NIGHT TIME TOURS Exploring

Night Time Tours

Things are going bump in the night in Stamford, as its town guides once again offer their twilight tours of the Georgian streets. And new this year is the chance to enjoy a spooky twilight tour of Oakham, too!

STAMFORD & RUTLAND BY NIGHT

A TWILIGHT TOUR AROUND STAMFORD WITH NICOLA SANDALL

When the nights draw in and twilight descends, Stamford takes on a look and feel of its own... and who better to guide you around Stamford at night – especially as Halloween approaches – than Nicola Sandall, Jill Collinge the rest of the town’s blue badge guides...

AS THE NIGHTS DRAW IN and Halloween approaches, Nicola Sandall and her colleagues are putting on a thick jumper, a decent pair of walking boots and perhaps a pair of gloves. They’re gearing up to celebrate the third season offering walking tours through Stamford, albeit walking tours with a difference... after dusk!

“Stamford really is a fantastic town in which to live,” says Nicola. “I was born in the town and after leaving for drama school 20 years ago, I soon found myself missing the place and wishing I was back, so I returned and began working in theatre in the town!” “One of the best things about living in Stamford is that just when you think you know it, inside out, it can still offer up a surprise, or a story, or an interesting historical footnote.”

Of course, if you really want the inside story on Stamford, the person to talk to is Jill Collinge. For over 30 years, Jill has served as the Blue Badge guide to Stamford, offering knowledgable tours that uncover all of its history, and offer even seasoned Stamfordians the chance to learn something new about the place. “Jill is incredibly knowledgeable indeed!” says Nicola. “Everyone who meets her is in awe of the amount she knows about the town. About eight months prior to lockdown, Jill wanted to ensure that knowledge didn’t simply reside with one person. She also recognised that with just a single person conducting tours, the number of people that could learn about Stamford was limited.”

“She approached five of us and we were sort of apprenticed to her as guides around the town. With more of us able to offer tours, we were also able to devise new tours, like this month’s Spooky Tales Tours.” “We had only just started working with Jill when Covid came along, and we were all locked down.” 18 “In a way it did us a favour as we – the new guides –used to meet over Zoom and finesse the content of the tours, and take the time to fact check our history.”

The group’s twilight tours will begin on Friday, 21st and will last for two weeks beginning at 7pm and 9pm, but with a child-friendly tour from 5.30pm too.

“When we created the Spooky Tales tour we were adamant that we didn’t want it to be a ghost walk but rather a tour that would reflect British history, local history too, and particularly things that actually happened in the town to real residents.”

“That meant not just telling stories which sound good, but making sure they were factually based, too. For that reason, we’ve checked records like newspaper reports from the time, police reports and town council records to make sure that our anecdotes are a true reflection of the history of the town, as far as records allow us to do.”

“This will be the third year we’ve run our Spooky Tales. The first year we hosted them was between the two lockdowns, when gatherings were limited to six people. The following year we attracted more people but we tended to limit them to about 12 people. We can arrange private tours for up to 20 people but we like to be able to interact with everyone.”

The Spooky Tales tours start at Stamford Town Hall and straight away audiences are introduced to some of the more in savoury locals and their fate, languishing in one of the town three gaols. The first was located in the bowels of the town hall, and by all accounts, it was one of the worst gaols in the country.

The place was extremely cramped and so a larger gaol was created on All Saints’ Place in the Victorian era. Finally, the town’s gaol was moved to the building now occupied by horologists Loomes of Stamford. >>

>> From the town hall, the group make their way over the town bridge to the Meadows, where Nicola and her fellow guides impart a few anecdotes about the Stamford Bull Run, a grizzly event by today’s standards, one which thankfully ceased in 1839. Equally grizzly, though, was the fate of Benjamin Overton in 1801 who, in the course of baiting the bull, was thrown off the town bridge into the River Welland, only for the bull to follow him and land on him, killing the poor fellow... oof! A similarly shocking fate befell another local man, George Waterfield, in 1811. Guiding his horse through the town, Waterfield stopped to have a snooze, with the horse’s reins tied securely to his ankle to prevent it wandering off. When the poor horse became spooked, Waterfield was dragged through the streets of the town and was decapitated.

“We’re always sensitive to the age of the children on our tours, but in fact, they usually begin hiding behind an adult at the start of the tour and then, halfway through, they’re at the front and centre, relishing the grizzly bits. Often they’re more enthralled by the scary bits than the adults!”

The Spooky Tales tour then takes in St Peters’ Churchyard, Barn Hill and the Corn Exchange, then Broad Street and St Michael’s Church. It’s at the final location from which Nicola took her inspiration for the character she occasionally dresses up as: Cassandra King was the last woman in Stamford to be hanged. Her crime was the theft of a loaf of bread... soon after it was thought she was innocent. By that time, though it was too late.

What isn’t too late, though, is the chance to book on a Spooky Tour of Stamford, and enjoy more anecdotes, grizzly facts and the of course, the look and feel of Stamford at night! n

Find Out More: Spooky Tales is a tour from Jill Collinge and her guides, Nicola Sandall, Jim Grant, Simon Whatting, Kiffy Mitchell and Bill Cunningham. They will take place from Friday 21st-Sunday 30th October, Thursday to Sunday, or for groups by arrangement. Please note pre-booking is essential, and tours start at 5.30pm, 7pm and 9pm, lasting an hour. Call 07712 853854 or see www.thestamfordtownguidedtours.co.uk.

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT AT BURGHLEY...

Fiendish fun comes to Burghley House in October, as torchlit tours return with more scary stories and haunting hidden history. Burghley’s Spooky Tours are led by ghostly expert Martin Tempest and take visitors on a guided tour through creepy cellars and centuries-old cloisters, revealing ghostly goings-on. Prepare yourself for an evening full of jump-scares and frights in the night! The tours are designed to be scary but fun, although not advised for under 12s. n Tours at 6.30pm, 7.30pm, 8.30pm, 9.30pm each night from Wednesday 19th October to Saturday 29th (excluding Sunday 23rd). Tickets are £24 per person; www.burghley.co.uk.

Taking Pictures at Night

If our night-time images of Stamford have whetted your appetite for taking evening shots, here are our tips...

n They’ve become better in recent years, but camera phones still don’t cut it, especially in low light. Use a proper camera, one which allows you to set your shutters speed. n A tripod is a must. Mount your camera on a stable tripod, us manual or Tv (shutter speed mode) to dial in your exposure. n For shake-free images, you need to keep an eye on shutter speed. This is shown on your camera as fractions of seconds. 1/200 means a twohundredth of a second, and is the speed of your camera when using a flash. n You can usually hand-hold a camera down to 1/125sec, perhaps 1/40 if you’ve a steady hand or stabilisation in your lens or camera. n Rather than a viewfinder, use your camera’s screen to preview your exposure and release the shutter using a two or ten second timer.

n Shoot in RAW, not JPEG to capture in the highest quality.

TWILIGHT TOURS IN OAKHAM

This month Oakham will enjoy a brand new twilight tour from guides Nicola Sandall and Jim Grant, taking visitors around the spookier parts of the town!

BRAND NEW to Oakham this month is a Spooky Tales tour from two of the guides who provide Stamford with its town tours too. The daytime tours take place throughout the year, but each November, the two guides host Stamford’s Spooky Tales tours and have now created a similar format for Oakham. “We began hosting Oakham tours at the start of 2022 which will begin again in Spring and take place on Friday mornings at 11am.” “The Spooky Tales tour, though, will take on 31st October from 7pm, beginning at Rutland County Museum, and lasting about an hour, finishing up at Oakham Castle.” Rutland County Museum was the former riding school of the Rutland Fencible Cavalry and was became a museum, in 1967. One of its more gruesome antiquities suits the Spooky Tales tour very well. “The museum counts among its exhibits a version of the New Drop gallows, they type of which counts among its past victims the Catholic martyr John Lyon. Found guilty of treason in 1599 by Queen Elizabeth I, he was taken to the uniquely mobile gallows when they were at Mount Pleasant, and put to death. Locals were so bereft that they took along handkerchiefs, and drenched them in

Right: Oakham Castle is the final destination on a new Spooky Takes walking tour from the same team of guides who take visitors on illuminating tours of Stamford, too.

Oakham Castle Guided Tours

his blood so that part of him would survive. It’s thought that the priest who performed the last rites was in such admiration of his piety that he too converted.” The tour continues to Mill Street, where a plaque on the church dedicates it to John Lyon, then to Dean Street, and the home of Jeffrey Hudson, who enjoyed a colourful life as the court dwarf of the English queen Henrietta Maria of France. “We finish up at Oakham Castle which gives visitors the chance to have a look at the building’s 200 horseshoes. We don’t touch too much on the history of Oakham Castle and the horseshoes, because we feel that the

castle already has really excellent guides who areGuides are on hand to help visitors learn about the history very knowledgeable.” of the medieval manor house. It’s open Mon/Wed/Thurs “There’s lots of history and Fridays & Saturdays beyond the Castle walls, from 10am-4pm. too, and because the guides are so amazing we’re happy to recommend dedicating some time to let them show visitors around instead.” “Oakham is a fantastic town with a rich history and lots going on, so to be able to bring our tours to the town is great. We hope they’ll be popular and that the Rutland debut of the Spooky Tales tour will be popular, too!” n A walking tour of Oakham takes place from 7.30pm, Monday, 31st October, booking via www.rutland-heritage-shop.mybigcommerce.com

STAMFORD & RUTLAND BY NIGHT

NEW TWILIGHT TOURS AROUND OAKHAM, AND RUTLAND’S 10k RUN

RUTLAND NIGHT 10k: Exercise by Twilight...

If anywhere in Rutland looks magnificent at twilight it’s Rutland Water and specifically Normanton Church. But it’s not just inspiring to photographers. This month sees the Rutland Night 10k event taking place, organised by Pacesetter Events. It’s a way to enjoy autumn fitness and to exercise somewhere safe, with great scenery and marshalls on hand. “Our night event starts and finishes at one of Rutland's most recognisable landmarks, Normanton Church,” say Pacesetter. “It will be beautifully illuminated making it visible throughout the whole course. The route is completely traffic free, on well maintained footpaths. This event is open to all abilities. You don’t always need to race, you can come and enjoy the atmosphere.” “The event is for everyone to come and enjoy a fantastic experience no matter what their ability.” “Participants start and finish in Normanton near the fishing lodge. The lights and atmosphere will be incredible as we leave Normanton.” “The course begins along the south shore before completing the length of the dam. We then pass through Sykes lane where views of the route already completed will be spectacular. Runners will continue along the tarmac track until they reach the end of Whitwell creek. This is their turn point at 5km. Then we retrace our path home to Normanton. “ Thursday’s event is for walking participants, and dogs are welcome too, whilst the Friday and Saturday events are for runners. The average pace for walking it about three miles an hours which means a two-hour average finishing time, and you can complete the whole course, or just turn back whenever you decide to do so. It’s a chance to enjoy the spectacular scenery of Rutland Water at twilight, to get some fresh air, but most of all, to enjoy some likeminded company and have a good time! n

Find Out More: The Rutland Night Event takes place from 10th November to 12th November 2022, with a walking event and two running events from 5.30pm. Entry £16/£22, including on course refreshments and medals. For more details, see www.therutlandmarathon.co.uk/night-run.

Carefully selected artists from the Royal Academy, Royal Institutes, Federations and Societies

Edward Seago RBA RWS 1910 – 1974 | Watercolour | 10.5” X 14.5”

5-8 The Mews • The George Hotel • Stamford • PE9 2LB Tuesday - Sunday from 11am to 5pm | 01780 480800

Also at Lees Yard • Holt • Norfolk | Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm | 01263 713883

Please visit the website to view and purchase our artworks www.adrianhillfineart.com