Our outing to John Taylors Bell Foundry and Museum took place on Thursday 11th December 2014. There were 33 of us in total, mainly from Bletsoe but some from Riseley (including the Rector), Sharnbrook and our bell ringing tutors from Milton Keynes. We met outside the church at 9am to wait for the coach which was due at 9.15am. The day was quite chilly, damp and blustery but brightened up nicely as the day went on. Our first stop was for lunch at The Three Nuns public house in Loughborough at approx. 11.30. The food had been pre-booked to save time and everything went exceptionally well and everyone enjoyed their meal, the service was brilliant. There was even time before the coach came to collect us at 1pm to visit the town and do a bit of shopping. John Taylor’s is only about 5 minutes away from the centre of Loughborough and our tour was due to start at 1.30pm.

We were welcomed at the museum by Mary who is responsible for the running of the museum. We had a guided tour which was very interesting and it was especially rewarding to see the Bletsoe bells which were looking smart and nearly ready to make their journey back to St. Mary’s Church, Bletsoe. The tour took nearly an hour and a half and at the end those who could  bell ring were able to go up Taylor’s tower and ring their bells. Most of us found them very light especially those who are use to ringing the challenging bells at Bletsoe!
The museum also has a lovely shop so a few purchases were made as well.

We left at about 4pm to make our way back to Bletsoe. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits having enjoyed the day and the experience was well worth it.

The grant we received from The Heritage Lottery funded the outing (apart from food and shopping) and we are very grateful to have been given this opportunity.