Wicksteed Park Recieves Grant To Restore Lake

Congratulations to the award winning Wicksteed Park on being awarded a £1m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the fantastic lake that it has.

It was created between 1919 and 1921 and has got to be the biggest and best attraction that Northamptonshire has to offer!  People from all over the UK come to this fantastic Park that is about to get even better thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund's grant.

It was a childhood favourite of mine and I still visit the park to this day - in fact I was there only 2 weeks ago!

One thing a lot of people don't realise it that Wicksteed Park is actually a charity.  No 'fat cats' here, as much money as possible (after wages etc) go straight back in to the upkeep of the park which offers a large Free play area, some great short walks and if you purchase some tickets you can even get a ride on the train that goes around the lake that is going to be restored!

A great day out for all the family.  More details here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-18739909

http://www.wicksteedpark.co.uk/

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Remember, Remeber, The Fifth of November

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason,
Should ever be forgot.

Did you know that Northamptonshire has links with the infamous Gunpowder Plot?  From the 'Plot Room' to the Tresham family, Northamptonshire has lots of links.

I'm doing some research at the moment and will be posting them on this site in due course, so watch this space!

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Geddington Eleanor Cross

In Northamptonshire we have not one, but two Eleanor Crosses that are over 700 years old.

To try and stop them from being vandalised or neglected they were erected in plain site of houses and businesses alike so that the locals could keep an eye on them and report anyone up to no good.

Sadly in most cases this didn't work as over the years many have been demolished due to neglect.  To this day just three remain standing.  The best example of which is in the Village of Geddington, near Kettering.

For more information on the Eleanor Crosses (with tales of squirrels and a possible missing cross from the top) click on the link below:

http://www.aboutnorthants.com/p/eleanor-crosses.html

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New Fruit and Veg Shop In Kettering

Amongst a handful of new shops that are getting ready to open in Kettering, Northamptonshire we have a new Fruit and Veg store which is being run/opened by Palmers (as in Palmers the Butchers).

If their Butchers shop is anything to go by then we're in for a treat with their Fruit and Vegetable shop which is adjacent to their current shop in Kettering:

Palmers Butchers

It opens on the 8th of June and along with Fruit and Vegetables it will be selling Milk, Pasta, Frozen Fish/Prawns and Cold Drinks.

Peterborough-Northants Boundary Marker

Hidden away behind some singing nettles (yes I did get stung when getting close up) next to the entrance to Wothorpe Groves wood I found a boundary marker!  I've been here a few times but never noticed the marker before so was pleased to have spotted it on my last visit here.

Lern To Speak Ketrin

Have you just moved to Northamptonshire or do you know/work with someone who lives there?

Are there times when you haven’t a clue what they’re saying?

Then check out the Local Dialect page for a translation of they're saying!

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Pit Holes

 

Despite wandering around Wothorpe Groves on several occasions I never noticed the Pit Holes wood that is literally right next to it!

It looks like I'm not the only one who hasn't spotted this wood as although there is an established unsurfaced footpath running through this wood, there is also quite a large part that only the animals living in this wood have been wandering through so there is plenty of exploring to be had here.

For more woods to visit click on the VisitWoods logo below:

Thoroughsale Wood

Just around the corner (and up the road a bit) from Hazel Wood in Corby is Thoroughsale Wood.  It's right next to a housing estate and is a great place for the locals and the like to enjoy a walk around.  There are no facilities as such here but Hazel Wood is just up the road and there are toilets and a cafe at the Boating Lake.

There are some tarmac surfaced footpaths through this wood making it ideal for pushchair and wheelchair users and for those of you wishing to go off the beaten track there are some unsurfaced muddy footpaths too!

For more woods to visit click on the VisitWoods logo below:

Hazel Wood

Tresham College used to have a campus on George Street in Corby and I studied there for a year and then ended up working there for around 6 years but never realised/noticed that right behind it was a wood you could enjoy a walk around!

Hazel Wood is right on the edge of the town centre and you can either park in The Cube's car park or at or near the Boating Lake to enjoy a walk in this great little wood.

There is a very large tarmac path going through this wood and there is a cafe and toilets at the Boating Lake so there is something for everyone here.

For more woods to visit click on the VisitWoods logo below:

Midshires Covert

I woke up this morning to find that it wasn't raining (makes a change at the moment) so I grabbed my camera and headed off out to Visit Woods!...

For more woods to visit click on the VisitWoods logo below:

Chesham Roadside Monument

Every day on my way home from work I pass a monument, up until today I didn't know what it was a monument to so I decided to stop off on my way home and take a few photos:




It's a memorial to Charles Chesham (the 3rd Baron Chesham) who died whilst out hunting with the Pythchley Hounds on the 9th of Novemeber, 1907.


It's in a shocking state of repair, but as I reminded the other day, it's not surprising that it's in this state considering that in the past they knocked down the remains of the Northampton Castle to build a train station and what's left of the Eleanor Cross is also not as good as it should be with lots of the steps missing.

Newlands Shopping Centre Closed

I've just got back from trying to do some shopping in the Newlands Centre in Kettering.  Unfortunately all the doors at all the entrances are locked.  Standing outside all the entrances are bemused members of the public trying to get in and do some shopping.

After wandering around for a while I finally worked out what is going on.  It seems that a water pipe has burst so the Security team have decided to close the whole of the shopping centre.  How did I find this out? Not from the Newlands Centre itself but from a hand scrawled sign in Specsavers window.

As per normal there is no communication from the people looking after the Newlands Centre.  As they are clearly unable to write anything on a piece of paper I no longer park in the car park on a Sunday.

It is free parking on a Sunday but they do not communicate this at the entrance so you have to queue up to get in as the car in front tries to press the button for a ticket, but as it is free parking you don't need a ticket and the machine wont dispense one.  As they never put up a sign letting you know it's FREE PARKING on a Sunday and you DON'T need a ticket people keep pressing the button and wait as nothing happens as the machine wont dispense one as you don't need one!

Anyway, on peering through the windows/doors
there is no sign of any water anywhere.  Most of the shops have lights on and the doors are half open which have exposed their dry floors.

Clearly the security team don't realise that times are tough at the moment, especially for people in the Retail Industry and by closing the Newlands Centre thousands of pounds will be lost today and as a lot of staff working in the stores wont be needed I suspect people will be losing out on a days pay.

If it was one enormous pipe that had flooded the whole centre then I could understand it being closed, but there is no evidence to suggest this is the case so there is no reason why they couldn't just cordon off the affected area and allow shoppers to spend their money and keep people in business.

Will the Newlands Centre be compensating retailers?  I suspect not.

The Most Succulent Sausages in Britain

Palmers Butchers in Kettering sell/make what I personally believe are the best Sausages in Britain.  Their pork and leek sausages are simply succulent, meaty and very, very tasty!

They also sell the most amazing Black Pudding that (as any good black pudding is), is made in Scotland and simply does not compare to any you would find in a supermarket.

I would also recommend their bacon as not only is it very tasty, but unlike a lot of bacon, their bacon is thickly sliced for extra flavour.

And to top it off, they sell Corby Rolls which are basically Scottish Breakfast Rolls that are made in Corby which is also locally known as Mini Scotland.

If you treat yourself now and again to an English Breakfast then I would definitely recommend a visit to this butchers, you wont be disappointed!

Appeal Accepted - Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) Cancelled

As per my previous blog post, on Saturday (despite paying for my parking using my mobile phone) I found a Penalty Charge Notice stuck on the window of my car.

It was the first (and last) time I had parked in the St Andrew's Parade car park in Kettering.

I'm please to say that the matter has now been resolved as I have received an email saying the Penalty Charge Notice has been cancelled and they apologised for any inconvenience and stress caused.  Although the charge has been dropped and the matter is closed, I wont be returning to this car park and I certainly wont be paying using my mobile phone as I can no longer trust this payment method.

St Andrews Parade Car Park - Kettering

DO NOT PARK HERE

If you ignore my warning then BEWARE - do not use your mobile phone to purchase a parking ticket as not only will you pay an extra 45p for doing so but (if like me) you will end up with a bill for £70.

This is a relatively new car park and up until now I've always driven past it.  Yesterday I decided to park my car in it as it was pretty much empty and to be honest I can now see why...

I didn't have any change on me at the time so I was pleased to see you could sign up to Dash Parking and pay using your mobile phone.

I downloaded the free iPhone App, registered and then paid for my ticket.

Halfway through shopping I decided to drop off the couple of carrier bags I had to my car before I continued what I was doing and to my horror when I returned to my car I had a £70 parking ticket stuck on my window.

I immediately called the number on the back of the ticket to explain their mistake but I was told they only collect payments at the weekend and I would have to call back on Monday!

I have an invoice in my email and a screen-shot of the text I received confirming that I have paid for my parking yet they still gave me a ticket - it seems they may have the technology to allow you to pay by phone but they don't seem to have the technology to check it.

NOT happy, NOT impressed and will NEVER park here again or use Dash Parking ever again as £70 to park is far too expensive.

:(

**UPDATE**

I've had a response from the company involved, you can read all about it by clicking this link:

St Andrew's Parade Update