If Oxford is the city of dreaming-spires then this part of Lincolnshire is its rural equivalent. Elegant church spires of great height, stretch gracefully up into the sky, their tops disappearing into oblivion. It seems that they aim to puncture with pin point precision that vast encasing dome and thereby let limitless space flood in.
In contrast many villages have a squat Norman tower around which Georgian houses nestle making them picturesque locations for filming the rural scenes in 18th and 19th century dramas adapted from novels by Jane Austen, George Elliot or Thomas Hardy. Indeed, Stamford was chosen by the BBC to represent Meriton in its famous adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
The sky is vast in this part of the world and the flat furrowed land, stretching as far as they eye can see, is the habitat of lone crows. The Stamford visit was a success and, as we motored back to our holiday home the vista before us was dreamlike. High wispy clouds turned to rosy pink, the light faded in streaks of turquoise across the horizon and the day ended slowly and peacefully.
