Clouds sitting on the mountain tops...the Lake District

Friday 30^th August

Today’s pedometer reading is a very minimal 3.83 k’s

Our drive today covered 230 k’s, through the scenic Southern Upland Way past many more giant wind turbines and steep mountainsides covered in Heather. We stopped to stretch our legs at Gretna where we walked down to the Blacksmith’s shop at Gretna Green that played host to many ‘runaway’ weddings after the 1754 Marriage Act in England. At that time if you were younger than 21 it was impossible to marry without parental consent so many young English couples crossed the border into Scotland and were married in the Blacksmith’s shop. It is still a popular place to be married and apparently today about 5,000 marriages take place there every year! There was romance in the air and the courtyards surrounding the Blacksmith were filled with romantically themed statues…a bit tacky really but there were LOADS of tourists there.

We said farewell to Scotland at and headed toward the Lake District.

The morning was overcast and about 17 degrees and we were surprised to see clouds nestled on the tops of the hills above the sloping green fields. Sheep and cattle were grazing contentedly in the pastures that are dotted with old stone barns…so peaceful.

The rustic, grey, dry-stone walls on the steep hills must have taken an immense effort to construct. The roads are lined with them too, which makes it difficult to pull over and take a photo!

Our first stop in the Lake District was Keswick to visit the Cumberland Pencil Museum, where there was much to learn including the secret pencils made during the 2^nd world war that had a wider shaft bored so that a gossamer thin map of Germany could be we rolled up and inserted then topped with a tiny compass under the eraser! We had lunch in the café & browsed through the shop which stocks the ENTIRE range of Derwent coloured pencils :-) This beautiful van was also on display.

It was a spectacular drive through the soaring mountains and cool, glossy lakes to Hawkeside village where we visited our 3^rd National Trust property…the Beatrix Potter Gallery. She was a children’s author, artist, farmer and conservationist…most famous for ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, the first in a series of beautiful little books for children. The unique gallery space occupies the charming 17^thcentury building that once served as the office of Beatrix Potter’s solicitor husband. We viewed an exhibition celebrating the centenaries of Beatrix’s marriage to William Heelis and the writing of ‘Pigling Bland’. We admired the detail in some of her rarely seen original watercolour artwork, she even included her pet pigs in the tale.

We then made our way to Belle Green B&B and were delighted with our room and it’s close proximity to ‘Hilltop’ (where Beatrix potter lived) where we plan to visit tomorrow. After settling in we made our way to the Tower Bank Arms where the owners of the B&B had recommended they could book a table for us. This turned out to be a good move because many people were being turned away. We ordered our meal, had a drink at the bar and were shown to our table when the meal was ready…sensational food and fantastic hospitality. For aficionados, the Tower Bank Arms appears on page 42 of ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddle –Duck’ by Beatrix Potter. The electricity kept going off and the patrons would all click their fingers and cheer when the lights came back on. The owners kept commenting that it was all part of the rustic charm of the place!

Andrew had a pint of beer at the bar and another one with dinner…he’s not a big drinker and I think he will sleep very soundly tonight…he might even snore.

Arbouth smokies, Cloutie dumplings & a not so wee Calzone!

Thursday 29^th August

Today’s pedometer reading is 8.13 k’s

Having two nights in Edinburgh meant another opportunity to do some washing…most of our undies, socks and shirts are dry & packed again. A few of them are even ironed!

We think the Scot’s are a cheerful lot, we’re more used to their accents now, they do use the word ‘wee’ more frequently than we had anticipated…we’ve also heard more bagpipes & seen more men in kilts than we expected & have enjoyed both :-)

We’re loving being guided by our GPS with a Scottish accent…we’ve named him Fergus.

Today’s drive to Glasgow was about 75 k’s and along the way we stopped at Falkirk to have a look at the Falkirk Wheel which opened in 2002; it’s a rotating boat lift that connects theForth and Clyde Canals with the Union Canal. These canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks and it was decided to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to serve them.

The difference in height at the wheel is 24 metres (79 ft), roughly equivalent to the height of an eight-storey building. We watched the fascinating process in motion…

The boat has been driven into the bottom section of the wheel.

A boat can also be driven into the top section, although when Andrew took this photo there wasn’t one.

The wheel has begun to lift the boat.

Halfway there.

Almost at the top & ready to start off along the top canal….very impressive and really amazing to watch.

We arrived in Glasgow just in time for lunch and headed off to the Willow Tearooms. This was something I have really been looking forward to.

The tearooms were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903. Not only did he design the exterior and interior, he also designed the cutlery and the waitresses dresses. I first heard about him when I started lead lighting and quickly became a huge admirer of his work. The menu includes many Scottish savoury dishes and I decided to sample the Arbouth smokies with Cloutie dumplings. They were delicious and Andrew was tempted to try them both too!

I was able to marvel at the magic of Mackintosh’s creativity and managed to persuade Andrew to visit the Glasgow School of Arts and take a tour. Our guide was an architecture student and his passion made for a very interesting tour.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. The Glasgow School of Arts is ‘the jewel in the crown’ of his work.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering Glasgow under our umbrella...just a light drizzle, then headed back to the hotel, which is very centrally located and our room on the 18^th floor has a splendid view over the city.

I have tried to restrict talking about what we’re eating to one meal each day…today I’m breaking the rule…we went for a walk tonight and ended up in a gorgeous Italian Restaurant where I had the most delicious seafood linguine I have ever had. Andrew loves a calzone & so that’s what he ordered…this is what arrived…there is no funny camera angle happening here…it was HUGE…nothing wee about this calzone!

The Royal Mile & someone tries Haggis!

Wednesday 28^th August

Today’s pedometer reading 8.4 k’s.

This morning we caught a bus (with seats upholstered in tartan!) into the city centre and walked through the Princes Street Gardens where we caught our first glimpse of Edinburgh Castle; a medieval fortress perched on ancient volcanic rock. It was the site of Mary, Queen of Scot’s home, headquarters of Cromwell’s invading army and today hosts the military tattoo during the Edinburgh Festival.

From the castle the thing to do is walk down the Royal Mile toward Holyrood Palace. There were shops selling kilts, beautiful cashmere products and just about anything you can imagine made from tartan. There were pipers on every second corner…I just love the bagpipes.

We took loads of pictures along the way…

St.Giles

...and a close up.

Just one of the many beautiful buildings along the way...

...and a door at the entrance to Holyrood.

                                                            

Around lunchtime we reached Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining.

I was keen to have lunch in the Palace Cafe, it looked lovely with tables outdoors under white market umbrellas and surrounded by big planter boxes overflowing with flowers. Andrew had other ideas…he had spotted a place he thought would be much better…I’ll let the photos speak for themselves! Warning...Vegetarians should avert their eyes...

I had the ‘Piglet’ with apple sauce & yes, Andrew opted for the ‘Grunter’ complete with Haggis! I think I should start looking for a kilt with an elastic waistband for him.

We spent the afternoon walking slowly back up the hill to Princes Street via Cowgate and Grassmarket. There was something special to see at every turn…

On the return journey to the hotel we sat in the upstairs front seats of the double-decker bus…a great view & yes this bus had tartan seats too!

Rule Britannia

Tuesday August 27^th

Today’s pedometer reading is 7.17 k’s

Our night in Haydon Bridge, our first in an English pub was wonderful, the hospitality and food were fabulous…breakfast was fantastic, all local produce…I had a poached egg on toast and Andrew succumbed to the temptation of a full English breakfast…he particularly enjoyed the Cumberland sausage…I think his belt buckle will be restored to it’s usual position very soon :-)

We stayed in this location because of it's close proximity to Housesteads Fort and the adjoining section of Hadrian’s Wall. It was only a short drive after breakfast to our 2^nd National Trust experience. Built around AD122 the iconic ruin was once the most northerly defence of the Roman Empire, the wall was a massive engineering feat, stretching 80 miles from coast to coast. Today Hadrian’s Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the views and Roman remains are both fascinating and spectacular. We spent just over 2 hours exploring the ruins and walking along a small section of the wall.

The grainstore

The latrines

Hadrian's Wall

We then headed off toward Edinburgh, about 150 k’s and along the way we stopped a few times, once at the England – Scotland border, the views were breathtaking and believe it or not a piper was busking...creating just the right atmosphere :-)

Next stop, the Leaderfoot Viaduct over the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. The railway viaduct was opened in 1863. The arches, each of 43 feet (13 m) span, are of brickwork,  and the abutments, piers and walls are of rustic-faced red sandstone.

In a number of locations we’ve seen groups of wind turbines but never as many as today. When we stopped to take this photo I counted 32 on one side of the road & 28 on the other and there were many more than that!

Our GPS did a great job of directing us to our hotel with a minimum of fuss…Andrew tells me that tomorrow he is going to switch the English accent over to a Scottish one. I’m a bit worried because we had a bit of trouble understanding the receptionist at the hotel and the wait-staff at the restaurant tonight! I’ll keep you posted.

The Royal Yacht Britannia is moored 5 minutes away and we ate dinner tonight at a restaurant overlooking her…she’s still a very regal lady.

Yorkshire Moors, Whitby & a quiet afternoon.

Monday 26^th August

Todays pedometer reading is only 5.5 k's because of our restful afternoon :-)

We experienced another hot August night in York …and set off for Whitby driving through the breathtaking Yorkshire Moors, complete with purple Heather in bloom. It was impossible to photograph the vast expanses of the moors…we just kept oohing and ahhing!

We have learnt to keep every one pound coin we get to feed the parking machines & we needed them again when we arrived in Whitby where we had our first glimpse of the sea on this trip. On a steep wooded inlet of the River Esk, the ancient town of Whitby is a fishing and trading port that fostered the genius of Captain Cook and his sailing ships and also hosted the author Bram Stoker author of "Dracula" apparently he wrote the book while on holidays in Whitby.

We walked out to the harbour entrance with some very noisy seagulls wheeling overhead and were pleased to see so many families along the piers fishing and in some places catching crabs. They were catching quite a few too :-)

Strolling through the harbourside streets we came across this interesting alcove!

We bought some crab sandwiches and ate them on the harbourside boardwalk while watching the passing parade of tourists.

We then drove to Haydon Bridge and found the Anchor Hotel…our home for tonight.

Here’s our little car…we’ve nick-named it Bozo because of the number plates 

After a few very busy days we decided to have a quiet afternoon. We walked across the bridge and mailed a few postcards…then back to the pub and a drink on the deck overlooking the river. Andrew opted for a COLD Australian beer this time.

Sweet dreams everyone xx

Hot August night in York!

Monday 26th August

We know it’s summer here but the weather is much warmer than we anticipated and last night we had a very HOT AUGUST NIGHT! Our hotel room does not have air conditioning but it does double glazed windows and is very comfortable in every other way. To cut a long story short we ended up with 2 electric fans in our room and a refund for last night’s accommodation…Andrew did a good job! We’re staying here again tonight and hope it’s a little cooler…the lowest temperature we could achieve in our room last night was 27 degrees! The up side is that I washed our all of our socks and undies & they’re all dry now J

This morning we set off to the Yorkshire Dales and stopped off in Ripon to visit Fountains Abbey, it was our first opportunity to use our National Trust membership and we thought we’d spend about an hour there but ended up staying all morning.

We explored the magnificent ruins of the once great abbey, destroyed by Henry V111 in the 16^th century. 

At the other end of the valley is Studley Royal a spectacular water garden created in the 1700’s. The pathway from the visitors centre through the magical abbey and around the tranquil water gardens and back is a big loop of about 2 ½ miles and we stopped off at Fountains Hall, Mill and quite a few of the follies in the garden along the way. We tried to take photos of the water gardens but couldn’t quite get the whole scene into one exposure.

We enjoyed a light lunch at the National Trust Café and then set off for the Yorkshire Dales.

The first stop was the gorgeous village of Pateley Bridge

From there we drove through Grassington and we did try to take photos along the way as we drove through the magnificent valley of Wharfedale and again during a sublime drive through Bishopdale but it was impossible to capture the magnitude of the Dales and the extent of the amazing dry stone walls that line both sides of the road and every paddock.

Our next stop was Aysgarth Falls, a triple set of dramatic waterfalls and we strolled through the woods to gaze into each set of the turbulent waters carving through the valley.

From there we drove to Hawes through Herriot country, where much of the filming for All Creatures Great And Small was done. Andrew almost swore a couple of times along this stretch…the roads are VERY narrow and you need to pull across to the side of the road to let oncoming traffic through!

In Hawes we spent some time at the Wensleydale Creamery. The creamery's museum explains that the Cistercians were making cheese in the dale as early as 1150, but it was Wallace and Gromit who propelled Wensleydale to global fame.

We took a different route back to York Via Ribblehead and Settle. We were awe-struck when the Ribblehead Viaduct came into view…it was completed in 1874!

Back in York we walked to the Chippie (Fish & Chip shop) next to our hotel for dinner where Andrew had an enormous piece of Haddock deep-fried in batter! I opted for steamed Salmon with salad. I just can’t understand how Andrew is losing weight…his pants are very loose and he’s tightened his belt another notch. I’m sure I haven’t lost any weight and I’ve taking the healthy options on the menu!

Sherwood Forest & York

Saturday 24^th August

Today’s pedometer reading is 9.26 k’s.

There was a steady drizzle of rain as we left Cambridge this morning but luckily it had cleared by the time we arrived at Sherwood Forest.

In the carpark we were surprised to see a number of children and quite a few grown ups, dressed in green, wearing little green hats and carrying bows and arrows. We followed a walking trail to the Major Oak Tree.

In the adjacent clearing we were amazed to see what could have easily been Robin Hood’s Camp in the forest. A group of enthusiasts were happy to explain different aspects of forest life during the 17^th Century.

The 25 minute walk to and from the Major Oak Tree was very quiet and lined with huge gnarly oak trees with many brambles forming a blanket on the forest floor. You could almost imagine Robin Hood appearing at any moment!

The last leg of today’s journey took us to York. After booking into our hotel we decided to walk the medieval wall that still encircles the city, measuring 4k’s in circumference and with four original gates intact. You can walk along a footpath atop the wall – the best place from which to admire York Minster…

…and the beautiful, city of York. We bought some rolls for lunch and ate them in the park; Andrew had a Wild Boar and tomato roll, while I opted for plain old ham and tomato!

The afternoon was spent exploring the narrow cobblestone streets and during a shower of rain sheltered in a café for coffee…the first in AGES!