Today’s expedition south from our northern base is to Lincolnshire in the East Midlands. To be technically precise Burghley House is in Cambridgeshire, but it is so close to the ancient town of Stamford just across the county boundary that it is usually considered to be in Lincolnshire, and that is its postal address.

Burghley House is an outstanding legacy of William Cecil from the sixteenth century, standing in splendid parkland laid out by Capability Brown which provides the setting for the annual Burghley Horse Trials, a major event in the British Eventing calendar which had its 50th anniversary in 2011.

The house and parkland open to visitors, and even when the house itself is closed the park, and also the tea rooms, are often open. Lunch in the Orangery is to be highly recommended, or even a snack on the terrace. Check the Burghley House web site for details of opening times and for historical information going back to the first Elizabethan times. Owned and managed now by the Burghley House Preservation Trust it is still home to descendants of the 6th Marquess of Exeter.

Accommodation convenient for Burghley House

Hotels near Burghley and Stamford

More Guest House and Bed & Breakfast accommodation options (coming shortly)

Or possibly you would prefer an holiday cottage in the south Lincolnshire or north Cambridgeshire area.

This morning my wife and I went for a short walk around the Coot Lake and Whisby Nature Park near Lincoln.  We had a clear blue sky and beautiful light  At Whisby even when the leaves have gone there is a wonderful variety of colour in the browns and golds of the trees, and this morning the water was reflecting the pure blue of the sky.

I’ll not attempt a detailed account of the Whisby Nature Park just now.  That may come later, but here are three photographs.  I only had my old Panasonic DMC-FZ1 camera with me, and the pics are a little grainy, but they do illustrate how, even without hills as backcloth to the water, such small lakes can still provide a beautiful relaxing country atmosphere. Nature reserves of this kind not only are good for wildlife but provide marvellous gentle recreational facilities, easily accessible to people in nearby towns and cities.

Thorpe Lake, looking west from near the Natural World Centre

Grebe Lake looking east from near the bird-watching hide

Coot Lake looking east from the Western end

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