Yes, ANOTHER Bee Gees reference, even though the Isle of Man’s finest (apart from Dave Halliwell) never played the WMC in Bottisham.
Unless YOU know better.
Scraping the Fen Edge barrel, now, though Bottisham (pop. 2,199) punches well above its weight in some respects.
The village college takes up half the Wiki entry, and seems to house half the population too.
Despite separating from the sea in BC 8,000,000, the speed boat club still thrives,
and there’s plenty of that thatch you Americans love.
The retail activity is compressed in a little row next to the Bell, which could be saved by Saturday’s return to pubs. If we don’t all wait a few months to see what happens.
I’ve been once, 15 years ago, for a decent IPA before the Bell cut loose from Greene King shackles. Whatever they are.
Pub. Pharmacy. Village store. Kebabs. Curry. Chinese & chippy. All you want, really, apart from artisan bakers.
Oddly, Bottisham is best known for Stocks, a posh restaurant with a tenuous connection to Manchester City I can’t be bothered to explain and you don’t care about.
It faces the village church, about which Wiki is effusive.
“Above the arcades is a clerestory of fluted lancet windows“
I walked the bounds, about 5 miles, taking in the bridge over the A14,
and 6 million square miles of wheat fields on the way to Swaffham Bulbeck.
What can I say ?
It’s very quiet. Fen Edge folk like quiet. And HUGE weeds.
I’m SO tempted to come back when the Bell re-opens and listen to them talk about weeds.
retiredmartin 
I have happy memories, of several pints of Bespoke’s Saved By The Bell at the Saracen’s Head on the Wye. I never did learn how it got its name though.
But that weed looks like an artichoke that’s escaped to me. Don’t mess with it.
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It only chokes arties.
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They say on gardening programmes that a weed is just a plant that’s in the wrong place, but you could excuse all sorts of nonsense with that kind of thinking, I reckon.
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They say on gardening programmes that a weed is just a plant that’s in the wrong place but I reckon that you can excuse all manner of shenanigans with that kind of thinking.
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Yes, and I’m not sure what all that barley’s doing in the wheat fields.
Oh, maybe waiting for a running future Prime Minister.
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It’s all reet to me.
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I’m heading back out to Norwich soon in the future and might just have to stop by the Bell here on the way. If I remember, I’ll let you know how the beer is Martin and if you think its changed at all in the last 15 years
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Let me know if you do and I’ll meet for a socially distanced half, Eddie 👍
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The key to the thatch is really what they choose to put at the peak. Nice ducks on this one.
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Expert now?!
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After the last few weeks of posting getting pretty close!
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Martin, do you know anything about the cost of re-thatching one of those roofs? I know in Japan it’s prohibitively expensive, and many people will resort to encasing the whole thing in a thatch-shaped covering of corrugated steel. Which isn’t nearly so lovely, but who can blame them, really?
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I’d guess £100,000 +. Mrs RM helped with re-thatching the tithe barn which cost £300,000 odd. Once every 20 + years.
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And you can see there how ducks signify low ceilings.
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Art shot maybe, but as Stafford Paul has already pointed out, that’s barley growing in that field – the stuff beer is made from.
Moving swiftly on, although you included that Wiki link, I’m still none the wiser as to what a clerestory is.
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A clerestory, or clear storey, is a level of a building dedicated only to windows, without a floor, to allow light to a lower level…
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Reg remains our go-to guy on church architecture.
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Have you shown that “Dulwich Hamlet colours” photo to the Dulwich Raider? 😉
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