View down the river Trent towards the old warehouses and wharves

River trip anyone? Newark’s old Wool Exchange building is in the background

Redeveloped warehouses – now homes and offices

Newark Castle ruins overlooking the River Trent

Newark Castle and the seven arched Trent Bridge

Castle Barge floating pub and coffee house

Newark castle overlooking the river Trent

Newark Castle ruins

Newark Castle on the River Trent

Chained up

River reflections

The old lock

Newark Castle ruins from the River Trent

This last weekend involved a birthday celebration with most of the family home.  We had a wonderful time; I appreciate these get togethers even though they take a bit of organising to fit into everyone’s diary.

Our younger daughter has an incredibly busy life, and this time she had to scoot off on Sunday, catching a train up to Leeds for a bridesmaid dress fitting before taking the evening train back down to London.

Whilst driving to the birthday boy’s chosen restaurant on Saturday evening, we saw that there was a 10k run scheduled for Sunday which involved numerous road closures in our small capital, Lincoln. So, Sunday lunchtime found me speeding along nicely with zero hitches bar a few “Sunday drivers” on the country roads towards Newark instead of Lincoln.

Would you believe it?  Three miles from Newark station we ground to a halt, behind queues of traffic, with no alternative route possible.  With 20 minutes to spare we prayed a little.  And swore a lot.

We made it to the station just in time for her to dive in and retrieve her pre-paid tickets from the machine, whilst I hauled the backpack from the car boot.  Thankfully, the train left from platform 1.  It was a close call.

I drove away feeling a bit stressed, very relieved, and also a little sad that my daughter had gone.  And so quickly.  Coffee was obviously needed.

Once seated by the river with a drink in the warm spring sunshine I soon recovered.  And found myself considering how industry past and present had artfully melded with new residential developments all along this picturesque riverside.  The need to explore kicked in.  Armed with my camera, I spent the entire afternoon outdoors.  I walked for miles, took far too many photos, dangled my legs off wharves trying to get the best shot, and almost toppled into the chilly river Trent a time or two.  Newark has a lot to offer visitors; it’s one of my favourite towns with a wealth of history to discover and enjoy.

More precious weekend memories banked.

All photographs © Suzy Barker 2016 and they may not be used elsewhere