Gingerjo’s Blog

We took the decision to visit the National Space Centre in Leicester, figuring we might visit Warwick Castle later in the week. Now I understand why I hadn’t heard of it – Houston it is not. That said it’s not bad, it’s just too expensive for what you get in return (it’s the same price as the zoo was yesterday), and it’s pitched very much at kids. They do have a fantastic dome shaped film theatre offering 360 degree views above your head. We got to watch a 20 minute film called Stars as part of our admission and paid an extra £3 each to watch another film called Big (but I fell asleep in that one – I hadn’t had any coffee all day). They also have a flight simulator ride taking you on a trip to Jupiter’s moon Europa which is very good. We also listened to a short talk about the European Space Agency’s mission to Mars.

The rest of the rather large place is made up of typical museum information boards with interactive bits (that mostly seemed to be out of order or at least malfunctioning) and a huge number of short information films that eternally seemed to be in the middle of playing – they don’t seem to have a beginning or an end!?! That said they have a lot of quite cool model satellites (or in some cases the real thing) hanging from the roof and even a couple of rockets housed in a building made from giant bubblewrap (honestly).

If you went with the intention of just looking at the bits interesting to you personally then it would probably be really rather good, but the overpriced admissions fee meant we felt we had to squeeze every last penny’s worth out of the place so I found it really quite dull in the end (and I like all things intergalactic!). This is probably a bit unfair on the place, but I doubt if I’d go again. Mark would go though I think – he really liked the flight simulator and perhaps one day we’ll have a small child for him to take.

Then we headed off down the M6 in search of Hartlebury Travelodge, a few miles south of Kidderminster. It’s a little hotel hidden behind a Little Chef, but we found a nice enough pub called the Mitre Oak at the next roundabout heading towards Worcester – within easy walking distance (although we didn’t walk, we would have if we’d known in advance).

There are three main things we found that you can visit when using Nuneaton as a base, all of which involve a bit of a drive - Twycross Zoo, the National Space Centre in Leicester and Warwick Castle. Today we picked Twycross Zoo as it was such a beautiful day it seemed a waste to spend it indoors. Actually it was hot as hell though and I’m burnt to a frazzle. Well, I just didn’t expect sun after the summer we’ve been having so I didn’t bring any sun cream!

The zoo is very laid back – quite a different atmosphere to the likes of Chester Zoo. What’s more they seem to spend their money on quality enclosures for their animals rather than on fancy cafés for their visitors. This is of course as it should be. That said the loos are still nice and clean.

It’s a World Centre for Primates, so it’s not a zoo for folk who don’t like monkeys. There are a lot of lemurs, gibbons, monkeys and all three of the great apes. Obviously there are the obligatory lions (lazing as far away from public gaze as they can manage) and a pool full of penguins. But they also have Asiatic Elephants in a large, interesting enclosure, giraffes, GIANT tortoises, dholes, bat eared foxes, sea lions, meerkats and prairie dogs among many others. It must have taken us five hours to visit every enclosure – it was deceptively large and a bit of a labyrinth.

Afterwards we went to an ancient thatched pub called the Cock Inn that claimed to have been a refuge for Dick Turpin back in the day. It had a really great atmosphere and good food. After popping into Sainsbury’s in search of some aftersun, it was time to head back to the hotel for a hot and sticky night – nope, not that kind of hot and sticky more’s the pity! There’s no aircon in Travelodges.

We couldn’t really visit Nottinghamshire without visiting Sherwood Forest. So we toddled off to the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre for a mooch around the forest. We were a bit disappointed to find we were a few days too early for the Robin Hood Festival, but there were plenty of folk wearing little green hats to make up for it. We wandered down to the Major Oak, an 800 year old oak reputed to be the home of Robin Hood’s band. It’s certainly a huge tree, so huge it has to be supported by ironwork which look’s a bit strange.

We then visited the Southwell Workhouse, a National Trust property. I’d never visited a workhouse before, and to be perfectly honest the audio tour was almost as monotonous as life in the workhouse must have been, but perhaps this is the effect they were going for. It’s well worth a visit though – apparently 4/5 folk in the UK have an ancestor that at one point or another was forced into the workhouse so it’s important to understand this aspect of our history. It must have been immensely degrading.

Southwell Minster was an unexpected bonus of our visit since we hadn’t realised it existed until we drove past it. Of course after a visit to the church we toddled off to the Saracen’s Head pub for a pint!

It was then time to head off to the Travelodge in Nuneaton-Bedworth. Once we’d arrived we had dinner at the local Beefeater (attached to a Premier Inn) which was very good, and apparently once the home of the author George Eliot. Mark had been watching Marco’s Great British Feast about puddings earlier in the week and was after a supreme pudding to celebrate his childhood. Oh boy did we find it. We had a double Chocolate Brownie Sundae to share – it was enormous. Think about the size of a Knickerbocker Glory when you were six – well the sundae glass was that size, about the same size as a bucket in fact. It was quite glorious, if a little embarrassing!

Well we had a lovely day in Nottingham city centre. We got the Citylink 1 bus from outside the Travelodge straight into the city and after a quick visit to the Tourist Info Office (who were very helpful) we wondered off in search of Nottingham’s heritage.

The City of Caves is weirdly based inside the rather down market Broadmarsh Shopping Centre. In the Caves you are treated to a tour of the man-made sandstone caves beneath the city centre. Once they were open to the elements, overlooking the river, but now they are blocked in by concrete. It’s difficult to imagine people standing inside them blinking out into the sunlight. During the tour you meet several characters including the owner of a medieval tannery where they made leather and a warden in a WWII bomb shelter. These characters really bring the caves to life. It’s a shame some of the caves where destroyed in the building of the shopping centre, as the caves tour would be truly excellent if a third era in their history was represented. Two characters just aren’t quite enough.

We got a joint ticket with the Galleries of Justice – the old County Court and Gaol. Again we were regaled by characters from the past. It was much more interactive than the other gaols we’ve visited in the UK (Beaumaris and Inverary), and I have to say the most enjoyable. The character in the court was amusing and got everyone in the mood, the gaoler was genuinely scary and made a small child cry (not deliberately), and the female inmate was disturbing and pitiable. The oldest part of the gaol remains from medieval times and had a horrible atmosphere – it made my hair stand on end and I had to leave because it made me feel nauseous. I cannot imagine being stuck down there for years on end.

We then went for a mooch around the city. There’s a large square in the centre with a huge water feature used as a giant paddling pool by the local kids that’s just great. We were too late to visit the Castle but did take a couple of photos by the Robin Hood statue. Nottingham has a fabulous shopping centre and I finally found a pair of the Merrell shoes I’ve been seeking for several years. This alone was worth the trip.

After this we decided to check out some of Nottingham’s pubs. There are some really nice ones within spitting distance of the Galleries of Justice. In particular we liked the Pitcher and Piano which is housed in a large converted church. It has a spectacular stained glass window and while a pub is perhaps an irreverent use for a church it does at least still serve as a centre for the community!

We then ate at La Tasca before rushing off to catch the last bus back to the hotel.

Verdict: Nottingham is a lovely city and well worth a day trip or weekend. The location of the Riverside Travelodge is great so long as you don’t mind having to get the bus back at 8pm.

Our holiday started in the most exciting way possible – I had to go and buy a new tyre for my car. Whoo hoo! That’s 72 quid I would rather have spent on posh meals and tickets to tourist attractions. Nevermind.

Anyway, we drove down to Nottingham via the Peak District, stopping at Matlock for a quick butty and a mooch around. What we didn’t realise was that we’d stopped in the boring half of Matlock. If you keep going over the bridge the town gets much more interesting. Still we’ll know that for next time.

When we arrived at the Nottingham Riverside Travelodge we were happy to find a big pub attached to it. Nice one. But OMG do NOT order a starter and main course. I’ve never seen so much food in my life.

Now the big question is why didn’t I get in touch with the many people I know in Glasgow and tell them I was coming?

Well, there are three reasons. Firstly, Mark’s never really been to Glasgow before and there is nothing worse than going somewhere to have a look around and being dragged from pub to pub meeting someone else’s old friends and feeling a bit like a gooseberry.

Secondly, we booked the holiday so late that I didn’t really have time to give them proper warning. Folk have got kids and other responsbilities - they can’t just say ‘Hey honey I’m off to the pub tonight, you don’t mind do you?’

Thirdly, and here’s the biggy, I’m a coward. What if they don’t want to see me anymore or what if we meet up and we have nothing to talk about and it’s really awkward? I hate that. Yes, I’m a coward.

Now if the purpose of the visit is purely to meet up with people then you can prepare for this - you can give people warning, you can make sure that it’s OK to have a hangover - you won’t be missing anything. This time just wasn’t the right time. However, both Mark and I had a really good time in Glasgow and it would be great to go back specifically with the aim of socialising. It’s not that I don’t want to see people. I do, very much so, it just has to be under the right conditions.

We woke up bright and early (mostly to make sure we got the car out of the car park in time). We then drove over to the West End and parked the car up before having breakfast in Antipasti on Byres Road. After a quick bite to eat we visited the Botanic Gardens which I’m very pleased to see have been fully renovated. Everything has been cleaned and the closed wings reopened. It’s still lovely and toastie in there on a cold day too.

We then wondered over to the Hunterian Museum. All that time I lived in Glasgow I never really appreciated how beautiful the campus was. I saw the elegant stonemasonry but I never really noticed it. I guess working in a ‘modern university’ has really highlighted the quality and history of Glasgow uni to me. I wish I was bloody well still working there in some ways.

After a bit of a mooch down Byres Road I then introduced Mark to the Glasgow Underground - I just knew he’d love it!! We then went in search of Tenement House (10 min walk from Cowcaddens underground station). This flat/house has remained largely unchanged since the beginning of the twentieth century and seemed surprisingly comfortable - apparently only people with a steady income could afford to live in tenements.

Mark then insisted we visit the Museum of Modern Art and was rather disappointed with it’s contents. I’m not keen on modern art so wasn’t in the least surprised by it’s pointlessness.

We then hopped back on the underground to Kelvinside and mooched along the rest of Byres Road - visiting the liquid deli at the top - what a fabulous idea!! Basically it’s a deli that sells spirits, liqueurs, oils and vinegars instead of olives, sun dried tomatoes and fancy pasta. I would love to run such a shop!! If only I had the faintest idea of how to go about it. I think I know of a place that would support such a venture but what do I know about running a business, off-licencing laws or product sourcing?? I do at least know about customer service and marketing though. I just wouldn’t know where to start with setting up a shop.

Anyway after that we realised we just about had time to visit the Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour. This we did, but the attendant let us in for half price because we only had 25 minutes till closing time and we had to run round the ship at speed. There were lots of info-boards that we didn’t have time to read unfortunately and I think and extra 30-45 mins would have been good.

After dropping the car back off at the NCP car park we returned to Byres Road to choose an eaterie for our tea. After much deliberation we chose Bar Brel (because I used to go there a lot) and after a reasonable meal (but not a great one) we toddled off to the Aragon for a pint (also because I used to go there a lot). Mark has discovered a liking for Deuchars IPA.

We arrived in Glasgow just after lunch on the first day (we made really good time - loading the car the night before made a huge difference).

First off, we went to the Transport Museum which was fun - they have all manner of old trams, buses, trains, cars and bikes as well as some much more recent ones - I still love Mini Metros best of all. They don’t appear to have a Smart car yet though.

Then we crossed the road to visit the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. To be honest the building is considerably more impressive than most of it’s contents. They were revamping it when I left Glasgow but they seem to have forgotten to label any of the exhibits - the whole thing lacks coherence, although the section on art restoration was interesting.

Then we drove into the city centre in search of our hotel. We’d picked the Travelodge Central but I don’t think I’d stay there again. First off they gave us a key card to a room that was obviously already in use - there was someone’s luggage and razor etc on display. Thank goodness they weren’t there when we walked in - that would have been incredibly embarrassing - they could have just got out of the shower or anything!! I didn’t sleep well at all in that hotel - I think I was worried some random person would walk in to our room. Also it turned out that they didn’t have a car park - we had to use the NCP over the road (only £1.50 overnight, but we had to park the car in the West End during the day to avoid extortionate charges).

We ate at Di Maggios in Merchant City that first evening - it was quite tasty really, although the portions were far too large.

We had a lovely time actually - a really lovely time. The weather was surprisingly good considering it was (mostly) March - we did get rained on but only on the days when we were travelling so it didn’t really bother us.

We did 1300 miles in total - rather a lot really. Mark doesn’t really like me driving his car (it seems to make him very nervous) so he did all the driving. While I snoozed, or tried to give directions, or stared out of the windows at all the lovely scenery, telling him to stop if I saw something really spectacular that I thought he shouldn’t miss.

Hurray (hopefully) we’re off to bonny Scotland on our hols next week. We’ve booked hotels in Glasgow, Oban, near Loch Ness and in Northumberland (yes, I know the last one’s in England!). I dare say the weather will be horrible, and we’ll get soaked to the skin, multiple times, but at least we’ll be doing it somewhere that isn’t here. I really need to get away from, well, not Manchester, it’s Bolton that I’m sick of.

I am really worried about the diet though. I don’t see how I can do it while I’m away, not properly anyway. Scotland isn’t well known for salads, especially not in the winter. In Britain, salads are generally poor quality and overpriced in pubs/restaurants, and I can’t really take a few tomatoes and a bag of spinach with me. And I certainly won’t be able to go to the gym either so I’ll lose momentum there too. I’m really quite concerned that if I stop I’ll never get going again. Hopefully Mark will force me.