The Lemon Fool

Hi folks,

Mel and I have a week off, w/c 23rd September. Wondered if anyone has any ideas for a day out, preferably in the Midlands (we live a few miles south of Peterborough, post code PE26).

The kind of places we tend to visit are ones like Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Wollaton Park in Nottingham, National Space Center in Leicester, Warwick Castle etc.. So something with either a bit of history, nice buildings, science or a countryside views/walks is our cup of tea.

Does anyone on here have any ideas?

Sorry in advance, if this is the wrong forum for this kind of post,
Matt

I’ve been told that Oxford is in the Midlands.

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:
Wondered if anyone has any ideas for a day out, preferably in the Midlands (we live a few miles south of Peterborough, post code PE26).

The kind of places we tend to visit are ones like Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Wollaton Park in Nottingham, National Space Center in Leicester, Warwick Castle etc.. So something with either a bit of history, nice buildings, science or a countryside views/walks is our cup of tea.

Does anyone on here have any ideas?

The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffs ticks those boxes and is well worth a visit: http://www.thenma.org.uk/

Alternatively, Bletchley Park with its World War II code breaking museum, just south of Milton Keynes, is also very good: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/

PinkDalek wrote:I’ve been told that Oxford is in the Midlands.

Sure. Are there any attractions like parks, stately homes, castles etc. you know of? We know owt about Oxford currently.

BrummieDave wrote:The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffs ticks those boxes and is well worth a visit: http://www.thenma.org.uk/

Alternatively, Bletchley Park with its World War II code breaking museum, just south of Milton Keynes, is also very good: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/

Thanks Dave,

They both look pretty interesting. We have our roots in Nth. Bedfordshire, so Bletchley Park would be v. easy for us + familiar location. Will do more research about both of them. I suppose the Bletchley one is more indoor so good if it pi$sing it down, and the Arb would be good on a warm September day.

Matt

Near you there are:
South: Audley End (Saffron Walden)
North: Burghley House (Stamford) - and Stamford itself is well worth a visit.
North-West: Deene Park plus (nearby) Kirby Hall

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:

PinkDalek wrote:I’ve been told that Oxford is in the Midlands.

Sure. Are there any attractions like parks, stately homes, castles etc. you know of? We know owt about Oxford currently.

BrummieDave wrote:The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffs ticks those boxes and is well worth a visit: http://www.thenma.org.uk/

Alternatively, Bletchley Park with its World War II code breaking museum, just south of Milton Keynes, is also very good: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/

Thanks Dave,

They both look pretty interesting. We have our roots in Nth. Bedfordshire, so Bletchley Park would be v. easy for us + familiar location. Will do more research about both of them. I suppose the Bletchley one is more indoor so good if it pi$sing it down, and the Arb would be good on a warm September day.

Matt

Oxford does have much to offer especially in terms of museums, but I would eschew the more famous Ashmolean and head straight for one of my favourite museums in the world, the Pitt Rivers Museum: https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/ I've spent many an afternoon there over several decades, the building itself is fascinating (a cast iron building, chosen by competition if I remember correctly), and the collection that General Pitt-Rivers assembled has to be seen to be believed! A walk along the river and perhaps around one or two of the more famous and accessible colleges (Christ Church and Balliol would be my suggestions), is also interesting.

And yes, with regard to my first two suggestions Bletchley Park is better suited if it's wet, rather than the National Memorial Arboretum.

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:Hi folks,

Mel and I have a week off, w/c 23rd September. Wondered if anyone has any ideas for a day out, preferably in the Midlands (we live a few miles south of Peterborough, post code PE26).

The kind of places we tend to visit are ones like Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Wollaton Park in Nottingham, National Space Center in Leicester, Warwick Castle etc.. So something with either a bit of history, nice buildings, science or a countryside views/walks is our cup of tea.

Does anyone on here have any ideas?

Sorry in advance, if this is the wrong forum for this kind of post,
Matt

Warwick Castle. The bird shows and other shows are fantastic. Don't do the Dungeons though as that is Merlin crap.

AiY

Rutland Water?

TJH

There's the national Museum of Computing at Bletchley as well - if you like 'that sort of thing' !
https://www.tnmoc.org/


Sure. Are there any attractions like parks, stately homes, castles etc. you know of? We know owt about Oxford currently.

Apart from the 'Olde Universitye' theme park in the middle, there's Blenheim Palace
https://www.blenheimpalace.com/visitus/

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote: I suppose the Bletchley one is more indoor so good if it pi$sing it down

It's lots of separate little huts (original wartime) so whilst it's 90% indoor you'll still need a brolly if it's raining.

Gryff

In addition to the other follow ups (Pitt Rivers would have been our number one), my Oxford was a throwaway comment on the way out, there is, off the top of my head:

A working prison (working as in converted to a restaurant/hotel https://www.malmaison.com/locations/oxf ... brasserie/)

A castle nearby but I’m unsure if worth a visit https://www.oxfordcastleandprison.co.uk/

Carfax Tower https://www.free-city-guides.com/oxford/carfax-tower/

Magdalen Tower https://www.ertegun.ox.ac.uk/article/tr ... alen-tower

Countryside could include a walk across Port Meadow to The Perch in Binsey and/or The Trout at Wolvercote. The latter a bit too foods nowadays but a beautiful setting and, as in most things Oxford, another Morse hangout.

Christchurch Meadow.

Botanical Gardens - small but interesting.

Many good town pubs including the World’s largest collection*** of ties at The Bear Inn https://www.bearoxford.co.uk/ and The Eagle and Child (another Morse hang out https://morseandlewisandendeavour.com/t ... ld-oxford/)

Compulsory touristic punt.

*** I made that part up but it may be true.

TheMotorcycleBoy wrote:National Space Center in Leicester

The National Space Centre is quite close to the Southern terminus of the restored Great Central Railway, from where you can take an (often steam-pulled) train to Loughborough and back.

It's also close to the most Indian part of this very Indian city, specifically the "Curry Mile" of Belgrave Street, also home to the biggest Diwali festival outside of India:

https://www.storyofleicester.info/a-pla ... lden-mile/

Finally in the city centre there is the King Richard the Third visitor centre (AKA "Dick Three") across the street from the car park where he had been parked for a few centuries:

https://kriii.com/

We recently discovered Coventry Transport Museum. Thousands of exhibits charting the rise of bicycle, motor cycle, car, commercial and military vehicles in the Coventry area from the local roots in watchmaking and ribbon making machines.
And theres a simulator where you can be in a car breaking 700mph. Listen to the drivers breathing rate, it doesn't change throughout the run.
There are lots of other museums in Coventry and we haven't done them all yet https://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory/1 ... _galleries
And there's the old ruined Cathedral next door to the new one, all within a town centre that's mostly post war with bits of the older city here and there to give an idea of what was destroyed
Bob

PinkDalek wrote: The Eagle and Child (another Morse hang out https://morseandlewisandendeavour.com/t ... ld-oxford/)

.

Or perhaps more famously where Tolkien and C S Lewis used to hang out with the Inklings...AKA the Bird or Bird and Baby.

And perhaps a punt on the Isis is worth a punt while you are there.


John

Wow!

Thanks for all the ideas, people.....we will probably take all week trying to decide which one to go for! (Unfortunately a lot of the week off apparently is going to involve getting some work in the shower room done ).

There are some great ideas there. I didn't realise that there was so much around Oxford that we could visit, I think Blenheim Palace looks well worthwhile, with the nearby maze and the Capability Brown gardens etc. So perhaps we'll pencil that in, and keep in mind places like Coventry Transport Museum (simulator sounds cool), and Bletchley Park for horrid weather on the day.

To Lootman re. Leicester, I know the city of old - as I attended the University of Leicester back in the day. Mel's actually going to spend sometime in a week or so with our eldest daughter, since ironically she wishes to go the same Uni as me! Leicester is indeed very tempting, since we've not had a damn good curry for years, what with being stuck in the Fens these days.

Matt (and Mel)

We had a great couple of hours in Statford on Avon visting the MAD museum which has nothing to do with the bard, though there's plenty of that there if you can afford the parking.

https://themadmuseum.co.uk/

Everything is mechanical. Some of it ripped from the old Covent Garden mechanical theatre, some are just great, a nice hour an a half maximum but worth it.

B.

PrincessB wrote:We had a great couple of hours in Statford on Avon visting the MAD museum which has nothing to do with the bard, though there's plenty of that there if you can afford the parking.

https://themadmuseum.co.uk/

Everything is mechanical. Some of it ripped from the old Covent Garden mechanical theatre, some are just great, a nice hour an a half maximum but worth it.

B.

plus one for the MAD Museum, kids loved it and so did the adults.

DM

I would add this for Oxford as well

https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/whatson/visit/tours

I've done the 60min tour and would recommend that as a minimum.

The MAD museum looks cool. It's the kind of place we should have taken the kids to about 4 years ago (making them 10 and 13).

Matt