Business and pleasure

The M1 is seldom pleasurable. Smart motorways are not smart. Well not on first impressions, perhaps we are missing something. Early morning expeditions in the van to visit new manufacturers do hold some excitement and we only have ourselves to blame for the hour of  the day. It's not like anyone else arranged it!

Early one morning just as the sun was rising

However one thing has improved travel in this country, maybe two, M&S at service stations and the Toby carvery breakfast. Neither company have paid for inclusion in this post. That done it was time for meeting manufacturers. It is safe to say this is always exciting and as we grow it becomes even more so. We remain committed to pursuing UK manufacturing where possible and these day trips are vital in building relationships. 

All done in good time and it was time to explore a path less travelled by the duck.

Preaching to the converted.

A short excursion from town the van found itself in a field of sheep and at the beginning of the deliberately hastily planned Garmin route! The plan for the afternoon was to navigate around Rutland water near Peterborough, so essentially Garmins accuracy wasn't absolutely essential and after it tried to throw us down a bridal path at literally the first turn the course was swiftly ceased and gut feeling replaced electronics and satellites.

The church at Lyndon. If these walls could talk. The font itself is from the 12th century.

Rutland is a county in it's own right, I have only very recently learned this, with Rutland water at its centre. Sandwiched between Peterborough and Leicester and home to beautiful villages and a healthy population of buzzards and kites it provides an ideal loop that isn't overly flat and swings in and out of big main roads and little hamlets touching the shore at points and providing the occasional epic down hill and uphill. There are also ice cream vendors of high regard nestling in the cafes on the shoreline. That coupled with the aforementioned Toby Carvery and a mild breeze did have a cumulative affect on scribes average speed but I didn't see anyone racing...

Rutland water. Worth the time.

Another day and some more steps forward, rolling stones and all. Back onto the A14 and the M11 draws us back home. It's nice to get off the motorway where possible, even if you are a bit later home...