Shireoakes

On Sunday morning, hubby and I took ourselves off to discover Shireoakes in North Nottinghamshire, just a 15 minute drive away from home. We had never been to Shireoakes before we did the Cuckoo Way that Deb had recommended on her blog and we had been surprised how really lovely it was. We had driven past the end of the road to Shireoakes many times, but had never had reason to visit. We decided to start at Nona's for one of her lovely breakfasts. Nona's is a wonderful little cafe. If you live nearby make sure you visit soon as she is moving further down the canal in June. The inside of this tiny cafe is like your granny's kitchen and so cosy. Nona makes all her own cakes and scones etc and serves delicious coffee. When I took my mum and sister a few weeks ago, my sister mentioned how me and her used to fight over the mixing bowl when mum made cakes. Nona gave us the bowl to lick clean - its that kind of a place. Nona and her mum are sooooooo friendly. This time we walked from Shireoakes to Worksop. On the way, you pass Shireoakes Marina where they are building a replica of one of the barges that would have worked on the Chesterfield Canal.

We crossed over one of the pretty little bridges - this is the one in the suburb of Worksop called Rhodesia.

As you approach Worksop, the houses on the canal side get bigger and have lovely gardens down to the water.

I couldn't resist this shot - so cute.

Back in Shireoakes we decided to have a good look around the small village. St Lukes Church is very pretty.

I always thought Shireoakes was just another pit village (the colliery, like many in the are is now long gone). We wandered around the common area and found Shireoakes Hall . Such a shame that it is ruin, I thought this place looked quite french.

In front of the hall is an old barn that has been turned into a pub, and a couple of fishing lakes, which were very popular on this very sunny Sunday.

Somewhere else discovered on my doorstep.