Rutland Water

I was so surprised to find that I was able to post this picture that I didn't follow it up with a description! Somewhat after the fact, I'll now do just that...

Rutland is the smallest county in England, but Rutland Water is the largest man-made body of water in Europe. Rutland is located in the Midlands and happens to border on the county of my birth, Leicestershire. During my UK travels, I visited my three cousins, Ann, Gill and Judith, who still live either in Leicester itself, or in the nearby village of Stoughton. We cousins enjoyed several different outings together, often including a meal in a local pub! Ann and I managed more than a brief outing, spending a week very close to Rutland Water, at picturesque Barnsdale Hall. We were blessed with beautiful weather, so were able to get out biking several times, and in the course of our pedalling, managed to make it most of the way around Rutland Water (25 miles, some on the level and some more challenging...) and back again. The scenery was quite spectacular and it was amazing to think that many feet beneath the water lay buildings, trees, farmland and even a church, forever submerged when the land was flooded to create the reservoir which came to be known as Rutland Water, officially opened in 1976... Normanton church, located at the edge of Rutland Water, is actually only partially submerged, and houses a museum, unfortunately not open during the winter months. The church itself, however, made a very pleasant rest-stop along the way, where we were able to bask in the unexpected, but most welcome, winter sunshine....