A Day at Rutland Water in Rutland, England and Lunch at The Wheatsheaf

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In the middle of September, I visited Rutland Water in England's smallest county (Rutland). I previously posted about Oakham and Oakham Castle, which I visited the day before. The day was a pleasant one, and it was not too hot nor too cold. It was also dry, so I got to enjoy the scenery and take a couple of short walks to other attractions. Rutland Water is only a new addition to the country; it is a man-made resevoir that was created by damming a valley. The resevoir opened in 1976 to supply water for cities such as Peterborough and Milton Keynes. It is also used for a variety of water sports and bird watching. It has something for everyone. After visiting Rutland Water, we went to nearby village Greetham and had lunch at a pub called The Wheatsheaf. Below are my photographs of Rutland Water.

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Our first visit was to Sykes Lane car parking, the location of the main tourist information centre and a museum dedicated to bugs. A marathon was due to begin when we arrived, so it was busy here as we watched the beginning of the marathon. Also at this location is The Great Tower sculpture by Alexander, which is made of bronze. It is the largest bronze sculpture ever cast and fits well into the surroundings.

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We decided to take a little walk toward Whitwell, where the river boat tours disembark from. On the way, we took in beautiful views and saw an old plane fly overhead. There were also a few sheep roaming here, and many families were out walking their dogs. We saw some rowers and fishermen too.

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After having the short walk, we decided to drive to Normanton to see Normanton Church, which is the icon of Rutland Water. It was only a short walk from where we parked, and we saw wonderful views of the church. I took so many photographs. Normanton was partially submerged when the valley was flooded, but they wanted to save the church from flooding. To save it, a wall was constructed around it.

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A wedding was taking place inside.

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While we were walking back to the car, I noticed these beautiful and colourful row of sailboats in the water. They were from the sailing club nearby.

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After the visit to the church, we walked back to the car and drove to Whitwell so that we could board the Rutland Belle for a tour of Rutland Water. We were told a history of the water and the area around it.

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The concrete tower in the middle of Rutland Water is used to monitor the water and, in particular, the amount of oxygen in the water. If the oxygen is low, it pumps more into the water. The oxygen outlets are located in various areas around the tower. These areas are popular with fishermen as I suppose the air attracts the fish.

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We also sailed over to Normanton Church, and I got some more photographs from a different angle.

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The sailboats were out in full force. They offer training programmes for young adults and children and special boats for people with special needs.

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We explored a couple of the villages as well, but our next stop was to get Sunday lunch before driving back to London. We went to The Wheatsheaf pub in Greetham, just north of Rutland Water. The pub has a little duck pond with quite a few ducks quacking away.

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We were given onion bread to start, and this was served with dip. I had most of mine with my soup.

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I had sweetcorn soup, which tasted delicious.

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Next up were the mains. I opted for the vegetarian dish, which was a pasta and goat's cheese with squash. This tasted very good and was full of flavour.

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The bloke had pork belly with all of the Sunday roast trimmings, including vegetables which were not pictured.

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For dessert, I had the salted caramel brownie with vanilla ice cream. This tasted very good, but it was a little bit too rich for me. I could not finish it.

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The bloke had a selection of ice creams.

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Overall, we had a lovely time at Rutland Water. Have you ever been, or would you recommend anything in particular?

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