Little tootles

When we have nothing planned, we often go out for what we call ‘little tootles’ – in other words we go for a little drive, just locally, visiting places we see signs to when we are going elsewhere.  These are nearly always very small places, tiny villages, hamlets, sometimes so few houses/farms that we have been through them before we knew we were there. If there is anything at all of interest we usually stop, old buildings, a church, a tumble of ruin, a river or stream to walk beside – and best of all, a tea-shop. We are particularly drawn to places with unusual names, although sometimes there’s nothing very unusual (read, interesting) about them. One of the most amusing signposts we’ve ever seen, and it makes us chuckle ever time we pass, is one of those which has “To…” just in case you didn’t realise it was pointing in the direction of somewhere. This particular one says: “To Mavis Enderby & Old Bolinbroke”  and beneath it some wit has written “… a son“.

Mavis Enderby is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies in the Lincolnshire Wolds, 4.5 miles east from Horncastle.
Bolingbroke, now called Old Bolingbroke, is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Its present boundaries were formed by the amalgamation of the Parishes of Bolingbroke and Hareby in 1739. The population at the 2011 census was 325.

We have never tootles to either of these tiny villages, maybe we should one day. One place we’ve often seen signposted as we are on our way to elsewhere is Gravity. For a while we thought it was an advertisement for a business, and then we wondered if it was a new housing development, and then we wondered if it might be something else. The other day we tootled off to Gravity, and after trailing around following signs which seemed to lead nowhere, we came across some newly built roads, some temporary looking low level buildings, a lot of muddy vehicle tracks and this apparently was Gravity. Was it going to be a retail park? Or had we been right that it might be a future housing development?

Less than a fortnight after our visit to Gravity, there was a news item on our regional BBC programme about it. Unfortunately I missed most of what was said, but this is what Wikipedia tells:

As of 2021, a 616 acres  commercial development campus named Gravity, targeting the low-carbon economy, is planned for the former ROF (Royal Ordinance Factory) Bridgwater site 3½ miles  north of Bridgwater.

So whatever it is, it’s going to be amazing, and if I find out any more – which no doubt I will as the project develops, then I will report back.