boasts a stunning Anglo-Saxon church, that can trace its foundation to 680. The building reuses Roman bricks (thought to come from a villa up the road), has elegant Romanesque arches and the usual architectural variety of any building that has been adapted and ‘improved’ over many centuries. We were serenaded by the 6-bell peel on Sunday morning, which was a delightful treat.

Catching up with Gayle and her wonderful family was terrific. The few days spent with them was so enjoyable and a nice change in pace to constant sightseeing in London. Sharing stories/wine/games and making new memories with Amy, Ben and Dylan (their 21-year-old triplets) was so much fun – we will definitely be investing in a new game called Chameleon. We visited the Foxton Locks and the village of Market Harborough. We participated in our first ParkRun (more of a ParkWalk!) along the local reservoir’s shoreline. Dean was an excellent guide to the village, pointing out places of interest and giving us the background gossip that made the walk even more interesting. Another special treat for us was the Cobblers Cottage B&B; the bothy (small cottage) was so comfortable and the breakfasts spectacular! Highly recommended.