Light Night

Hello Lovelies,
for 10 years now the city of Nottingham has had a Light Night. We have never been before but this year we finally managed to get there. Well, the "we" on this occasion was hubby, eldest and I. the other two boys were not keen to go.

There are events all around the city but we decided to start at the Castle.
Nottingham castle is set in lovely gardens, and many coloured lights had been used to illuminate the plants. The effect was very striking.

HERE is the scene in daylight, just to give you an idea of the setting, as it's hard to see from my pictures.

I loved this wicker Robin Hood statue.

The background lights were constantly changing colour. It was very effective.

So much colour...in February. 

As a lady stood next to me observed..."it's amazing what you can do with a few coloured lights".

From the gardens we climbed up to the castle it's self.

Sadly the original castle that stood on this huge rock overlooking the town of "Snottingham"....yes really :0)....is long gone.

The building that is now here is a museum and on light night there's free admission.

You can't deny it's built in the perfect defensive position, high on a rock with views for miles from it's battlements.

It's slightly dizzying looking down at the streets below.

 Gosh it was chilly up there, the temperature hovered around zero Celsius and the odd snowflake fluttered down.

It's a shame the cloud obscured the full moon.

Here's the entrance to the castle, complete with coloured lights. We did pop inside for a visit...it was warm inside.

Back outside the bandstand attracted our attention.

I loved this dreamy installation with it's suspended umbrellas and changing colours.

As we left the castle we saw the signs for another open attraction. The Brewhouse yard museum is much more my sort of museum than the castle really. It's years since I have been but I recall great room sets that brought an era to life.

Down the hill we went, past a really old pub.

The oldest in England.

There were plenty of people down here. In fact there was a long queue to get into the museum, so we decided to give it a miss on this occasion.

I loved the lights illuminating parts of castle rock.

And the heat from this fire was so welcome.

There was one more place we wanted to see so we climbed up the hill again.

 Every sort of light up thing imaginable was for sale by the castle. I felt glad my boys are past pestering me for this sort of stuff.

It's not far at all from the castle to the Old Market square, which is sporting a huge wheel at the moment. It's only here till March so it was nice to see it as part of the light night attractions.

This side of the wheel was prettier. So many lights.

constantly changing colour.

I did not feel tempted to go for a ride. I think my fairground ride days are over...except for the carousel.

I loved  the look of the wheel though.

And how it brightened up a winters evening.

And I always love to see old buildings with character.

After a while we could stand the cold no longer.

So we headed home for hot chocolate and home made fruit loaf.

We loved our first Light Night visit...I certainly hope it's not the last.
Jacquie x

A Day Away

Hello Lovelies,

Last Friday  I had a bonus day off work and had arranged a little grown up away day. I was really looking forward to this return visit to Lincoln....having been so impressed with the city back in February.

Now, with the addition of spring greenery, it looked even prettier.........

I loved this statue of Tennyson and his dog....I think it's the way he's looking down on a chap with his dogs.........

I was visiting with a friend, not to look at that statue, or the pretty houses...though they were adorable........

We were both here with our cameras in hand to enjoy and photograph this place.........

The stunning Cathedral.......

This is the back...if that's what you call it, but it's the prettiest aspect I think.

And how I loved the spring flowers here..........

The trees were just coming into leaf....beautiful shadows and a touch of green....perfect......

It was such a gorgeous morning that it was kind of hard to head indoors, but that's what we had come for.

This is not a building I've ever visited before and my first thought was WOW...........

The sunlight filled this stunning space and my eyes were drawn upwards towards the ceiling and the beautiful windows..........

Remember that flower shaped one...we will be getting a closer look at it soon :0)

Within the cathedral there are many small chapels, we loved this light filled corner.........

and the colours of the stained glass illuminating ancient the stone floor.

The glass really shone on such a gorgeous morning........

And the traditional designs were stunning............



Overhead more colour was added to the arched ceilings.........

But it was the plain stone ceiling of the Chapter House that really entranced me.......

early thirteenth century builders certainly knew how to impress!

I started to get a stiff neck from all the gazing upwards.......

Looking down for a rest, I smiled at more gorgeous stained glass colours on the floor........

By now it was 11am and we had to be back at the entrance to join a tour....of the roof...eeep!

We steadily climbed up through the oldest part of the cathedral....which is Norman and dates back to 1072. It was interesting to get a glimpse of the Norman part, which is now hidden within the Gothic architecture.
But it was this view from a balcony, looking down on the Nave that I loved........

And right behind us was that gorgeous flower shaped window....depicting the first bishop, looking rather forlorn as he holds the early cathedral..........

Up close the stained glass was a delightful sight, with it's intense colour, pretty details, and even the odd tiny hole............

I loved being able to touch it ...........

The tour then took us into the bell tower...........

Where somebody had upset the bells :0)......

Then we were in the roof space....admiring a beautiful model that showed how the cathedral looked when it had it's spires. Before 1548 this building was the tallest in the world, for over 200 years......

Then the tallest spire blew down in a storm.

Our guide was so informative, dates and facts tumbled out of his mouth....but by now I really wanted to see the view from this high place.

In the end we had to hurry outside anyway, It was nearly Twelve and I think being so close to the bells would have been deafening. 

Oh, how I loved being up so high, looking out across the city, towards the horizon......

Listening to the peel of the bells from the tower still high above us.......

It wasn't scary at all....just beautiful........

Soon we headed back inside and  walked along these wooden paths in the timbered space between the ceiling and the roof..........the cathedral's attic :0)

Then out of another little door........

To gaze up at the sooty looking front of the building...........

With it's view towards the castle........

It's a shame the sun had stopped shining......but how I LOVED this view. So many pretty rooftops and so much history.........

Red roofs and trees with intensely green, new leaves...........

Perfect.

After the tour we left the cathedral for a while, stopping to gaze back up towards the place we had just been..........

Then headed down the cobbled street in search of lunch...........

The little shops were looking so pretty...........

And lunch HERE was delightful, sat among the second-hand books listening to classical music.

Afterwards, feeling refreshed, we headed back uphill for a second look at the cathedral. I loved the detailed stonework by the door.........

And the organ..........

Small details made me smile too.......like this pretty tapestry.........

In every direction the building is stunning.........
   

The high altar

St Hugh's Choir

The prayer corner

The East Window

With all it's jewel colours.........

And the green of the grassed Cloister.........

This quiet day, spent appreciating this magnificent building, was such a different sort of day for me. And one that I enjoyed immensely.

Jacquie x