For those that were worried (humour me), I can confirm that I am in fact not dead, I've just been slightly M.I.A for a while. Not to worry, I'm back now and far more inclined to actually post thanks to my shiny new iMac (a slightly impulsive and extravagant purchase but motivational nonetheless).
On Sunday, we took my new camera for its first real outing as I've been bugging Adam for weeks to take me somewhere worth photographing. I'm not from this county originally and struggle to make my way into the centre of town, let alone discover points of interest.
We ended up at the ruins of the derelict 'Nettleham Hall', situated about 15 minutes from where we live. I can't believe I have lived here this long without realising such a fantastic place existed just down the road. From what I can figure out from Google and Adam's Grandad, the hall itself was the seat of power for the Hood family; more notably John Hood who accompanied General Monk from Scotland in 1660 in attempting to restore Charles II to power. Reports are vague but the hall was 'mysteriously' destroyed by fire in 1937.
I'm not going to lie, it is quite possibly the eeriest place you could ever wish to visit. Smack bang in the heart of dense, silent woodland and overgrown by vines - I can think of nothing worse than visiting at night. Just before the hall itself, is a little groundsman's cottage. You can still make out some of the wallpaper detail in the front room and the remnants of a kitchen. I'd give anything to see photos of what it used to like but alas, it appears no real photos survived.
Not too much exists of the hall itself except the main wall structure, archways, some plaster detail and the cellars. The whole thing has a sort of creepy 'Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider' feel.
I discovered online that it is quite the hotspot for enthusiasts of derelict places (yes there is such a phenomenon) and that many visitors have been chased away by a particularly aggressive farmer. Luckily, we didn't experience that pleasure.
We've toyed with the idea of visiting the abandoned Nocton Hall next but something about visiting a derelict RAF hospital makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. After all, those kinds of excursions never end well in horror films. Watch this space; you never know how persuasive Adam can be.
Now I'm off to catch up on all of your blogs to see how you've all been getting on. I guess we'll see if this storm materialises that everyone has been banging on about. My personal guess is that it won't touch us up here. Damn the sensationalised weather reporting in this country.
