Today's County in the spotlight

This is the place for posts that don't fit into any other category.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
User avatar
mickthemaverick
Donor 2024
Posts: 13520
Joined: 11 May 2019, 17:56
Location: Hertford
My Cars: 70+ former cars (list available) including 11 Citroens, 3 Renaults
Current cars: 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SEn, 1994 Mazda MX3
x 6010

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

BFTW
BFTW
MOUNT STUART HOUSE
This is Britain’s most astounding Victorian gothic mansion. Home to the Stuarts of Bute, descendants of the Royal House of Stuart, this magnificent house sits proudly on the Isle of Bute – ancient stronghold of Scottish kings. Although it feels as if you have escaped to a wild and wonderful kingdom, this award-winning historical attraction lies just an hour away from Glasgow. The flamboyant house and its 300 acres of gardens reflect the artistic, religious and astrological interests of the 3rd Marquess of Bute. Although still a family home, they provide a spectacular private venue for luxury weddings, exclusive parties and corporate events. Mount Stuart is a shining example of the grand domestic architecture that came out of Britain’s 19th Century Gothic Revival. It stands, cathedral-like, as a monument to an obsession with the medieval past.


Much more to see on Bute
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

There's not many as you may expect, but enough I reckon round Buteshire to keep you going. You could always plug into your B&B', or campsite hook up if you were desperate.
zapmap  Bute
zapmap Bute
REgards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Something for the motorist to do in Rothesay.

You will have heard of Lombard Street in San Francisco.

It has a rival Serpentine Road in Rothesay.

It goes much higher with more twists and turns above the "open" grassy bit.

This video is quite good as it precedes the serpentine road bit with a visit to the toilets mentioned previously in moving pictures.



Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: 07 May 2022, 10:36 I am exceedingly surprised. Given its sparsity of population I didnt think the historic county of Buteshire would have its own registration area code but it does, and from 1903 to 1974 it was

SJ
TRacked down an SJ on a bus. slightly out of time for a pure Bute registration (76 as opposed to 74).

NSJ15R Western Scottish S598 Rothesay
Western SMT buses based at Rothesay on the Isle of carried Bute Western Scottish fleetnames and an "R" prefix to the fleetnumber at the time of my visit on 7 July 1984. This bus is a Seddon Pennine 7 with Alexander Y-type bodywork new in 1976.

https://flic.kr/p/2hTwFnv


REgards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: 06 May 2022, 23:29
____________Buteshire Done!_____43 done 49 to go________

There are 92 historic counties in England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland, each is having a mere day-ish in the spotlight selected at random.

Our 43 numbers selected so far have been
2,3,4,5,7,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,18.19,20,22,24,28,31,34,44,48,51,52,54,59,61,65,66,68,69,70,72,73,75,78,79,81,82,84,86,89

______________________________________________________________________
Here's the pool
Spoiler: show
Image
Here's the random tool https://www.random.org/
Random Number is 74
County is Rutland
England's smallest when it was a traditional county now consumed by its former neighbours!

Still gets resurrected for its day-ish 24 hours in the FCF spotlight


Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Rutland: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

TOH for me Rutland Weekend Television, and Rutland Water.
Wikishire has this on it
https://wikishire.co.uk/wiki/Rutland
Rutland is the smallest county in England, and the fourth smallest in the U.K. as a whole. A familiar motto is that adopted by Rutland County Council in 1950; Multum In Parvo or "much in little".[1] Rutland's length north to south is 18 miles at its longest, and its breadth east to west 17 miles.

The only towns in Rutland are Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham. The shire is marked by numerous pretty villages characterised by cottages of limestone and ironstone, with roofs thatched or of Collyweston stone slate.
Again a bit of a challenge...but I'm sure we can come up with something.

Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
mickthemaverick
Donor 2024
Posts: 13520
Joined: 11 May 2019, 17:56
Location: Hertford
My Cars: 70+ former cars (list available) including 11 Citroens, 3 Renaults
Current cars: 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SEn, 1994 Mazda MX3
x 6010

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

A lucky flag:
BFTW
BFTW
More information here

And the location:
BFTW
BFTW
And some places to see:
BFTW
BFTW
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
User avatar
mickthemaverick
Donor 2024
Posts: 13520
Joined: 11 May 2019, 17:56
Location: Hertford
My Cars: 70+ former cars (list available) including 11 Citroens, 3 Renaults
Current cars: 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SEn, 1994 Mazda MX3
x 6010

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

I've had two visits to Rutland, the first was to visit the Butterfly house at Rutland Water
BFTW
BFTW
Contact and address details here.[/b]

and the second to meet some friends for lunch at The Wheatsheaf in Oakham:
BFTW
BFTW
All the info here.
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Its good that Rutland has got off to a start, thanks Mick. I think I have been through it maybe just a ceremonial stop at a boundary sign sometime in the 1960's.

Some barrel-scraping may be required to keep it going for a decent day-ish in the spotlight.

Starting off with Cary's itinerary of the road, and its mentions of Oakham
temp3.png
geograph-1837655-by-Michael-Trolove.jpg
geograph-1837655-by-Michael-Trolove.jpg
Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Alan Murray-Rust has a gallery on geograph about the Oakham Canal
https://www.geograph.org.uk/snippet/10764
Opened in 1802 as an extension to the Melton Navigation on the River Wreake between Syston and Melton Mowbray, it had a relatively short life. It was never a financial success and was purchased in 1847 by the Midland Railway to enable their new railway line between Syston and Peterborough to built. Closure was immediate as the railway crosses its course several times. The remains of the canal are visible at a number of places along its length, with a few locations still retaining water, but even apart from places where the railway was built over it, considerable sections have been lost to agriculture. A society now exists to develop leisure activities based on the two navigations, with the aim of reopening the Melton Navigation.
geograph-3911462-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg
geograph-3911462-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg
Regards Neil



Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
mickthemaverick
Donor 2024
Posts: 13520
Joined: 11 May 2019, 17:56
Location: Hertford
My Cars: 70+ former cars (list available) including 11 Citroens, 3 Renaults
Current cars: 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SEn, 1994 Mazda MX3
x 6010

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

I had forgotten my third trip to Rutland, which is ironic since I posted about it at the time: :-D

viewtopic.php?p=664443&hilit=rutland#p664443
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

temp3.png
Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 08 May 2022, 10:38 I had forgotten my third trip to Rutland, which is ironic since I posted about it at the time: :-D

viewtopic.php?p=664443&hilit=rutland#p664443
geograph-227788-by-Richard-Thomas.jpg
NewcastleFalcon wrote: 12 Oct 2019, 20:13 It is quite a phenomenal structure.

In March 1876, the first brick was laid and the first arch was completed in June 1877 and all 82 arches were constructed within 13 months. On 5 July 1878, Lieutenant Colonel Tryon keyed the final arch in a ceremony to mark the viaduct's completion.

Imagine the time it would take now to complete such a project....there would be 10 years of preliminary ramblings for a start before a brick was laid. Imagine specifying in the contract that the bricks would have to be all fired on site and made from local clay!

The answer to your poser is Northamptonshire and Rutland, and the viaduct according to wiki has various names which if cobbled together would make a decent name for a Law firm

Welland Harringworth and Seaton!

REgards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
Paul-R
Donor 2023
Posts: 6916
Joined: 07 May 2009, 16:24
Location: Wirral, NW England; Vaucluse 84, France
Lexia Available: Yes
My Cars: 2015 1.6 Blue HDi 120 Peugeot 308 Active SW
2013 2.0 HDi 163 C5 Exclusive Tourer
2003 2.0 HDi 110 C5 Exclusive Estate (Gone)
2001 2.0 HDi 90 Xsara Estate (Gone)
x 1369

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by Paul-R »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: 07 May 2022, 23:41
Random Number is 74
County is Rutland
England's smallest when it was a traditional county now consumed by its former neighbours!

Still gets resurrected for its day-ish 24 hours in the FCF spotlight

Regards Neil
After the county reorganisation in the early 70s for sure but I thought it was resurrected in its own right a few years ago.
As I get older I think a lot about the hereafter - I go into a room and then wonder what I'm here after.

Inside every old person is a young person wondering what the hell happened.

"Trying is the first step towards failure" ~ Homer J Simpson​
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24561
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Paul-R wrote: 08 May 2022, 11:02After the county reorganisation in the early 70s for sure but I thought it was resurrected in its own right a few years ago.
Didnt know that but quite right the current unitary authority was established in 1997 :-D So some decent border signs surely still to be found!

https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-council/h ... 568e1a80f3

Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
Post Reply