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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