A Weekend in Stamford

Hi everyone 😊

We are not long back from a lovely weekend away in the pretty little town of Stamford in Lincolnshire, where we met up with my old work friends for our annual catch up.

If you’ve never been, it’s well worth a visit – full of character, charm, lots of independent shops, a bustling market and plenty of lively al fresco places to stop for a breather and a bit of people watching.

We didn’t have lots of plans, just a couple of nights away with plenty of opportunities for catching up on the news, enjoying some good food and company and for making the most of the sunshine.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, following our visit to Barnsdale Gardens on the way. We were staying at the Riverside Apartments, which ended up being fabulous. Our apartment was smack bang on the side of the river and just a short walk from the centre of town. The only drawback was there not being anywhere convenient for unloading, but we soon got sorted and were settled in … with a view to die for …

We met up with the rest of ‘the gang’ at Wetherspoons, for a quick drink before heading to Paten & Co for dinner, and very nice it was too …

We then found a good spot in the sunshine outside of The Golden Fleece on the square for another quick drink before heading back for an early night with plans for a full day of exploring on the Saturday.

We met up mid morning, back on the square … by ‘the spike’, as we were calling it, and we found a lovely spot in the shade to wait for the others. We really could have been in a coastal village in The Med …

We started with a wander into the town centre for the market – and what a treat! Stalls full of fresh local produce, plants, handmade gifts, and the usual bits and bobs. We all came away with a few bits and pieces.

We spent the day strolling through the streets, dipping in and out of the independent shops, some very nice more well known brands and charity shops … and a few hostelries for rehydration stops … it was very, very hot …

It really is a lovely little town, right by the river, a very cosmopolitan feel, beautiful old stone buildings and lots of little side alleys and ginnels.

Everyone came to us to eat on Saturday night … curry with all the trimmings … and it was so nice to he within walking distance.

On Saturday we had a bit of a slower start. We let the others have another wander round town and visit the ‘cheese shop’, before finding ourselves another nice spot in the sunshine …

We then opted for a bit of a walk across the meadow and by the river …

… before declaring it too hot and heading into the very welcome air conditioning of Wetherspoons for lunch.

We ate together again on Saturday night … this time it was a chilli night and our turn to walk to where the others were staying … 

We had a lovely evening and were even treated to a spitfire fly past … on its way to the Battle Proms at Burghley Park.

On our walk back Martin and I also got treated to the end of night fireworks in the distance …

Sunday morning and we were up bright and early for packing up and heading off. Loading up was a lot easier on a quiet Sunday morning and we were soon on our way … off to Burghley Park … we really did squeeze every drop out of our weekend 😀

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