1st February 2021

UK Deaths: 406, Harborough Infected: 359. Residents in London and other parts of the UK will be offered urgent tests after more than 100 cases of the South African variant were detected.

Last night, I was idly passing the time on my laptop, searching for interesting features in the local landscape using an online Ordnance Survey mapping app that I use for plotting routes on my Active20 GPS. That’s when I stumbled upon Sulby Abbey. I thought I knew the countryside around Harborough well, but this was one building I knew absolutely nothing about. After a quick internet search, I discovered that the abbey was founded around the year 1155 for canons of the Premonstratensian Order by William de Wideville.

I became even more intrigued when I found out that Edward II, in the early 1300s, had visited the place many times and used it as a royal lodging. But my fascination truly set in when I read further and learned that Edward prevented the abbey from paying its dues to the head Abbey of Prémontré, with negotiations and threats surrounding the matter. By the 1400s, the antics of the abbots, canons, and novices, along with their punishments, read like episodes from a naughty soap opera.

The abbey was eventually dissolved in 1538, and Cromwell learned of its demise through a letter from the enforcer. The “papistical den of idle and utterly unlearned beasts at Soulbie” was broken up. I had had my eyes opened to the reality of medieval religious life, and I was determined to visit the place. And that’s what we did today.

The path from the village of Welford to the Abbey follows the River Avon, which, at this point, runs very close to its source and is typically not very substantial. However, the rains of the last couple of months have made the surrounding land boggy and ensured that the river was flowing quite full today. Wellingtons were definitely the footwear of choice.

Despite the conditions, the walk through the small, shallow valley towards the Abbey was delightful. We passed several farmhouses, seemingly tacked onto the slope just above the severe flood line, each looking like an enviable place to spend one’s twilight years. The Abbey, or what little remains of it, is now a working farm, but still impresses with its size and retains some identifiable remnants of its past.

We would have loved to have been invited in for a closer inspection, but these are not times to knock on doors and hope for a spot of kindness; COVID-19 has seen to that.

Our onward route took us over the Avon and up onto the opposite slope, bringing us above the Abbey, where we could see the considerable earthworks that constituted, among other features, ancient fishponds and a warren. Thinking that this was the last of our historical experiences for the day, we completed our walk through the saturated fields and tracks without mishap.

On our drive home, we passed by the monument to the Battle of Naseby and decided to indulge in just a little more history. I had first visited this site many years ago while fishing at the nearby Naseby Reservoir, but it was Sue’s first time. The two information boards set next to the monument described the battle lines and skirmishes, and they were heaven-sent for Sue’s thirsty mind. It was easy to imagine both sets of troops arranged across the shallow dish of land spread out in front of us, which stimulated a lengthy conversation as we tried to identify where each troop might have been positioned and whether they had so many pikemen, etc.

Sue’s U3A History group (before COVID-19) had arranged a trip to see the battlefield and associated local sites, but it had to be cancelled. Today’s impromptu visit, though brief, clawed back a little normality.

2nd February 2021: UK Deaths: 1449 Harborough Infected: 394

Sadly, the Queen led tributes to Yorkshireman Captain Sir Tom Moore, who passed away aged 100 after contracting coronavirus. He raised almost £33 million for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden and was admitted to Bedford Hospital on Sunday. He had fulfilled a lifetime ambition by jetting off to Barbados shortly before his death on Tuesday, February 2. A hero in so many ways throughout his life.

Scientists are concerned that the UK virus is mutating to acquire the same characteristics seen in the South African and Brazilian versions. This mutation changes the shape of the virus’s spike protein, responsible for gaining entry to human cells, in a way that makes it less recognisable to the body’s immune system and more resistant to the current generation of Covid vaccines.

3rd February 2021: UK Deaths: 1322 Harborough Infected: 523

The nation came together this evening at 6 pm to clap for Captain Sir Tom Moore and pay tribute to the veteran who dedicated his life to serving others. Ten million people across the UK have now had their first coronavirus jab.

4th February 2021: UK Deaths: 915 Harborough Infected: 434

After a couple of days stuck in the house, and despite the foggy weather, we decided to get out and enjoy some fresh (if not damp) air. We opted for a short, circular ramble from the hamlet of Cranoe, which included a visit to the deserted medieval village of Othorpe.

Parking by the crossroads, we took a short uphill walk through the tiny settlement, passing the 12th-century church and Manor before heading off into extremely wet and undulating fields, following the Leicestershire Round long-distance footpath towards Othorpe House. Progress was slow as our wellies became increasingly clogged with mud. Our route clung to the steep side of the escarpment, and the only signs of wildlife were rabbit holes and badger setts. The distant views were greyed out by a fluctuating, thick mist.

When we reached Othorpe House, our trail veered sharply right, steeply downhill towards the Langton Road. Unfortunately, the abandoned settlement we had come to see was across the field on the other side of a hedge, and little could be seen of its bumps and hollows through the thickening fog. We then stumbled upon a hawk skewered into the top of a freshly flailed hedge. We surmised it had misjudged its dive while hunting a rabbit from the nearby warren, the entrance to which was beneath. One of the sharpened twigs had pierced its breast, and we hoped that death had been instant. Lucky rabbit!

Leaving the fields, we followed the lane into the village of Slawston. Our route would have taken us left at the junction in the centre of the village, but, as usual, we couldn’t resist continuing through, charmed by the variety and age of the buildings. We ended up at All Saints Church, where, as we often do, we checked out the headstones. One in particular caught my attention, an epitaph to Ann Taylor (see photo, click to enlarge). I think she had a suitably macabre sense of humour, and it made for an interesting read.

As we left the village, we paused to admire the wall of a house, which had preserved its wattle and daub facing for posterity. However, it was now being burrowed into by several thousand destructive masonry bees.

Heading down Welham Lane, which, on any other day, would have offered superb views across the valley, we were instead greeted with nothing but fog. At the base of the hill, we turned right to follow a small stream, now in full flood, and found ourselves once again battling the claggy mud. We passed a large number of metal sheds, which at first seemed empty. However, after asking a passing dog walker (the only one we saw all day), we learned that they were used for pheasants, reared for the shoots.

With the fog closing in once again, we found ourselves back at the car, agreeing that the walk would be worth doing again in the summer months. According to the map, the views should be quite impressive. We’ll have to wait and see.

 

We weren’t the only ones out walking in the family today; Mia had decided to take Sarah and Alice to meet a friend in Martinshaw Woods, to the north of the county. It seems there has been quite a bit of rain there, too!

5th February 2021: UK Deaths: 1014, Harborough Infections: 426.

Today, Charlotte dropped by with some more ‘lockdown’ jigsaws for Sue to tackle, and Sarah, Lee, and Alice spent the day digging at the allotment, preparing the ground for spring planting. Jamie’s business, Binary Destroyer, received a glowing independent market review, describing it as ‘The Best-Tested, Forex Indicator of 2021’.

With a return to wintry conditions and more snow forecast for the weekend, I dug out the chainsaw and added to the log pile.

6th February 2021: UK Deaths: 828, Harborough Infected: 364.

Scotland deservedly beat England 11:6 to take the Calcutta Cup and ended a 38-year wait for a win at Twickenham.

7th February 2021: UK Deaths: 373m, Harborough Infected: 364. The number of people to receive the first dose of the vaccine has passed 12 million.