We've been enjoying a second week in England, catching up with family. Actually, that's not strictly accurate. I've been enjoying a second week. Nigel is into his fourth week.

What have we noticed? Well, bacon, Brie, and cranberry sandwiches seem to have taken off. No bad thing.

And gin is in. So many gins where there used to be just a couple...

It's spring, and the countryside is gorgeous with blossom and wild flowers. The horse chestnuts are veritable candelabras. And the hawthorne blossom is particularly spectacular. We've driven along roads where it coats the trees like snow.



We've enjoyed our favourite walks around picturesque Newark.



And we've had a few grand days out.

From Newark, you can easily get to Lincoln. You can start at Churchills, and have Lincolnshire sausages, which come with delicious mash and a perfect amount of gravy. You can walk the steep, pretty streets, using an ad hoc mixture of historical town trails to take you past venerable old buildings that you've never seen before despite multiple previous visits. You can buy Lincoln fudge and Lincoln micro-brewery beer. And you can do a pleasant boat trip on the Fossdyke canal, taking in great views of the cathedral on the skyline, and letting the wildly dichotomous array of water-craft fire up your water-borne ambitions all over again.

















Alternatively, you can head for the Regency gem of Leamington Spa. Here you must try the Cafe Rouge's fantastic almond croissants, before you set off to pace the elegant streets. Just a few miles away is the pretty village of Offchurch, which boasts The Stag (now my preferred source for Omelette Arnold Bennett and Bakewell tart) and an adorably wonky church with laudable ambitions to make its churchyard an environmental sanctuary.











And you can return to Skegness. Where you can breathe lots of bracing sea air, and mark the passing hours, hobbit-like, with toasted teacakes (second breakfast), a traditional roast (lunch), and raspberry ripple ice-cream (afternoon snack). (This menu assumes you've just been to Whitby, and have already done the seafood thing.) The weekday demographic is elderly. There are countless "OAP specials" ("roast-plus-trifle"), and I've never seen quite such a density of mobility scooters. And why not indeed? There are much worse places to grown old in. You can walk the shopping streets, and note the amusements on offer (bingo and slot machines you expect, lap-dancing maybe not so much...) If you button down your sou'wester, you might want to tackle the pier and the promenade. Since I was last here, a forest of wind turbines has sprouted in the brown, choppy water, turning valiantly in the brisk and chilly wind.





I really like this part of England, and am very happy to still have some roots here.