Today we headed to England’s smallest county for a cycle trip around the lake. It was warmer but overcast so still great riding weather. This time our hire bikes were from a new range of the Specialised brand and in excellent condition. What a difference!

We set off in an anticlockwise direction first of all passing the Normanton church which is built out into the lake. There was a whole bunch of guys working on grounds around the church doing weeding and planting who are park volunteers. They seemed mostly to be retirees just like at the Paddlewick Pumphouse. Great to have a project for people to be enthusiastic about.
The day was a bit grey so the lake didn’t look its best but was still very pretty and actually quite big. We got a map when we set out and our devices confirmed the distance as about 37km.

There were 2 different yacht clubs that we could see and there were hundreds of boats between them. On a busy weekend there would be potential for mayhem on the water. As it was there were a few yachts up on foils and really moving as well as some windsurfers.

There was a corporate charity event happening at one boat club. It seemed like it was an annual raft race. Everyone ended up in the water at some stage but some of the rafts actually got back to shore before capsizing!

There were some very grand looking new and old homes quite close to the lake with great views.

About three quarters of the way around we stopped at this pub in Egleton for a half of lager and some crisps. Nothing like beer and chips for breakfast 🤪

We noticed there seemed to be a rather large number of families all picnicking and having fun for a Wednesday and eventually realised it was the Muslim holiday of Eid which was being celebrated in the UK. We joined them with our picnic under a tree.

After returning to Nottingham we regrouped for a pre-dinner gin liqueur (again purchased at Bolsover Castle) and then we headed out to the Vat and Fiddle pub for dinner. Fiona and I both love the irony.

We didn’t get to eat there because their kitchen wasn’t open. So we went to the Canal pub, whose kitchen was closed, as was the next option (it was 8pm) so we headed into town and had a very nice meal at a little French restaurant. It was a bit rainy on the way back but still a nice temperature. Again I was taken with the range of architecture which looked very cool all lit up.