Bletchley Park – 10th Jan 2011

Bletchley Park, also known as Station X, is an estate located in the small town of Bletchley, now incorporated within the boundaries of Milton Keynes. During WWII, this was the site of the UK main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School.  Ciphers and codes of several countries were decrypted here, most importantly those generated by the German Enigma machines.  

Main house: The Park is now a museum run by the Bletchley Park Trust and is open to public. The main manor house is also available for functions.

 Bombe rebuild project:  A faithful reconstruction of the machine that made breaking large numbers of Enigma messages possible on a regular basis.

 

 Bletchley Park Post Office:  tell the story of Bletchley Park using postage stamps and original artwork.

Colossus Rebuild project: an authentic rebuild of the world’s first semi-programmable computer

Xmas day out in London - Dec 2010

Piccadilly to pick up some Theatre tickets 

The Christmas decorations of Fortnum and Mason 

A walk around the Palace 

A very strange changing of the guards

Christmas in Covent Garden

Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych

 

Christmas Time 2010

A cold one this year, even the river running by our flat in Bedford froze over as you can see the Swans and ducks had to use a pond sized area for swimming in.

Xmas eve: An evening at Dan’s parents with a meal cooked by Dan and assisted by myself J  We had started with Cooked Camembert with Cranberry Jelly, followed by a mains of coq au van and dauphinoise potatoes. We never made it as far as desert  

Xmas day: A lovely day at John and Sue’s started with the many presents to open

The Christmas parcels from my parents

 Dan attempts to open the Buck’s fizz

Litton Mill in Miller’s Dale - Dec 2010

A ground floor apartment in an historic converted mill, in a delightful rural position in the hamlet of Litton Mill in Miller's Dale, in the Peak District National Park, three miles from Tideswell – and when they say rural they mean in the middle of nowhere.  

Reception area for Mill flats 

 

Mill Apartment features an open plan living area with a well-equipped kitchen, a lovely large sitting area and a dining area, as well as a quiet hall, ideal for enjoying a spot of reading. There are two bedrooms, both with en-suite facilities. All main rooms in this charming Peak District self catering apartment take in the river view.

Amazing messaging showers took a bit of getting used too

Big bedrooms with views of the river below bathroom in each room

Huge living space with open plan living room and kitchen, room for small army to stay

The property and surrounding buildings retain much original character, including the old mill wheel, now part of the landscaped gardens overlooking the river. With its central position in the heart of the Peak District National Park, it made for stunning views, however when covered in snow it was a pain to get in and out of the heart of the Peak district. Maybe better in the warm summer sun. 

The single road to mill in the snow

View along the river

The views of the Peak district in the winter snow: