Nottingham - Holme
Pierrepont
w/e 22 February
2004
Holme Pierrepont
on the eastern outskirts of Nottingham is home to the National
Water Sports Centre where water from the River Trent surges through
a man made slalom course.
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On the bank
the wind whipped across the site and the February temperature
was to say the least, on the low side. The water must have been
icy but that did not deter the sportsmen and women from travelling
down the course time after time. Rather them than me!
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The temperature
was the same but it was a much calmer scene by the adjacent River
Trent where many water fowl, among them these two geese, were
scavenging for food.
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A grassy bank provided some
protection from the wind and daffodils were coming into flower
in some of the sheltered spots overlooking the 2000 metre regatta
lake.
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Local boy Allan Sillitoe was
born in Lenton, Nottingham in 1928 and wrote the Hawthornden
Prize award winning novel "The Loneliness of the Long Distance
Runner" in 1959. Had he been writing the book today, he
may have been tempted to change the title to "The Loneliness
of the Long Distance Rower" if he had seen this solitary
oarsman at the British Olympic Association accredited centre.
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Adbolton Lane beyond the Sports
Centre is part of the long distance path called the Trent Valley
Way and, if followed eastwards, leads to a cluster of buildings
at the end of a drive. This is the entrance to Holme Pierrepont
Hall and St Edmond's Church.
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St Edmond's Church retains some
features of the original thirteenth century building but as the
door was locked I was unable to gain access. The exterior dates
mainly from the nineteenth century and plaques on the pillars
of the lych gate commemorate the fallen in the World Wars.
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Next to the church is Holme
Pierrepont Hall seen here with yellow and white crocuses pushing
through the grass at the side of the drive. The Hall has been
in the hands of the Pierrepont family since 1284. Dating from
the early sixteenth century the present building is renowned
as being one of the best examples of a brick built house in the
county of Nottinghamshire.
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