Sunday 23rd October
Brian, spent the day recovering from his walk up Scafell, and I pottered around doing various chores. Went for a walk up the fell through Leck Village.
Monday 24th October
Grey with occasional sun, so spent time updating the blog for the previous week. Then decided to walk to Whoop Hall for lunch. It is just down the road but the walk is across the fields. We had done part of it on the first Sunday after we arrived at No.2 Bronte cottages when we walked to Kirby Lonsdale. On that occasion, we were not sure whether we were on the correct path This time however, we discovered that we were definitely not on the correct path that Sunday, because we had very little trouble finding it this time. Does this mean that we are getting better at not getting lost? As Brian said it is probably more to do with the fact that as a result of our stay, we have become more familiar with the landscape and understand the environment a bit better. The lunch was good. Brian had soup and I had stuffed sardines - nice but a bit oily and they kept repeating! Whoop Hall looks like an interesting place for people who want a complete holiday. Nice old building with a comfortable bar and restaurant. Lovely surroundings, its own heated pool, a few of what looked like self catering cottages on the outer perimeter, and a caravan park next door.
Tuesday and Wednesday 25 - 26rd October
Potted around Tuesday am and then drove into Kirby Lonsdale about 2.00 pm to go on the Internet in the Library. Brian wanted to do the banking and post the blog and I went into the email. When I opened it, I was astounded to see that the estate agent had a reasonable offer for the house. We have been trying to sell for the past 15 months and to receive this at the end of the holiday was the icing on the cake.
We agreed that we would accept the offer and sent an email to the Agent to that effect and then we had to start looking at how to get our signatures on the contract. Fortunately the library has a printer, and also a fax machine, so it was not a hassle. However, we discovered via a text message, on our way back to Bronte Cottages, that we had to sign not only the contract, but initial all 14 pages as well. This presented more of a problem because the library in KL was not open the next day and we were going to Lancaster to see Sandra and Malik after I had had a hair cut. A Polish lass at Super Cuts did a really good job on my hair.
We were not so lucky with the Lancaster Library. Mid term break mean't that there were lots of kids at the computers and the system just couldn't cope - I lost three emails that I had composed and then I couldn't save others I had been working on - all this with Brian muttering and cursing because he too was having trouble - don't get him started on wireless networks!. They didn't have a fax machine, or a scanner at the Library and one of their staff directed us to a shop which charged £5 per page for a fax - ten times as much as we had paid in KL. As the contract contains 17 pages, we went looking for an alternative. Brian found someone who would scan the whole document for £3, which he accepted, but then discovered that the scanner had left off the bottom of each page where our initials were.
We were being pressured by the Agent to get it right and back to her immediately because she feared that the buyer would go elsewhere, so next day we headed into Kirby Lonsdale first thing in the morning - had it scanned correctly by a local service (Art Shop - next to The Royal pub) for only £1. After emailing it received confirmation that everything was okay and we had a valid contract with the buyer. Whoopee having waited 15 months to find a buyer we are very pleased and coming as it did at the end of the holiday means that things should go as well as can be expected with the move. Now we just need to find somewhere to live!
Thursday 27th October
Spent the day cleaning and packing. I went up the Fell Road for a walk and then we went into the Cowan Bridge Tea Shop for a last farewell to Geoff and Stephen. They have only been in Cowan Bridge since April, but have done a great job with the shop. We had a long chat with them and Geoff was delighted when he discovered that Brian had once worked for Parkland Mfg Co in Bradford because his aunt had worked there as well.
Friday 28th October - Back to March
Sandra arrived just as we had finished loading the car. We told her we would send her a note about how much we enjoyed the cottage so that she can put it on her website . Not that she seems to need it. The cottage seems to have had someone in it ever since they started advertising it.
The drive back to March was mainly uneventful - except for getting lost in Otley. It was not a bad 'lost' just added about half an hour to the length of the trip! But it turned out not to have mad any difference because of a long queue on the Mototway. Alan and Tina were well when we arrived and we had an easy Friday night meal with them.
Saturday 29th October - My Retail Therapy Day
After a leisurely breakfast with Tina and Alan, I caught the train to Peterborough to spend some time on my own in the shops. I had a good look at them all, got some ideas for a new winter wardrobe, bought a lovely pair of black leather boots and a small overnight bag to hold all the additional items I had added since we had arrived. The bulkiest was the woollen jumper I started knitting when it looked as though we would be doing lots of sitting around because of the bad weather. I've finished the back, one sleeve and half the front, so didn't do too badly. Pat from the Kirby Lonsdale shop where I bought it, told me that the wool came from Hebden Bridge, so I'll have a reminder of Yorkshire when I use it to keep me warm on those cold Canberra days next year. Also made a cowl neck scarf and beanie which I put to good use soon after we arrived in Cowan Bridge.
Alan and Tina took us to The Bay Window at Ramsey for a delicious dinner - lots of fun and laughs with some of their friends who were also there celebrating a 60th birthday.
Sunday 30th October
Went to see Daniel at Linda and Roy's in the morning and then a delicious roast dinner back at Cherrywood Ave. Tina did a great job and Georgia and I ate most of the roast parsnips - will have to get some of them for our next roast at home. Before we left Oz the vegetable supply was badly effected by the floods and cyclone early in the year, and bananas and parsnips were scarse and very expensive.
Then a lazy afternoon with all of us helping Georgia with her math homework.
Monday 31st October
Tina and Alan went to work. We had a leisurely breakfast then walked through town down to Tesco. We were looking for a particular brand of port for Alan, but didn't find the exact one, so got a good port made by the same company and a single malt whiskey. Also some lovely flowers for Tina put together by a woman who has most of her family living in Australia. Brian cooked a delicious Spag Bol for dinner.
Tuesday 1 November - Return flights
Said goodbye to Alan and Tina; finished loading the car and said goodbye to Evan. Took longer to get to Bill's house at Wivenhoe than we anticipated, where he Billie and Jean were waiting for us (sorry about that Bill). Lunch at a pub close to the A12 which we had to take to get us onto the M25 to Heathrow. Billie, Jean and Brian had fish and chips and I had my first pub style beef pie of the trip. Can't remember what Bill ate? It was hard saying good-bye mainly because we always wonder if we will ever see them all again!
No dramas getting to Heathrow although we did miss one of the turnings - but were able to back track fairly easily. Dropped the car off at Hertz and caught the shuttle to the terminal. Couldn't believe that I had to remove all the toiletery items in the see through bag I had and put them into a plastic bag supplied by the security guard - talk about bureaucracy gone mad - then a reasonably comfortable flight to Seoul. Spent most of the three hour stop over stretched out on some seats in the very comfortable Incheon airport and then a smooth and more comfortable flight to Brisbane. The seats on that flight were more roomy than the ones on the first leg.
Were directed to use the e-passport route through immigration on arrival in Brisbane (Brian said it didn't save any time) and then the airport train to Roma Street, and the new morning service from Brisbane to Gympie dropped us at Pomona around midday. We were delighted to see that our friend and kindly neighbour Stephen was waiting for us at the station. It is not a long walk from there to the house, but it was around 30 degrees centigrade and it is uphill.
The house looked great. Robert and Barbara Thorpe were staying in the flat, and they had opened it up to let some air in. They also provided us with lunch and dinner. And so to bed and the end of this blog!
It was a great trip - we were very comfortable in the historic Bronte cottages and despite the weather we did most of the walks Brian wanted to do. It was great to catch up with all the Smith/Cox family again, and we look forward to seeing some of them visit us in our new abode in the not too distant future. Linda said that since they have been here, they can picture us in Pomona, so they will have to come again, so that they can picture us in Canberra!
Thanks
Thank you to all our house sitters for doing such a good job in looking after the house. It looked lovely when we walked in. Thank you also to our friends and neighbours Stephen and Gail who came to the aid of those who got stuck with some of our appliances, and also passed on keys and messages. What will we do without you when we move?
07 November 2011
25 October 2011
Warming down - Final days
Sunday 16th October
Grey and overcast with occasional showers forecast, so we went for a drive to Bardsea and Ulverston. I first went to Bardsea in 1964 when Brian and I had hitched a ride from Wisbech so that we could visit his Grandma Pete. She had been living in Bardsea for some time. When I met her she was 91 and complaining that when she first went to Bardsea she could walk to Ulverston and back about five and a half miles, but at 91 she found it too much and could only walk into Ulverston and catch the bus back. Brian probably gets his walking genes from Grandma Pete- and hopefully his longevity as well.
We found the Ulverston cemetery where Grandma Pete is buried and I was amazed that Brian could remember exactly where her grave is. It is still well maintained and the inscription is still very clear.
In 1964 we had also arranged to meet Robert Thorpe at the Post Office in Ulverston. We had left him in London while I went to meet the family in March and we arranged to meet up in Ulverston and then hitch up to Scotland and then take the ferry across to Norway. But we met him in Woolworths where we were all looking for cheap toothpaste etc. There is no longer a Woolworths in Ulverston and we debated which store it is now. I think it’s the Boots Pharmacy, Brian thought it was the Co-op – we will probably never know. We did see the statues of Laurel and Hardy in front of the theatre in Ulverston. Apparently Laurel was born there.
Monday 17 October – Friday 21st October Lazy days.
Can’t remember much about what we have done this week. I obviously need to keep the diary up to date on a daily basis. From memory the weather was okay but Brian was still not keen on tackling any of the uphill walks. His shoes had dried out after him put them on the roof of the car in the sun. I ended up going for a walk to the nearby village of Ireby which is about one and a quarter miles away.
Tuesday 18th October – Windemere.
Grey, cold and windy with occasional showers. Having spent the day at home in the cottage in Cowan Bridge on Monday we decided (or should I say I decided) that we should go and have a look at Windemere. We have been through the outskirts many times, and we have even crossed the lake by ferry, but had not been into the centre of town nor walked around the Lake. I was a bit disappointed it has some really impressive buildings, but it is obviously one of those places that benefited from the expansion of the railways in the 19th and 20th centuries. It reminded me of the Mountain towns in NSW and Victoria like Leura, Katoomba and Bright. Its hey day was probably in the 1920s and 30s and now Ambleside seems to be the more progressive place. We had lunch in a tea shop and walked around town, taking shelter in some of the op shops when the showers became too heavy.
Wednesday 19th October – Kendal
Still not suitable for a high walk. I bought the blog up to date then in the afternoon we drove into Kendal. First time we have been there without rain. Explored some of the alleyways and back streets, and when the rain did finally arrive took refuge in some of the shops we had not been into before – Brian bought socks to replace all the ones he bought with him as every single one had a hole in it. He did say that I could darn them if I had bought the sewing kit his mother gave him when he left England in 1960! No comment from me on that one.
Thursday 20th October – Carlisle
Woke up to our first really heavy frost. The car was completely covered in ice, and the house was freezing. Went into Kirby Lonsdale and parked in the free parking at the bottom of the village and then had a nice walk up to the Library. Brian dealt with the blog and I sorted my email.
Then on to Carlisle for the steeple chase meeting. It is a very attractive race course and while the wind was icy, the sun was shining most of the time. The track was soft, - we laughed at that – it seemed so unnecessary to state it, but I suppose if you live in a city you could be forgiven for not knowing that the ground throughout the north of England is soft at the moment, but if like us you are walking through it, a more accurate description would be extremely soft, wet and muddy.
We got in on the OAP rate i.e.£9 each but Brian was amazed to find that the minimum bet has gone up from 50p to two pound! We laughed as it shows just how long it is since we have been to the races either here or in Oz.
He backed a first and second in the third race, but we had no luck on the others. It was an enjoyable day and we almost covered the costs – I think we were only out of pocket about £5 for the shared fish and chip dish we had for lunch.
Saturday, 22 October - Scafell Pike
Everything had looked favourable the previous day for a fine day on which to do Scafell Pike (England’s highest peak) walk so headed out early for Wast Water. It was a 2 hour drive as it is necessary to drive around the peaks in the Lake District to get there. Mary dropped me off at the start (the National Trust car park and I left her to head off to Keswick and later to Seathwaite in order to pick me up at an ETA of 4 pm. I rejected the Lingmell route as the initial fields looked very boggy and chose the more popular route of Brown Tongue. The directions I had printed out from the Net said that after about a kilometre “the path crosses the now much smaller Lingmell Gill”; well it must have been a drought period when the author wrote that because the Gill was now running fast and other walkers were crossing with extreme caution. I chose to walk up the gill a few hundred yards to find an easier crossing which I did. I still was in over my ankles but much safer than (slippery) rock hopping and deep fast running water. Wet feet are far preferable to falling and getting a full soaking (or worse – self injury). The final steep ascent was in mist and had become much cooler. The track was well marked with cairns each of which kept appearing out of the mist. The mist prevented me from checking out the start of the Corridor Route which was my return track to Seathwaite in the Borrowdale valley. At the summit the successful walkers were huddled in the shelter of the huge cairn alongside the trig point. The wind was strong and gusting even stronger. Adding to these conditions was the low temperature resulting in what was probably a chill factor of below freezing. I had a drink with some chocolate, texted Mary that I had made it to the summit and then headed down.
Luckily the mist had cleared and the descent was clearly visible. However, I still missed the ‘prominent cairn’ advised in a further set of directions from Steve Goodler in his book “The High Fells”. There were so many cairns I am still uncertain as to how the quality of prominence could be assigned to any of them. I soon realised I had missed the turn off but luckily with the mist now clear I was able to determine where I was and where I had just come from. Also, I was able to see (through the saddle of Lingmell Coll and Scafell Pike) Sty Head Tarn with Derwent Water beyond which was my way down. Using the map and a triangulation bearing I set off across some open fell to the saddle and found Piers Gill gorge and the Corridor Route. I was able to confirm this with a couple of walkers heading upwards to Scafell Pike. Luckily they gave me some advice about the only tricky part of the track which was a short scramble up a rocky face. It is labelled with an arrow pointing upwards with word ‘Free’ or perhaps ‘Freedom’ alongside the arrow.
The track was easy to follow after that except some care was needed (especially by seniors) over the paved but uneven rocky surface. I realised that my ETA of 4 pm needed revising but unfortunately I was now too low (no mobile reception) to get a text through to Mary. Eventually the 4 pm turned into 5 pm and found Mary huddled in the car at the roadside in Seathwaite. She then drove me and my aching knees back to the warmth of Bronte Cottages. A check of my pedometer revealed I had covered 16km which had taken me 7 hours. Actually, anything over 2km per hour is not bad going for a climb and descent over this type of terrain plus it was an extremely pleasant walk especially the descent down to Borrowdale.
I was amazed when I finally got to Keswick. The drive to Waswater Head took 2 hours and then it took me more than another hour to get to Keswick. That is almost the time it took Tim and Hazel to get from Peterborough to Cowan Bridge so while we are close to the Lakes, parts of the Lakes are a really long way away. I was even tempted to making the return to Keswick even longer by going in to have a look at St. Bees which is where we started the Coast to Coast walk, but decided against it on the grounds that I wanted to do a walk around the lake at Keswick rather than one on the headland which would have been very cold given that there was such a strong wind blowing. It took a long while to find a parking spot – none available in the first three places I tried, then a loo (by this time I was getting desperate) and then change for the pay and display machine. When are they going to get Oyster cards into action all over the country so that it is not necessary to carry stacks of coins to pay for parking? The girl in the bakery even told me that the staff members there have to pay to get the change for their tills.
Did a quick look at the market, coffee and cake at the bakery and a walk along the Lake. I think Derwent Water is my favourite of all the lakes we have visited. Then the drive through the Borrowdale Valley – very attractive but very narrow winding road and on to Seathwaite which is a dead end. Did a walk back to the turn off and then part of the route Brian was supposedly coming down. I was getting a bit anxious because I had not heard from him, but as there were lots of people coming down I didn’t panic. In the absence of a pub or café, had a cup of tea from Jack’s Snack Shack which helped to warm me up. While the wind was not as fierce as Brian experienced on top, it was still pretty chilly down in the valley. I was relieved when he finally arrived but then he said that he thought I should drive because he might get cramps in his legs. We had a few tense moments when it got dark. I reminded him of Rudi’s statement about when he and Val are in the car i.e. They are both nervous, but it is better for Val to drive because Rudi is less nervous than she is. I thought it was also interesting for Brian to have the passenger’s perspective of being close to the gutter i.e. he told me at one stage he thought I was driving too close to the edge but did acknowledge that the hedges in England are not quite the same as the drop offs on those high Spanish roads.
This remote part of the Lakes is obviously an area for extreme sports. At Wast Water there were several groups going diving in the Lake even though it was so cold and I saw three cyclists come down from Scafell while I was waiting for Brian.
Grey and overcast with occasional showers forecast, so we went for a drive to Bardsea and Ulverston. I first went to Bardsea in 1964 when Brian and I had hitched a ride from Wisbech so that we could visit his Grandma Pete. She had been living in Bardsea for some time. When I met her she was 91 and complaining that when she first went to Bardsea she could walk to Ulverston and back about five and a half miles, but at 91 she found it too much and could only walk into Ulverston and catch the bus back. Brian probably gets his walking genes from Grandma Pete- and hopefully his longevity as well.
We found the Ulverston cemetery where Grandma Pete is buried and I was amazed that Brian could remember exactly where her grave is. It is still well maintained and the inscription is still very clear.
In 1964 we had also arranged to meet Robert Thorpe at the Post Office in Ulverston. We had left him in London while I went to meet the family in March and we arranged to meet up in Ulverston and then hitch up to Scotland and then take the ferry across to Norway. But we met him in Woolworths where we were all looking for cheap toothpaste etc. There is no longer a Woolworths in Ulverston and we debated which store it is now. I think it’s the Boots Pharmacy, Brian thought it was the Co-op – we will probably never know. We did see the statues of Laurel and Hardy in front of the theatre in Ulverston. Apparently Laurel was born there.
Monday 17 October – Friday 21st October Lazy days.
Can’t remember much about what we have done this week. I obviously need to keep the diary up to date on a daily basis. From memory the weather was okay but Brian was still not keen on tackling any of the uphill walks. His shoes had dried out after him put them on the roof of the car in the sun. I ended up going for a walk to the nearby village of Ireby which is about one and a quarter miles away.
Tuesday 18th October – Windemere.
Grey, cold and windy with occasional showers. Having spent the day at home in the cottage in Cowan Bridge on Monday we decided (or should I say I decided) that we should go and have a look at Windemere. We have been through the outskirts many times, and we have even crossed the lake by ferry, but had not been into the centre of town nor walked around the Lake. I was a bit disappointed it has some really impressive buildings, but it is obviously one of those places that benefited from the expansion of the railways in the 19th and 20th centuries. It reminded me of the Mountain towns in NSW and Victoria like Leura, Katoomba and Bright. Its hey day was probably in the 1920s and 30s and now Ambleside seems to be the more progressive place. We had lunch in a tea shop and walked around town, taking shelter in some of the op shops when the showers became too heavy.
Wednesday 19th October – Kendal
Still not suitable for a high walk. I bought the blog up to date then in the afternoon we drove into Kendal. First time we have been there without rain. Explored some of the alleyways and back streets, and when the rain did finally arrive took refuge in some of the shops we had not been into before – Brian bought socks to replace all the ones he bought with him as every single one had a hole in it. He did say that I could darn them if I had bought the sewing kit his mother gave him when he left England in 1960! No comment from me on that one.
Thursday 20th October – Carlisle
Woke up to our first really heavy frost. The car was completely covered in ice, and the house was freezing. Went into Kirby Lonsdale and parked in the free parking at the bottom of the village and then had a nice walk up to the Library. Brian dealt with the blog and I sorted my email.
Then on to Carlisle for the steeple chase meeting. It is a very attractive race course and while the wind was icy, the sun was shining most of the time. The track was soft, - we laughed at that – it seemed so unnecessary to state it, but I suppose if you live in a city you could be forgiven for not knowing that the ground throughout the north of England is soft at the moment, but if like us you are walking through it, a more accurate description would be extremely soft, wet and muddy.
We got in on the OAP rate i.e.£9 each but Brian was amazed to find that the minimum bet has gone up from 50p to two pound! We laughed as it shows just how long it is since we have been to the races either here or in Oz.
He backed a first and second in the third race, but we had no luck on the others. It was an enjoyable day and we almost covered the costs – I think we were only out of pocket about £5 for the shared fish and chip dish we had for lunch.
Saturday, 22 October - Scafell Pike
Everything had looked favourable the previous day for a fine day on which to do Scafell Pike (England’s highest peak) walk so headed out early for Wast Water. It was a 2 hour drive as it is necessary to drive around the peaks in the Lake District to get there. Mary dropped me off at the start (the National Trust car park and I left her to head off to Keswick and later to Seathwaite in order to pick me up at an ETA of 4 pm. I rejected the Lingmell route as the initial fields looked very boggy and chose the more popular route of Brown Tongue. The directions I had printed out from the Net said that after about a kilometre “the path crosses the now much smaller Lingmell Gill”; well it must have been a drought period when the author wrote that because the Gill was now running fast and other walkers were crossing with extreme caution. I chose to walk up the gill a few hundred yards to find an easier crossing which I did. I still was in over my ankles but much safer than (slippery) rock hopping and deep fast running water. Wet feet are far preferable to falling and getting a full soaking (or worse – self injury). The final steep ascent was in mist and had become much cooler. The track was well marked with cairns each of which kept appearing out of the mist. The mist prevented me from checking out the start of the Corridor Route which was my return track to Seathwaite in the Borrowdale valley. At the summit the successful walkers were huddled in the shelter of the huge cairn alongside the trig point. The wind was strong and gusting even stronger. Adding to these conditions was the low temperature resulting in what was probably a chill factor of below freezing. I had a drink with some chocolate, texted Mary that I had made it to the summit and then headed down.
Luckily the mist had cleared and the descent was clearly visible. However, I still missed the ‘prominent cairn’ advised in a further set of directions from Steve Goodler in his book “The High Fells”. There were so many cairns I am still uncertain as to how the quality of prominence could be assigned to any of them. I soon realised I had missed the turn off but luckily with the mist now clear I was able to determine where I was and where I had just come from. Also, I was able to see (through the saddle of Lingmell Coll and Scafell Pike) Sty Head Tarn with Derwent Water beyond which was my way down. Using the map and a triangulation bearing I set off across some open fell to the saddle and found Piers Gill gorge and the Corridor Route. I was able to confirm this with a couple of walkers heading upwards to Scafell Pike. Luckily they gave me some advice about the only tricky part of the track which was a short scramble up a rocky face. It is labelled with an arrow pointing upwards with word ‘Free’ or perhaps ‘Freedom’ alongside the arrow.
The track was easy to follow after that except some care was needed (especially by seniors) over the paved but uneven rocky surface. I realised that my ETA of 4 pm needed revising but unfortunately I was now too low (no mobile reception) to get a text through to Mary. Eventually the 4 pm turned into 5 pm and found Mary huddled in the car at the roadside in Seathwaite. She then drove me and my aching knees back to the warmth of Bronte Cottages. A check of my pedometer revealed I had covered 16km which had taken me 7 hours. Actually, anything over 2km per hour is not bad going for a climb and descent over this type of terrain plus it was an extremely pleasant walk especially the descent down to Borrowdale.
I was amazed when I finally got to Keswick. The drive to Waswater Head took 2 hours and then it took me more than another hour to get to Keswick. That is almost the time it took Tim and Hazel to get from Peterborough to Cowan Bridge so while we are close to the Lakes, parts of the Lakes are a really long way away. I was even tempted to making the return to Keswick even longer by going in to have a look at St. Bees which is where we started the Coast to Coast walk, but decided against it on the grounds that I wanted to do a walk around the lake at Keswick rather than one on the headland which would have been very cold given that there was such a strong wind blowing. It took a long while to find a parking spot – none available in the first three places I tried, then a loo (by this time I was getting desperate) and then change for the pay and display machine. When are they going to get Oyster cards into action all over the country so that it is not necessary to carry stacks of coins to pay for parking? The girl in the bakery even told me that the staff members there have to pay to get the change for their tills.
Did a quick look at the market, coffee and cake at the bakery and a walk along the Lake. I think Derwent Water is my favourite of all the lakes we have visited. Then the drive through the Borrowdale Valley – very attractive but very narrow winding road and on to Seathwaite which is a dead end. Did a walk back to the turn off and then part of the route Brian was supposedly coming down. I was getting a bit anxious because I had not heard from him, but as there were lots of people coming down I didn’t panic. In the absence of a pub or café, had a cup of tea from Jack’s Snack Shack which helped to warm me up. While the wind was not as fierce as Brian experienced on top, it was still pretty chilly down in the valley. I was relieved when he finally arrived but then he said that he thought I should drive because he might get cramps in his legs. We had a few tense moments when it got dark. I reminded him of Rudi’s statement about when he and Val are in the car i.e. They are both nervous, but it is better for Val to drive because Rudi is less nervous than she is. I thought it was also interesting for Brian to have the passenger’s perspective of being close to the gutter i.e. he told me at one stage he thought I was driving too close to the edge but did acknowledge that the hedges in England are not quite the same as the drop offs on those high Spanish roads.
This remote part of the Lakes is obviously an area for extreme sports. At Wast Water there were several groups going diving in the Lake even though it was so cold and I saw three cyclists come down from Scafell while I was waiting for Brian.
17 October 2011
Still failing to predict the weather
Thursday 13th October
Fine and sunny. Experience has led us to the conclusion that in Cowan Bridge Thursday is the only day in the week that is likely to be fine and maybe sunny. All the rest are grey and overcast and either wet or cold and windy or on some occasions all three.
Friday 14th October
It was forecast that it would be fine but with low cloud so no point in going uphill. We decided to go for a walk at Elterwater. It is included in a little book that has been sponsored by Booths the supermarket that has stores throughout the north. We have done a few from this book and found that we have gotten lost every time, but the Elterwater sounded okay. However the instructions for this walk did it for me and if it had been my book it would be at the bottom of the bin by now. I totally lost it when we got lost yet again. But this time I was totally frustrated because we were in a National forest; a place which to me should have clearly marked trails and absolutely no sheep or cows and all their ****. After smashing around in a lot of this in what according to the book instructions was the trail, we returned the way we came and back to the road into Elterwater. We then proceeded on to what Brian calls a ‘nursing home’ walk i.e. one that has been constructed so that those with wheel chairs and push chairs can do a walk along the side of the lake. I don’t object to these, but what about catering to what surely must be the great majority of people who would enjoy walking on well marked paths without having to be gung ho purists who walk the fells full of self congratulation about their navigational skills! Bloody show-offs in my opinion!
Saturday 15th October
Anyway it did it for Brian as well. On Saturday the sun was shining from about 8.30 (on a normal day, it doesn’t get light until about 8.00 now and even later when it is raining) and when I suggested a fell walk to Brian he rejected it on the grounds that his shoes were too wet and that the ground will not have dried out. Consequently we enjoyed sitting in the lounge room in the sun reading the paper. Then we walked down to The Highwayman pub for a light lunch and back again – this time on the road. I did the washing and managed to get it all dry. The owners of the other two cottages were all here working in the garden and cleaning up the house. It reminded me of when I lived in London in the 1960s. Having gone through an English winter, a friend and I couldn’t be bothered going sightseeing when we got onto the continent – we had missed the sun so much during the winter that all we wanted to do was to sit and enjoy it. One of the chaps in the local shop said to me that it is amazing how a couple of days of sunshine can lift the spirits and I have to agree.
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD AND OTHER THOUGHTS
Our visitors last week bought us lots food. Tim and Hazel bought us potatoes garlic and onions from their allotment, and Ann and Stephen apples, pears, tomatoes, peppers, grapes, pumpkins, homemade jams, honey, chutney and a damson and walnut cake. No wonder I am putting on weight! The amazing thing about Tim’s potatoes is that some of them are purple. Apparently you can get purple skinned potatoes, but Tim’s are purple right through. We had some of them baked when we roasted a chicken and they were delicious, but I can’t wait to have them mashed. Can you imagine how colourful the plate would look with purple mashed potatoes, green peas and some carrots? I wonder the cook designers haven’t been promoting them. They taste a bit like an orange sweet potato to me.
The apples and pears Stephen grew are heritage apples and we have had two or three apple and pear crumbles, as well as an apple and damson crumble with damsons from the trees in the garden.
SCENERY and WILDLIFE
The Lakes district is obviously one of the most scenic in Britain and it is in the County of Cumbria. When we did the walk to the top at Keswick, and looked down on Derwent water with its small islands, I could see the similarities between that scene below and the early artist drawings and paintings of Sydney harbour. My guess is that that is why the name of the County in which Sydney is placed is Cumberland. Will have to look it up when I get home (or have access to the internet).
Yesterday morning, (Saturday which was the lovely sunny day) I was watching three young rabbits chasing each other around the garden and thought about how people with imagination and drawing skills like Beatrix Potter could not help but write about what she saw from her farm. They appeared to be having so much fun, and are so cute and no wonder they are so popular in Britain. Shame they do so much damage to the land in Australia; there is a $30,000 fine if you are found with a pet rabbit in Queensland (or any rabbit for that matter except a dead one).
We also have a very cute wood mouse, according to Stephen. He is shy but does not appear to be too frightened of us. Brian saw him in the kitchen and about a week later I saw him emerge from the wood basket in the lounge room. He kept appearing when Stephen was lighting the fire and when we got near to the end of the wood in the basket, we could see the cosy little newspaper nest he had made at the bottom. Brian took the basket with the mouse in it into the garden and turned it upside down and the mouse ran into the wood shed. We thought that would be that. But the following night I saw him run across the stairs in the hallway and on Saturday when I was sitting in the lounge room could hear him rebuilding his nest in the bottom of the basket. Brian asked Sandra (who came to do some gardening yesterday) how far he has to remove the mouse so that he won’t come back again? He suggested Lancaster where Sandra lives. She laughed, but I’m not sure whether she would appreciate having the mouse in her house. (or as the Canadians would say ‘a moose in the hoose’).
Fine and sunny. Experience has led us to the conclusion that in Cowan Bridge Thursday is the only day in the week that is likely to be fine and maybe sunny. All the rest are grey and overcast and either wet or cold and windy or on some occasions all three.
Friday 14th October
It was forecast that it would be fine but with low cloud so no point in going uphill. We decided to go for a walk at Elterwater. It is included in a little book that has been sponsored by Booths the supermarket that has stores throughout the north. We have done a few from this book and found that we have gotten lost every time, but the Elterwater sounded okay. However the instructions for this walk did it for me and if it had been my book it would be at the bottom of the bin by now. I totally lost it when we got lost yet again. But this time I was totally frustrated because we were in a National forest; a place which to me should have clearly marked trails and absolutely no sheep or cows and all their ****. After smashing around in a lot of this in what according to the book instructions was the trail, we returned the way we came and back to the road into Elterwater. We then proceeded on to what Brian calls a ‘nursing home’ walk i.e. one that has been constructed so that those with wheel chairs and push chairs can do a walk along the side of the lake. I don’t object to these, but what about catering to what surely must be the great majority of people who would enjoy walking on well marked paths without having to be gung ho purists who walk the fells full of self congratulation about their navigational skills! Bloody show-offs in my opinion!
Saturday 15th October
Anyway it did it for Brian as well. On Saturday the sun was shining from about 8.30 (on a normal day, it doesn’t get light until about 8.00 now and even later when it is raining) and when I suggested a fell walk to Brian he rejected it on the grounds that his shoes were too wet and that the ground will not have dried out. Consequently we enjoyed sitting in the lounge room in the sun reading the paper. Then we walked down to The Highwayman pub for a light lunch and back again – this time on the road. I did the washing and managed to get it all dry. The owners of the other two cottages were all here working in the garden and cleaning up the house. It reminded me of when I lived in London in the 1960s. Having gone through an English winter, a friend and I couldn’t be bothered going sightseeing when we got onto the continent – we had missed the sun so much during the winter that all we wanted to do was to sit and enjoy it. One of the chaps in the local shop said to me that it is amazing how a couple of days of sunshine can lift the spirits and I have to agree.
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD AND OTHER THOUGHTS
Our visitors last week bought us lots food. Tim and Hazel bought us potatoes garlic and onions from their allotment, and Ann and Stephen apples, pears, tomatoes, peppers, grapes, pumpkins, homemade jams, honey, chutney and a damson and walnut cake. No wonder I am putting on weight! The amazing thing about Tim’s potatoes is that some of them are purple. Apparently you can get purple skinned potatoes, but Tim’s are purple right through. We had some of them baked when we roasted a chicken and they were delicious, but I can’t wait to have them mashed. Can you imagine how colourful the plate would look with purple mashed potatoes, green peas and some carrots? I wonder the cook designers haven’t been promoting them. They taste a bit like an orange sweet potato to me.
The apples and pears Stephen grew are heritage apples and we have had two or three apple and pear crumbles, as well as an apple and damson crumble with damsons from the trees in the garden.
SCENERY and WILDLIFE
The Lakes district is obviously one of the most scenic in Britain and it is in the County of Cumbria. When we did the walk to the top at Keswick, and looked down on Derwent water with its small islands, I could see the similarities between that scene below and the early artist drawings and paintings of Sydney harbour. My guess is that that is why the name of the County in which Sydney is placed is Cumberland. Will have to look it up when I get home (or have access to the internet).
Yesterday morning, (Saturday which was the lovely sunny day) I was watching three young rabbits chasing each other around the garden and thought about how people with imagination and drawing skills like Beatrix Potter could not help but write about what she saw from her farm. They appeared to be having so much fun, and are so cute and no wonder they are so popular in Britain. Shame they do so much damage to the land in Australia; there is a $30,000 fine if you are found with a pet rabbit in Queensland (or any rabbit for that matter except a dead one).
We also have a very cute wood mouse, according to Stephen. He is shy but does not appear to be too frightened of us. Brian saw him in the kitchen and about a week later I saw him emerge from the wood basket in the lounge room. He kept appearing when Stephen was lighting the fire and when we got near to the end of the wood in the basket, we could see the cosy little newspaper nest he had made at the bottom. Brian took the basket with the mouse in it into the garden and turned it upside down and the mouse ran into the wood shed. We thought that would be that. But the following night I saw him run across the stairs in the hallway and on Saturday when I was sitting in the lounge room could hear him rebuilding his nest in the bottom of the basket. Brian asked Sandra (who came to do some gardening yesterday) how far he has to remove the mouse so that he won’t come back again? He suggested Lancaster where Sandra lives. She laughed, but I’m not sure whether she would appreciate having the mouse in her house. (or as the Canadians would say ‘a moose in the hoose’).
13 October 2011
A Local Walk in the Cloudy, Misty Fells
Saturday, 8 October
It was very misty today with some light rain so we decided that a local walk would be preferable to driving further afield as the bad weather appeared to be widespread.
We chose the AA.com walk “Leck Beck and Easegill Kirk” which we could intercept virtually on our doorstep. This was a 3 hour walk of some 12 km. We did not find the Easegill Kirk – not a church but rock formation created by the running water over many millions of years – mainly because the descent to the beck below appeared quite hazardous. Also, it was very misty and all the fells were not to be seen. Regardless of this we took off across the fell in the mist and eventually found the stone wall which we followed to the wall which led to Leck Farm. Again we were unable to locate any of the features on the fell because of the mist. Tim was having fun trying out the GPS feature on his new mobile phone; however, with the mist/rain on both his glasses and the screen he had limited success. The return on the sealed lane and across the lower fields was quite pleasant as the mist started to clear. On this particular night a warm fire and a hot meal were particularly welcome.
According to Tim, he does the same thing to Hazel as Brian does to me – walks ahead of her and apparently they also get lost quite often. She has decided that it is a Smith family trait. They of course would not admit that we were lost – but there was considerable discussion about whether we were on the right track, especially as the instructions said that we should go downhill, but the blokes knew that that was not going down too well with the women. So we headed up across the heather on the moor. It was very wet and muddy and Hazel’s and Brian’s feet were wet though. I told them that like most of our Aussie walking friends, Brian has now lost the confidence of most of his family in the UK when it comes to walking. Jean mentioned to me the walk we took her and Bill on in Norwich when Brian didn’t know where it ended, so maybe Hazel would go with him again on a dry day, I don’t think she would on a wet one. She was so relieved when we finally reached the road it completely transformed her. I know that when we were tramping our way across the heather on the moor, she would have preferred to have been back in the lounge room at Bronte cottages reading up on the rising of the middle class in Britain which is the topic for her first essay in her MA course which she has just commenced.
Sunday 9 October
Cloudy and wet. We had a stroll around Kirkby Lonsdale including a beer at a pub serving the ales from the local micro brewery in town. Afterwards we had lunch at Plato’s and then Tim and Hazel set off from the cottage bound for home in Peterborough.
This time it was my fault that Brian and Tim got lost and very very wet. I told them that they could turn right out of the pub and then left to get back to the car park where it was necessary to feed some more money into the parking machine so that we could extend our stay. (Parking in this area is really expensive). They followed my directions, but could not find a way through so had to back track in the pouring rain. Meanwhile Hazel and I were wondering what on earth had happened to them. I had to admit that I did miss lead them because we were further around the town than I thought we were.
Monday 9 – Wednesday 11 October
On the Monday we had a visit from Sandra and Malik (the owners of No 2 Bronte Cottages) who had just returned from their sun-laden holiday in southern Europe. I think we might revert in our next overseas holiday to locations closer to the equator.
They had a great time and Malik is mad about Provence – maybe they will end up with a property we could rent from them there?
Sandra had read the blog and bought some replacement wine glasses. However, they are the lovely red wine glasses which are so fine I was reluctant to use those in the first place so all of them are okay, and it was the smaller white ones that we broke. I did manage to find some nice ones in an Oxfam shop in Kendal – advised by Gillian to look for them there – and while there were five when I bought them only 4 made it home in tact, one having broken in the bag. Don’t know why because the man wrapped them separately in tissue paper, but obviously there was not enough of it.
Then at lunchtime Stephen and Ann arrived from South Wales. In the afternoon we had a visit to Kirkby Lonsdale to do some shopping and show Stephen and Ann around KL.
As with all our guests, I took them to see the view from just below the Church. This was painted in a famous painting by Turner after it had been described by Ruskin as being the “finest view in England and therefore in the whole world”. As Joan commented it is now marred by some awful pink and blue additions to a farm building in the foreground. And because of the horrible weather, our more recent visitors did not get to see the whole view – the hills which form the background being totally covered in cloud and rain and mist.
On the Tuesday we visited Hill Top Farm at Near Sawry. We learned that the film about Beatrix Potter had been set not at Hill Top but at Yew Tree farm near Coniston. Also, that the inside scenes were in sets replicating Hill Top constructed and located on the Isle of Man. Following this visit had lunch at Hawkshead and later had a retail therapy stop-over in Ambleside.
We also learned that once Beatrix had married, Hill top was not considered a suitable house for a woman of her wealth and status to live in, so a new 14 roomed house was built not far from Hill top and she could escape back to her beloved cottage and often did so, especially when she saw people she did not wish to spend time with coming to the new house. She came from an artistic family and examples of her father and mother’s drawings are on display in the cottage as well as painting of another of her relatives. When we left the cottage we walked down beside the garden and saw lots of rabbits and a few her favourite breed of sheep.
We then went to Hawkshead village where an outdoor clothing company has a very large shop. We had a browse and Ann bought a jacket. I had bought one the week before when I was in Ambleside while Brian was doing the Helvellyn walk, so I didn’t need one. Then we had fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding at the OAP (Old age pensioner) at the Queen’s Head Inn.
As a member of the National Trust Stephen went into the Gallery in the village which was originally the offices of Beatrix’s lawyer husband. Some of her original drawings are on display there, but Ann, Brian and I decided that it was too expensive and thought that the National Trust should give a larger discount to those who pay to visit Hilltop Cottage and then go to the Gallery – it was only 50p off meaning it would have cost nine pound 50 p to see both.
On Wednesday Stephen was anxious to get out on the fells so on examination of the map we found we could combine a visit to Dent with a walk back to Easegill Kirk and then back to the cottage. Consequently, we set off in the mist and light rain and lunched in Dent at the Sun Inn. Afterward, Mary and Ann dropped us men off at the start of the walk in Dentdale at Blind Beck Bridge. It was water and mud all the way but the mist did lift as we walked. This time we did actually locate Easgill Kirk where we actually crossed the dry beck and yet the water was surging down from Great Coum. Apparently this paradox is explained by the beck going underground and resurging further downstream. Stephen had been concerned that we would not have been able to cross the beck at any point because of the increased and rapid flow. In that case we had a contingency plane to return to the start at Dentdale and phone for our rescue. But all was well and we returned safely after a 3.5 hour walk over 12km with only wet and muddy shoes and socks to show for it.
Ann and I drove into Kendal – on the way passing lots of pheasants – apparently they sit on the fence i.e. a stone wall beside the river but there were lots of them in the fields close by as well. We went to an outlet shop – again mentioned to me by Gillian – and discovered that it was a Clarks’ shoes outlet. I was looking for some boots but couldn’t find any that I wanted, but Ann did get some nice black shoes which she will need after she has her hip replacement operation. She is in a lot of pain with it and it hoping that she will be able to have it before Christmas. We were going to have coffee in Kendal, but when we looked at the map decided against it because it was too far for Ann to walk, so we drove back and got home just before the men.
It was very misty today with some light rain so we decided that a local walk would be preferable to driving further afield as the bad weather appeared to be widespread.
We chose the AA.com walk “Leck Beck and Easegill Kirk” which we could intercept virtually on our doorstep. This was a 3 hour walk of some 12 km. We did not find the Easegill Kirk – not a church but rock formation created by the running water over many millions of years – mainly because the descent to the beck below appeared quite hazardous. Also, it was very misty and all the fells were not to be seen. Regardless of this we took off across the fell in the mist and eventually found the stone wall which we followed to the wall which led to Leck Farm. Again we were unable to locate any of the features on the fell because of the mist. Tim was having fun trying out the GPS feature on his new mobile phone; however, with the mist/rain on both his glasses and the screen he had limited success. The return on the sealed lane and across the lower fields was quite pleasant as the mist started to clear. On this particular night a warm fire and a hot meal were particularly welcome.
According to Tim, he does the same thing to Hazel as Brian does to me – walks ahead of her and apparently they also get lost quite often. She has decided that it is a Smith family trait. They of course would not admit that we were lost – but there was considerable discussion about whether we were on the right track, especially as the instructions said that we should go downhill, but the blokes knew that that was not going down too well with the women. So we headed up across the heather on the moor. It was very wet and muddy and Hazel’s and Brian’s feet were wet though. I told them that like most of our Aussie walking friends, Brian has now lost the confidence of most of his family in the UK when it comes to walking. Jean mentioned to me the walk we took her and Bill on in Norwich when Brian didn’t know where it ended, so maybe Hazel would go with him again on a dry day, I don’t think she would on a wet one. She was so relieved when we finally reached the road it completely transformed her. I know that when we were tramping our way across the heather on the moor, she would have preferred to have been back in the lounge room at Bronte cottages reading up on the rising of the middle class in Britain which is the topic for her first essay in her MA course which she has just commenced.
Sunday 9 October
Cloudy and wet. We had a stroll around Kirkby Lonsdale including a beer at a pub serving the ales from the local micro brewery in town. Afterwards we had lunch at Plato’s and then Tim and Hazel set off from the cottage bound for home in Peterborough.
This time it was my fault that Brian and Tim got lost and very very wet. I told them that they could turn right out of the pub and then left to get back to the car park where it was necessary to feed some more money into the parking machine so that we could extend our stay. (Parking in this area is really expensive). They followed my directions, but could not find a way through so had to back track in the pouring rain. Meanwhile Hazel and I were wondering what on earth had happened to them. I had to admit that I did miss lead them because we were further around the town than I thought we were.
Monday 9 – Wednesday 11 October
On the Monday we had a visit from Sandra and Malik (the owners of No 2 Bronte Cottages) who had just returned from their sun-laden holiday in southern Europe. I think we might revert in our next overseas holiday to locations closer to the equator.
They had a great time and Malik is mad about Provence – maybe they will end up with a property we could rent from them there?
Sandra had read the blog and bought some replacement wine glasses. However, they are the lovely red wine glasses which are so fine I was reluctant to use those in the first place so all of them are okay, and it was the smaller white ones that we broke. I did manage to find some nice ones in an Oxfam shop in Kendal – advised by Gillian to look for them there – and while there were five when I bought them only 4 made it home in tact, one having broken in the bag. Don’t know why because the man wrapped them separately in tissue paper, but obviously there was not enough of it.
Then at lunchtime Stephen and Ann arrived from South Wales. In the afternoon we had a visit to Kirkby Lonsdale to do some shopping and show Stephen and Ann around KL.
As with all our guests, I took them to see the view from just below the Church. This was painted in a famous painting by Turner after it had been described by Ruskin as being the “finest view in England and therefore in the whole world”. As Joan commented it is now marred by some awful pink and blue additions to a farm building in the foreground. And because of the horrible weather, our more recent visitors did not get to see the whole view – the hills which form the background being totally covered in cloud and rain and mist.
On the Tuesday we visited Hill Top Farm at Near Sawry. We learned that the film about Beatrix Potter had been set not at Hill Top but at Yew Tree farm near Coniston. Also, that the inside scenes were in sets replicating Hill Top constructed and located on the Isle of Man. Following this visit had lunch at Hawkshead and later had a retail therapy stop-over in Ambleside.
We also learned that once Beatrix had married, Hill top was not considered a suitable house for a woman of her wealth and status to live in, so a new 14 roomed house was built not far from Hill top and she could escape back to her beloved cottage and often did so, especially when she saw people she did not wish to spend time with coming to the new house. She came from an artistic family and examples of her father and mother’s drawings are on display in the cottage as well as painting of another of her relatives. When we left the cottage we walked down beside the garden and saw lots of rabbits and a few her favourite breed of sheep.
We then went to Hawkshead village where an outdoor clothing company has a very large shop. We had a browse and Ann bought a jacket. I had bought one the week before when I was in Ambleside while Brian was doing the Helvellyn walk, so I didn’t need one. Then we had fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding at the OAP (Old age pensioner) at the Queen’s Head Inn.
As a member of the National Trust Stephen went into the Gallery in the village which was originally the offices of Beatrix’s lawyer husband. Some of her original drawings are on display there, but Ann, Brian and I decided that it was too expensive and thought that the National Trust should give a larger discount to those who pay to visit Hilltop Cottage and then go to the Gallery – it was only 50p off meaning it would have cost nine pound 50 p to see both.
On Wednesday Stephen was anxious to get out on the fells so on examination of the map we found we could combine a visit to Dent with a walk back to Easegill Kirk and then back to the cottage. Consequently, we set off in the mist and light rain and lunched in Dent at the Sun Inn. Afterward, Mary and Ann dropped us men off at the start of the walk in Dentdale at Blind Beck Bridge. It was water and mud all the way but the mist did lift as we walked. This time we did actually locate Easgill Kirk where we actually crossed the dry beck and yet the water was surging down from Great Coum. Apparently this paradox is explained by the beck going underground and resurging further downstream. Stephen had been concerned that we would not have been able to cross the beck at any point because of the increased and rapid flow. In that case we had a contingency plane to return to the start at Dentdale and phone for our rescue. But all was well and we returned safely after a 3.5 hour walk over 12km with only wet and muddy shoes and socks to show for it.
Ann and I drove into Kendal – on the way passing lots of pheasants – apparently they sit on the fence i.e. a stone wall beside the river but there were lots of them in the fields close by as well. We went to an outlet shop – again mentioned to me by Gillian – and discovered that it was a Clarks’ shoes outlet. I was looking for some boots but couldn’t find any that I wanted, but Ann did get some nice black shoes which she will need after she has her hip replacement operation. She is in a lot of pain with it and it hoping that she will be able to have it before Christmas. We were going to have coffee in Kendal, but when we looked at the map decided against it because it was too far for Ann to walk, so we drove back and got home just before the men.
Keswick and Walla Crag
Friday, 7 October
The weather was still fine so we chose to drive up to Keswick to visit the town and do a local circular walk up to Walla Crag. Keswick is a busy little town and before we set off on the walk we paid a visit the Keswick Pencil Museum. The Cumberland Pencil Company has now moved to Cockermouth because it’s expansion was inhibited in Keswick because of the conditions set by the Lake District National Park. However, the museum is small but very well set out and the shop of course has lots of pencils and other artists’ requirements. The admission price is very reasonable considering the facilities. Of course it is probably subsidised by the Company and the shop sales.
My friend Malle Eden is an artist and when she heard that we were coming to the Lake district she asked that we have a photo taken in front of the Cumberland pencil factory. She and David – like most Aussie’s I would think have been using Cumberland coloured pencils for years.
I enjoyed the Museum especially the tins and boxes with illustrations of Derwent water on the lids – they were part of my childhood. The Museum has a very good collection and the entry is through a set that resembles a lead mine and then opens out into the story of the manufacture of pencils. When we bought out tickets we were given a black lead pencil and I’ve kept mine for Malle. We thought that a photo in front of the pencil factory was not very exciting, and the pencil museum façade is not really historic, but the small 1930/40s delivery van parked outside fitted the bill. Brian took the photo when I was talking to him so I’m not very impressed with it, but it will have to do.
We then had a bite to eat and set off on the walk not before firstly obtaining a brochure from the Tourist Information Centre that gave a very clear guide to the route of the walk. The views from the Crag were excellent and we the dropped down to the road running alongside Derwent Water into Keswick. We took the footpath along the road rather than the lake shore path as we had to get back to Cowan Bridge to welcome Tim and Hazel who were paying us a visit from Peterborough.
The weather was still fine so we chose to drive up to Keswick to visit the town and do a local circular walk up to Walla Crag. Keswick is a busy little town and before we set off on the walk we paid a visit the Keswick Pencil Museum. The Cumberland Pencil Company has now moved to Cockermouth because it’s expansion was inhibited in Keswick because of the conditions set by the Lake District National Park. However, the museum is small but very well set out and the shop of course has lots of pencils and other artists’ requirements. The admission price is very reasonable considering the facilities. Of course it is probably subsidised by the Company and the shop sales.
My friend Malle Eden is an artist and when she heard that we were coming to the Lake district she asked that we have a photo taken in front of the Cumberland pencil factory. She and David – like most Aussie’s I would think have been using Cumberland coloured pencils for years.
I enjoyed the Museum especially the tins and boxes with illustrations of Derwent water on the lids – they were part of my childhood. The Museum has a very good collection and the entry is through a set that resembles a lead mine and then opens out into the story of the manufacture of pencils. When we bought out tickets we were given a black lead pencil and I’ve kept mine for Malle. We thought that a photo in front of the pencil factory was not very exciting, and the pencil museum façade is not really historic, but the small 1930/40s delivery van parked outside fitted the bill. Brian took the photo when I was talking to him so I’m not very impressed with it, but it will have to do.
We then had a bite to eat and set off on the walk not before firstly obtaining a brochure from the Tourist Information Centre that gave a very clear guide to the route of the walk. The views from the Crag were excellent and we the dropped down to the road running alongside Derwent Water into Keswick. We took the footpath along the road rather than the lake shore path as we had to get back to Cowan Bridge to welcome Tim and Hazel who were paying us a visit from Peterborough.
Pubs, Social Visits and Failed Walks
Tuesday, 4 October
We are still competing with the weather but decided to confront it and headed off to check out Coniston. However, although the rain kept at bay the fells and peaks were covered in mist. We left Coniston and headed out to the Old Dungeon Hotel – marvellous old pub and well worth the visit. A friendly barman who recommended the Budweisser (the original Czech brew not the American pretender). Apparently the local Czech miners are responsible for its importation because they were so annoyed with the Americans for ruining their homeland brew.
Wednesday, 5 October
Still cold, wet and very windy so decided to go for a ride to Arnside and see if we could find Gillian Millet’s home. Olga had given us the address before we left and as it is only 15 miles away from Cowan Bridge. It was a pleasant drive and we were very impressed with Arnside when we got there. It is right on the bay with a railway line across it and some very attractive buildings on the front. Drove on to Silverdale Road and were looking at the numbers and looked up and there was Gill just getting out of her car. Had a good chat with her over a cup of tea and afterwards went to one of the pubs on the front for a good lunch. Gill looks really well and says that she is really happy here. We chatted about Morecombe as well and she told us that you really need to see it when it is covered in snow. Although we don’t think that will happen on this trip. We are looking forward to hearing from her and hope that she and Neil will visit us before we leave Cowan Bridge.
Thursday, 6 October
Only showers forecast for today and the weather was otherwise fine. We decided on a visit to Settle and then a walk from nearby Stainforth up to Smearsett Scars. Just prior to parking the car at the start of the walk down came one of the forecast showers. It was as heavy as a tropical shower but much colder, in fact it contained some sleet (we were told later by a walker who had been on the fell at the time that he had experienced hail). But after the shower the skies were cleared by a strong wind so we set off (upward of course). The higher we got the stronger the wind became and eventually although the weather was fine we were leaning into a powerful wind at about a 45 degree angle and looking at the ground all the time. We made a decision to turn back as it was becoming a most unenjoyable experience.
Gill had told us that there was a nice walk near Settle so that was the motivating factor. She also told us that we should try the op shops for the wine glasses. We had a good look around Settle – another very attractive Yorkshire Village with lots of little alley ways and stone buildings. I checked out the timetable for the Settle to Carlisle Railway trip which has become a major tourist attraction because of the number of viaducts, but Brian is not keen. I thought it would be a good thing to do on a wet day, but at twenty-one pound a ticket each, his Yorkshire traits came to the fore – we can get there by car for a lot less than that!
When we got on the walk, it was me who decided I had had enough. As Brian was so far ahead and he couldn’t hear me because of the wind, so I just turned back. . He claimed that he could not decide when he eventually turned around whether I was coming toward him with my hood pulled down over my face, or whether it was my back heading in the opposite direction.
We are still competing with the weather but decided to confront it and headed off to check out Coniston. However, although the rain kept at bay the fells and peaks were covered in mist. We left Coniston and headed out to the Old Dungeon Hotel – marvellous old pub and well worth the visit. A friendly barman who recommended the Budweisser (the original Czech brew not the American pretender). Apparently the local Czech miners are responsible for its importation because they were so annoyed with the Americans for ruining their homeland brew.
Wednesday, 5 October
Still cold, wet and very windy so decided to go for a ride to Arnside and see if we could find Gillian Millet’s home. Olga had given us the address before we left and as it is only 15 miles away from Cowan Bridge. It was a pleasant drive and we were very impressed with Arnside when we got there. It is right on the bay with a railway line across it and some very attractive buildings on the front. Drove on to Silverdale Road and were looking at the numbers and looked up and there was Gill just getting out of her car. Had a good chat with her over a cup of tea and afterwards went to one of the pubs on the front for a good lunch. Gill looks really well and says that she is really happy here. We chatted about Morecombe as well and she told us that you really need to see it when it is covered in snow. Although we don’t think that will happen on this trip. We are looking forward to hearing from her and hope that she and Neil will visit us before we leave Cowan Bridge.
Thursday, 6 October
Only showers forecast for today and the weather was otherwise fine. We decided on a visit to Settle and then a walk from nearby Stainforth up to Smearsett Scars. Just prior to parking the car at the start of the walk down came one of the forecast showers. It was as heavy as a tropical shower but much colder, in fact it contained some sleet (we were told later by a walker who had been on the fell at the time that he had experienced hail). But after the shower the skies were cleared by a strong wind so we set off (upward of course). The higher we got the stronger the wind became and eventually although the weather was fine we were leaning into a powerful wind at about a 45 degree angle and looking at the ground all the time. We made a decision to turn back as it was becoming a most unenjoyable experience.
Gill had told us that there was a nice walk near Settle so that was the motivating factor. She also told us that we should try the op shops for the wine glasses. We had a good look around Settle – another very attractive Yorkshire Village with lots of little alley ways and stone buildings. I checked out the timetable for the Settle to Carlisle Railway trip which has become a major tourist attraction because of the number of viaducts, but Brian is not keen. I thought it would be a good thing to do on a wet day, but at twenty-one pound a ticket each, his Yorkshire traits came to the fore – we can get there by car for a lot less than that!
When we got on the walk, it was me who decided I had had enough. As Brian was so far ahead and he couldn’t hear me because of the wind, so I just turned back. . He claimed that he could not decide when he eventually turned around whether I was coming toward him with my hood pulled down over my face, or whether it was my back heading in the opposite direction.
05 October 2011
The Last of the Three Peaks of Yorkshire
Saturday 1 October
After a quick reconnoitre to Dent on the previous day (where we picked up a brochure on the walk to Whernside from Dent) we set off on the climb up to Whernside (Yorkshire’s highest peak – 736m). After a long walk out of the village we headed up Craven Way (an old packhorse route to Ingleton) on the ascent to Whernside. Leaving Craven Way after walking about 4 km the ascent south to Whernside commenced. Mary decided to go back and spend some time in the village. I pushed on up a very easy slope (though a little boggy in parts). Just at the steepest part which was the start of the final climb up the ridge to the summit I merged with another track ascending from the north east (I believe from Ribblehead). In contrast to the peaceful walk so far this was like Central London. The walkers were stretched out down the slope and up along the ridge mostly in a snake-like single file. This was obviously a popular route. On reaching the trig point the ‘snake’ had coiled and consisted of crowds of walkers all drinking, chatting and taking snaps. I commented to one happy fellow that it was like the January Sales Week to which he laughingly replied looking round at his mustered colleagues “You mean a Jumble Sale” to which I made no further comment. Instead I immediately headed off on the descent path – due west down to the Kingsdale Road. I then headed back to the village by leaving the road after a few hundred yards to return to the village across country. I met up with Mary at the car park and a pint of cider at the Sun Inn finished off our walk.
Unlike Brian I didn’t meet a soul on my return journey. I took a different route when I got down and got back to the village around 3.15. Unlike Brian, I didn’t see a soul on my return but just as I got to the village, there was a very noisy soccer match being played on a ground close to the Church Bridge. My hip and knee joints took a while to recover; but by the time Brian arrived they were almost back to normal and I had finished another chapter of my book. I really enjoyed the wait sitting in the sun at a picnic table on the edge of the green.
After a quick reconnoitre to Dent on the previous day (where we picked up a brochure on the walk to Whernside from Dent) we set off on the climb up to Whernside (Yorkshire’s highest peak – 736m). After a long walk out of the village we headed up Craven Way (an old packhorse route to Ingleton) on the ascent to Whernside. Leaving Craven Way after walking about 4 km the ascent south to Whernside commenced. Mary decided to go back and spend some time in the village. I pushed on up a very easy slope (though a little boggy in parts). Just at the steepest part which was the start of the final climb up the ridge to the summit I merged with another track ascending from the north east (I believe from Ribblehead). In contrast to the peaceful walk so far this was like Central London. The walkers were stretched out down the slope and up along the ridge mostly in a snake-like single file. This was obviously a popular route. On reaching the trig point the ‘snake’ had coiled and consisted of crowds of walkers all drinking, chatting and taking snaps. I commented to one happy fellow that it was like the January Sales Week to which he laughingly replied looking round at his mustered colleagues “You mean a Jumble Sale” to which I made no further comment. Instead I immediately headed off on the descent path – due west down to the Kingsdale Road. I then headed back to the village by leaving the road after a few hundred yards to return to the village across country. I met up with Mary at the car park and a pint of cider at the Sun Inn finished off our walk.
Unlike Brian I didn’t meet a soul on my return journey. I took a different route when I got down and got back to the village around 3.15. Unlike Brian, I didn’t see a soul on my return but just as I got to the village, there was a very noisy soccer match being played on a ground close to the Church Bridge. My hip and knee joints took a while to recover; but by the time Brian arrived they were almost back to normal and I had finished another chapter of my book. I really enjoyed the wait sitting in the sun at a picnic table on the edge of the green.
30 September 2011
Striding Out!
Thursday 29 September
Great weather continues so I decided to grab the chance of walking up Helvellyn (the third highest peak in England (949m). Mary dropped me off at Grasmere to start the long slog up Little Tongue to Grisdale Tarn. Dark clouds hovered over Helvellyn but slowly gave way to clear blue sky as I climbed. The climb up to Dollywagon Pike was steep but became easier as I reached Nethermost Pike and the walk along to top to Helvellyn was a breeze (even a mountain bike rider passed me on the way down!). I had a bite to eat at the top but even in the four walled wind shelter it was not very comfy given the usual high peak winds. I then set off down the Striding Edge route a slipping and a sliding down to the more defined track. I had a proper break overlooking Red Tarn and then it was literally down hill all the way to Glenridding. On arriving at Glenridding I found that I had no mobile reception so was considering my option as to how to meet up with Mary when she just appeared out of the local newsagent. So we went for the obligatory post-walk drink and then returned to Cowan Bridge just on dusk.
An Appropriate Cultural Event
Wednesday 28 September
Still the sun shines. When it was very cold and wet and on our very first visit to Lancaster we booked to see a play at the Dukes Theatre. So rather than going out walking, we went to Lancaster. Brian cleaned up his email while I had a look at the shops – still haven’t found some suitable wine glasses- then lunch at the Dukes café We were amused – it got very busy, and one of the staff told some people that it might be better if they went somewhere else. This reminded us of Jim Baker when he had the take away food shop and in reply to a request for chips, the customer was told, “go across the road – we don’t do chips here – they are too messy”!
The play entitled “We are Three Sisters” tells the Bronte story. According to Charlotte’s biography, these are the words she used when she and Ann visited Charlotte’s publisher in London. They had to put the record straight when the unscrupulous publisher of Emily and Anne’s books created a rumour that their three books were the work of one man. As with most female authors in the 19th century, the Bronte sisters adopted male pseudonyms. Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell which were the names under which the first editions of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and the Tenant of Wildfell Hall were published.
It was an excellent production and we both enjoyed it. The inevitable school group came to the matinee and I started chatting to one of the girls who sat next to me. Her name appropriately enough is Charlotte and she told me that her class is doing a project which involves a play that highlights the true to life aspects of the Bronte sisters taken from the biographies, and used by them in their novels. Sounds to me like a fun way of learning creative writing and analytic skills at the same time.
Still the sun shines. When it was very cold and wet and on our very first visit to Lancaster we booked to see a play at the Dukes Theatre. So rather than going out walking, we went to Lancaster. Brian cleaned up his email while I had a look at the shops – still haven’t found some suitable wine glasses- then lunch at the Dukes café We were amused – it got very busy, and one of the staff told some people that it might be better if they went somewhere else. This reminded us of Jim Baker when he had the take away food shop and in reply to a request for chips, the customer was told, “go across the road – we don’t do chips here – they are too messy”!
The play entitled “We are Three Sisters” tells the Bronte story. According to Charlotte’s biography, these are the words she used when she and Ann visited Charlotte’s publisher in London. They had to put the record straight when the unscrupulous publisher of Emily and Anne’s books created a rumour that their three books were the work of one man. As with most female authors in the 19th century, the Bronte sisters adopted male pseudonyms. Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell which were the names under which the first editions of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and the Tenant of Wildfell Hall were published.
It was an excellent production and we both enjoyed it. The inevitable school group came to the matinee and I started chatting to one of the girls who sat next to me. Her name appropriately enough is Charlotte and she told me that her class is doing a project which involves a play that highlights the true to life aspects of the Bronte sisters taken from the biographies, and used by them in their novels. Sounds to me like a fun way of learning creative writing and analytic skills at the same time.
28 September 2011
More Walks - Weather Improving
Sunday - 23 September
We went for a drive to check out the starting points for some of the up-hill walks Brian wants to do. Lunch at a pub in Horton in Ribblesdale and walked around the village and up the road to where one of the three highest peaks in Yorkshire walks begins. Misty and wet so refrained from doing it today, but the forecast is for good weather all next week! I’ll believe it when I see it.
Saturday - 24 September.
Left Cowan Bridge about 8.30 am in anticipation of having a longer look at Lancaster before meeting Joan who was arriving on the train from London around 11.00 am. Managed to get some of the items we had been looking for, but no joy with wine glasses. Since we have been here we have managed to break three. This is due mainly to the fact that there is a porcelain sink in the kitchen and like tiles on kitchen floors, porcelain sinks are very unforgiving!
It was still cold and wet when Joan arrived, so after a brisk walk from the station we headed inside for coffee at Nero. Then a long walk trying to find the fish shop we had discovered before meeting Joan – at least she saw a bit of Lancaster. Turned out it was in the market so we managed to get the makings for Brian’s delicious seafood chowder for dinner at Cowan Bridge.
She and I went for a long walk up the road that Brian and I did on the first Sunday we were here. Got high enough to see the sea, and by the time we were there the weather had changed and was starting to clear.
Sunday 25 September
We ended up staying up late watching the end of the movie Calendar Girls followed by a 10 years on documentary about the creation of the movie and all the people involved. It was very entertaining, but very late when it finished. Joan said that when she eventually got to bed, her mind was full of that, plus all that we had chatted about, but it was the squeaking fire alarm that had kept her awake for most of the night. I was very apologetic. Upstairs there are fire alarms in every room plus two in the hall way and Brian has been trying to track the problem down for a week. He thought he had it sorted but unfortunately for Joan he had not! We will have to get new batteries before Tim and Hazel arrive!
Sunday morning was fine and sunny but a cold wind. Decided to explore Morecombe before Joan was due to depart Lancaster later that afternoon. None of us had been there although Brian says he was there when he was a young bloke on the lookout for girls. Wandered around a market full of clothes and had a look at the Art Deco style Midland Hotel. Walked out on the stone jetty and along the sea front, but were not terribly impressed. Glad we went, but won’t be in a rush to go again. Did notice that there are different supermarkets down there where we might be able to buy some replacement wine glasses!
Monday 26 September
Another warm, fine and sunny day. Decided to do the Haweswater walk. This is a dam created by the flooding of the village of Mardale – similar to Jindabyneand Adaminaby in the Snowy Mountains. We had walked around part of it when we did the Coast to Coast walk in 2002, but I didn’t remember too much about it because we came into it from Patterdale and that had involved a long climb up to the top and then a long walk along the top) before we finally found a way down to the water and then on into the village of Shap. It was the longest days walk in 2002 about 28 kms, and all I can remember about it is being so tired I could not be bothered to get the camera out to take a photo the ruins of Shap Abbey. Today was a breeze and only 20 kms. It was even warm enough for us to sit down and eat our crunchy bars for lunch something we never did on the Coast to Coast. The walk back along the eastern bank was by road but the plus was we were able to stop in at the Haweswater Hotel for a drink.
Tuesday 27 September
Another fine sunny day – warmer than yesterday! Drove out to Horton in Ribblesdale and started the walk up Pen-y-Ghen (694m –the 3rd highest peak in Yorkshire). I went up to the first stage, but decided against going any further as it was pretty steep. Brian continued on and said that it was easier than Mt. Cooroora, but I’m not into doing steep uphill walks anymore, so I returned to the village and explored it and waited until he made it down again.
We went for a drive to check out the starting points for some of the up-hill walks Brian wants to do. Lunch at a pub in Horton in Ribblesdale and walked around the village and up the road to where one of the three highest peaks in Yorkshire walks begins. Misty and wet so refrained from doing it today, but the forecast is for good weather all next week! I’ll believe it when I see it.
Saturday - 24 September.
Left Cowan Bridge about 8.30 am in anticipation of having a longer look at Lancaster before meeting Joan who was arriving on the train from London around 11.00 am. Managed to get some of the items we had been looking for, but no joy with wine glasses. Since we have been here we have managed to break three. This is due mainly to the fact that there is a porcelain sink in the kitchen and like tiles on kitchen floors, porcelain sinks are very unforgiving!
It was still cold and wet when Joan arrived, so after a brisk walk from the station we headed inside for coffee at Nero. Then a long walk trying to find the fish shop we had discovered before meeting Joan – at least she saw a bit of Lancaster. Turned out it was in the market so we managed to get the makings for Brian’s delicious seafood chowder for dinner at Cowan Bridge.
She and I went for a long walk up the road that Brian and I did on the first Sunday we were here. Got high enough to see the sea, and by the time we were there the weather had changed and was starting to clear.
Sunday 25 September
We ended up staying up late watching the end of the movie Calendar Girls followed by a 10 years on documentary about the creation of the movie and all the people involved. It was very entertaining, but very late when it finished. Joan said that when she eventually got to bed, her mind was full of that, plus all that we had chatted about, but it was the squeaking fire alarm that had kept her awake for most of the night. I was very apologetic. Upstairs there are fire alarms in every room plus two in the hall way and Brian has been trying to track the problem down for a week. He thought he had it sorted but unfortunately for Joan he had not! We will have to get new batteries before Tim and Hazel arrive!
Sunday morning was fine and sunny but a cold wind. Decided to explore Morecombe before Joan was due to depart Lancaster later that afternoon. None of us had been there although Brian says he was there when he was a young bloke on the lookout for girls. Wandered around a market full of clothes and had a look at the Art Deco style Midland Hotel. Walked out on the stone jetty and along the sea front, but were not terribly impressed. Glad we went, but won’t be in a rush to go again. Did notice that there are different supermarkets down there where we might be able to buy some replacement wine glasses!
Monday 26 September
Another warm, fine and sunny day. Decided to do the Haweswater walk. This is a dam created by the flooding of the village of Mardale – similar to Jindabyneand Adaminaby in the Snowy Mountains. We had walked around part of it when we did the Coast to Coast walk in 2002, but I didn’t remember too much about it because we came into it from Patterdale and that had involved a long climb up to the top and then a long walk along the top) before we finally found a way down to the water and then on into the village of Shap. It was the longest days walk in 2002 about 28 kms, and all I can remember about it is being so tired I could not be bothered to get the camera out to take a photo the ruins of Shap Abbey. Today was a breeze and only 20 kms. It was even warm enough for us to sit down and eat our crunchy bars for lunch something we never did on the Coast to Coast. The walk back along the eastern bank was by road but the plus was we were able to stop in at the Haweswater Hotel for a drink.
Tuesday 27 September
Another fine sunny day – warmer than yesterday! Drove out to Horton in Ribblesdale and started the walk up Pen-y-Ghen (694m –the 3rd highest peak in Yorkshire). I went up to the first stage, but decided against going any further as it was pretty steep. Brian continued on and said that it was easier than Mt. Cooroora, but I’m not into doing steep uphill walks anymore, so I returned to the village and explored it and waited until he made it down again.
23 September 2011
Competing with the Weather!
!6 and 17 September
We did hope to visit the World Sheep Dog Trials this week (14 – 18 September inc. Wed – Sun) but the Liverpool visit claimed the Wed (which was only the opening ceremonies) and a fine day on Thurs claimed our local waterfall walk.
Fri and Sat were more rainy days so we didn’t fancy standing out in the rain watching the clever curs; anyway we were able to watch the highlights of the heats and the semi finals on the TV.
Routine trip to KL on the Friday (raining again) and then on Saturday (still raining) we had a drive up to Kendal where the whole population of the Lakes and the Dales had had the same idea. Finally managed to get a parking spot and managed to check some emails and banking in the Kendal library. This was after I forgot my backpack and went back to the car park to get it and guess what – I couldn’t find the car!! Stolen? No, just on Level 2 and not on Level 3 where I thought I’d parked it. These levels all look alike to me…
!8 September
Finals of the Sheep Dog Trials so set of north for a looksee.
The parking was luckily bog free but not the walk to the viewing area. Even though the organisers had laid mulch at the entrance and also constructed pathways of non-skid aluminium sheets it was still very sloppy (definitely an English Wellingtons day). Found a bog free spot on the hillside and watched about four of the finalists; the eventual winner from Holland we missed as he and his dog had been on just before we arrived. All in all and despite the weather (dry but still overcast) it was really entertaining watching these really intelligent working dogs (Border Collies) under their owners instructions, put some 20 sheep through many tests.
Inevitably the rain came and so did the cold wind so we retreated back to Cowan Bridge.
19 September
Surprise surprise another rainy day! Trip to KL and another attempt to access the internet on laptop via wireless at Plato’s bar and restaurant – connected to WLAN but still no success in connecting to internet. As a digression I appeal to all those Australians who have been persuaded by Tony Abbot’s criticism of the National Broadband Network (not to mention Malcolm Turnbull’s vested interest in wireless technology) to come to England and witness first hand the absolute nightmare of wireless technology in the field of modern communication. Low connection speeds, high drop out rates, not to mention poor initial connections. If it's not an outstanding success in this small country the prognosis for Australia is grim. But never mind computers ask any audio technician his/her opinion on wireless transmission of sound and cover your ears for the abusive reply.
20 September
Walked around Buttermere Lake followed by Lunch at the Fish Inn. Very easy walk and 95% along the Lake’s edge.
22 September
A fine day at last! Mary dropped me in Ingleton at the start of the walk to the second highest point in Yorkshire – Ingleborough Hill (723m). It was a long steady climb but an easy grade along a very good track, considering the number of walkers that use it. Ingleborough is like a huge tiered wedding cake with about three jump-ups. On reaching the summit the wind was blowing a gale and the four walled shelter near the trig point was packed with walkers. In Britain people just seem to appear from nowhere (rather like a German or Chinese bus stop) but considering there are some 60 million of them it’s no wonder. You are always in someone’s way in Britain or to put it more assertively someone is always in your way.
I dropped off the summit very quickly to avoid the wind and made good time back to Ingleton to meet Mary at the car park.
We did hope to visit the World Sheep Dog Trials this week (14 – 18 September inc. Wed – Sun) but the Liverpool visit claimed the Wed (which was only the opening ceremonies) and a fine day on Thurs claimed our local waterfall walk.
Fri and Sat were more rainy days so we didn’t fancy standing out in the rain watching the clever curs; anyway we were able to watch the highlights of the heats and the semi finals on the TV.
Routine trip to KL on the Friday (raining again) and then on Saturday (still raining) we had a drive up to Kendal where the whole population of the Lakes and the Dales had had the same idea. Finally managed to get a parking spot and managed to check some emails and banking in the Kendal library. This was after I forgot my backpack and went back to the car park to get it and guess what – I couldn’t find the car!! Stolen? No, just on Level 2 and not on Level 3 where I thought I’d parked it. These levels all look alike to me…
!8 September
Finals of the Sheep Dog Trials so set of north for a looksee.
The parking was luckily bog free but not the walk to the viewing area. Even though the organisers had laid mulch at the entrance and also constructed pathways of non-skid aluminium sheets it was still very sloppy (definitely an English Wellingtons day). Found a bog free spot on the hillside and watched about four of the finalists; the eventual winner from Holland we missed as he and his dog had been on just before we arrived. All in all and despite the weather (dry but still overcast) it was really entertaining watching these really intelligent working dogs (Border Collies) under their owners instructions, put some 20 sheep through many tests.
Inevitably the rain came and so did the cold wind so we retreated back to Cowan Bridge.
19 September
Surprise surprise another rainy day! Trip to KL and another attempt to access the internet on laptop via wireless at Plato’s bar and restaurant – connected to WLAN but still no success in connecting to internet. As a digression I appeal to all those Australians who have been persuaded by Tony Abbot’s criticism of the National Broadband Network (not to mention Malcolm Turnbull’s vested interest in wireless technology) to come to England and witness first hand the absolute nightmare of wireless technology in the field of modern communication. Low connection speeds, high drop out rates, not to mention poor initial connections. If it's not an outstanding success in this small country the prognosis for Australia is grim. But never mind computers ask any audio technician his/her opinion on wireless transmission of sound and cover your ears for the abusive reply.
20 September
22 September
A fine day at last! Mary dropped me in Ingleton at the start of the walk to the second highest point in Yorkshire – Ingleborough Hill (723m). It was a long steady climb but an easy grade along a very good track, considering the number of walkers that use it. Ingleborough is like a huge tiered wedding cake with about three jump-ups. On reaching the summit the wind was blowing a gale and the four walled shelter near the trig point was packed with walkers. In Britain people just seem to appear from nowhere (rather like a German or Chinese bus stop) but considering there are some 60 million of them it’s no wonder. You are always in someone’s way in Britain or to put it more assertively someone is always in your way.
I dropped off the summit very quickly to avoid the wind and made good time back to Ingleton to meet Mary at the car park.
16 September 2011
A Couple More Walks
13 September - Kirkby Lonsdale – Whittington – KL Walk (Library and shopping)
We decided to grab the opportunity between showers to do a short local walk. We chose a circular one from Kirkby Lonsdale to Whittington; a distance of about 10km. We learned once more that the instructions for most of the walks in the UK don’t score highly. The terms ‘left’ and ‘right’ are used instead of compass bearings – and before you say “what if I don’t have a compass” it is absolutely essential that you take a compass and a proper map on any walk especially in the UK. The reason is that here a track may only exist on the printed page and not on the ground. Even if the track does appear on the ground it may be one of many heading in diverse directions or even an animal track. Another common fault in walk instructions is that distances are rarely cited – for example, ‘We come to a stile in the field corner and we need to cross it and go left’ No mention here of the distance required to traverse the field or the angle or bearing required to make the crossing.
We have recalled from our last visit that the tracks can be very muddy. The Dales (Yorkshire/Lancashire/Cumbria) are worse than the Lakes District in this respect. In the Lakes the main cause is the two legged animals but in the Dales it is exacerbated by four legged animals and the ubiquitous English tractor.
Anyway on this occasion we were spared any rain and successfully managed to deduce the correct directions and distances and completed the walk in the specified time range.
Being in KL we took the opportunity of using the computer in the library to post the last blog and check emails.
14 September – Liverpool Visit
Today we drove to Liverpool to meet up with Marilyn and Bill Hadley. Bill’s sister Marie showed us the Museum of Liverpool, The Cavern Club and Bill’s favourite, the Western Approaches Museum.
15 September – Ingleton and it's Falls
The village of Ingleton is just down the road in North Yorkshire. We had a walk around the village in the morning and the in the afternoon did the very famous Ingleton Waterfalls Trail. We will post the pics on our picture gallery – hopefully soon.
We decided to grab the opportunity between showers to do a short local walk. We chose a circular one from Kirkby Lonsdale to Whittington; a distance of about 10km. We learned once more that the instructions for most of the walks in the UK don’t score highly. The terms ‘left’ and ‘right’ are used instead of compass bearings – and before you say “what if I don’t have a compass” it is absolutely essential that you take a compass and a proper map on any walk especially in the UK. The reason is that here a track may only exist on the printed page and not on the ground. Even if the track does appear on the ground it may be one of many heading in diverse directions or even an animal track. Another common fault in walk instructions is that distances are rarely cited – for example, ‘We come to a stile in the field corner and we need to cross it and go left’ No mention here of the distance required to traverse the field or the angle or bearing required to make the crossing.
We have recalled from our last visit that the tracks can be very muddy. The Dales (Yorkshire/Lancashire/Cumbria) are worse than the Lakes District in this respect. In the Lakes the main cause is the two legged animals but in the Dales it is exacerbated by four legged animals and the ubiquitous English tractor.
Anyway on this occasion we were spared any rain and successfully managed to deduce the correct directions and distances and completed the walk in the specified time range.
Being in KL we took the opportunity of using the computer in the library to post the last blog and check emails.
14 September – Liverpool Visit
Today we drove to Liverpool to meet up with Marilyn and Bill Hadley. Bill’s sister Marie showed us the Museum of Liverpool, The Cavern Club and Bill’s favourite, the Western Approaches Museum.
15 September – Ingleton and it's Falls
The village of Ingleton is just down the road in North Yorkshire. We had a walk around the village in the morning and the in the afternoon did the very famous Ingleton Waterfalls Trail. We will post the pics on our picture gallery – hopefully soon.
13 September 2011
6 September – Lancaster and 7 September - Kendal
We drove into the big smoke to explore the city of Lancaster. Had a look at the shops and found the Library. We both joined and spent an hour or so on the internet. On the way home Brian was concerned because the car was playing up again.
We had to contact Hertz when we were in March because there appeared to be something wrong with the timing. They sent the AA man and he discovered that the car was almost out of oil. Doesn’t say much for the service supposedly performed before we rented the car. It seemed to be okay for the journey from March to Cowan Bridge but on the way back from Lancaster, a warning light kept coming on. As it was late when we got back, Brian waited until next morning to ring again. This time the AA man said that it needed a new part and as the car is still under warranty, the nearest place to repair it was Kendal. So we followed him to the Vauxhall place in Kendal, left the car for about three hours, and explored the city.
Another big centre with lots of interesting shops – I’m going back on my own next time so that I can spend some time in them! Also found the library there and joined it as well so that we can get access to the internet in Kirby Lonsdale which is the town closest to us with a Library that has computers for use by the public.
8 September – Westmorland County Show
After our sunny day on Sunday the weather reverted to what appears to be the norm around here. Cold, windy and showers. Thursday morning was no different except that the showers appeared to be heavier. However, we decided that as it was close by we should go to have a look at the Show. We left in the rain, wore our wet weather gear and were pleased we did. By the time we arrived the sun had come out, but the grounds were a sea of mud. We wandered around the various pavilions and were hugely entertained by a Kiwi doing a sheep show. He had about 7 sheep on a stage and they all danced!
We also enjoyed the grand parade which like the Sydney Easter Show commenced at 3.00 pm. There were impressive Clydesdale horses, and lots of different breeds of cows and sheep. Brian’s comment was that the experience is in the “at least you can say you have seen it” category!
9 September – Ennerdale Bridge for the Ennerdale Water walk.
Wet and cold again when we woke up, but we decided that we will just have to ignore the weather and go walking in the rain. We did wait a while to see if it would clear, but at it did not look like it, drove from Cowan Bridge to Ennerdale Bridge. This was our first stop when we did the Coast to Coast walk in 2002. On that day we walked from Ennerdale to Borrowdale a distance of about 24 kms, so we thought that the walk around the lake would be a breeze.
Not so. There was one really tough stretch which meant a slight climb up an escarpment and down again most of it on our bums. Then a comparatively flat walk along the edge of the Lake – but we had to go through lots of water. Fortunately I had my waterproof boots on, so my feet remained dry, as did my legs thanks to my waterproof trousers. Brian’s trouser are lightweight and they dry quickly so he was probably a bit more comfortable in them than his shorts. However, his shoes are not as waterproof as my boots, so his feet were very wet. The trouble with my boots is that they give me a rash and even though I have spent a lot of time walking them in, whenever I do a long walk and this was about 17kms, I end up with the rash. The end result of this adventure was that we had to drive back in the rain in the dark. Moral of the story is that we will start out earlier in future so as to avoid driving in the dark.
10 September – Heritage Open Day at Farfield Mill and a walk to an English pub with no beer
Our landlady Sandra very kindly left us a list of what is on in September and October, so Heritage Open days are in September. There were lots of buildings open this weekend, but we opted for Farfield Mill because it has a long history, and like the Majestic Theatre was preserved as a result of community involvement, fund raising etc, and is now a site for a number of traditional arts and crafts created by artists who work in the mill. There were demonstrations of lace-making, weaving, spinning, knitting, embroidery with textiles, and hand embroidery, felt making, pottery, as well as exhibitions of local artists and photographers showing works relating mainly to the moors and surrounding countryside. We arrived in time to see a series of snippets by members of the volunteers and helpers at the Mill about various aspects of working life in a large textile mill during the Industrial revolution.
I enjoyed arts and crafts, but the stories were all about how hard life was – I just can’t believe that it was as bad as they make out! Brian’s comment was another of the “at least you can…..” I’m reconciled to the fact that this is going to replace – “seen one church, you’ve seen them all”.
In the steps of the Bronte sisters
As we did not spend all morning at the Mill we returned to Cowan Bridge in time for lunch and decided to do the walk that the Bronte sisters used to have to do every Sunday when they were pupils at the Clergy Daughters School.
Charlotte Bronte used her experience at this school as the example for Lowood School in ‘Jane Eyre’ and the Rev. William Carus Wilson was the character named Mr. Brocklehurst. Every Sunday the students from the school went to Church at Tunstall, and in Jane Eyre, Charlotte wrote that ‘where a bitter wind, blowing over a range of snowy summits to the north, almost flayed the skin from our faces’.
(If you haven’t already done so, make sure you go and see the latest movie on Jane Eyre – we saw it before we left thinking it would have been finished here, but it was only released last Friday).
Unlike Charlotte Bronte, we did not do the walk in the middle of winter. It was reasonably warm with an occasional glimpse of the sun – that is until we were about half way, when it started to rain. We had a guide book as well as the Ordinance Survey map, but it still turned out to be longer than I anticipated. I thought it would take about 2.5 to 3 hours, but instead it took 4. Our plan was to have a beer at the pub in Tunstall, but when we arrived there – in the rain – the pub was closed! So we continued on and eventually the rain cleared and we arrived back very mucky. The fields were very wet, full of mud and cow and sheep shit! This time I wore my walking shoes and had very wet feet by the time we returned.
11 September. BRASS BANDS.
There was a big brass bands festival in the list of activities Sandra gave us so today we have been to the Hardraw Scar Brass Band Festival near Hawes. We listened to 7 of the 14 brass bands playing a medley of four different pieces of music – March, hymn, solo and whatever they chose as the last category. I enjoyed it very much, except that it got very cold sitting in the very windy ravine. When it started to rain, we along with just about everyone else there decided to retreat to the pub. The crowd inside was so large (you should get a beer by Tuesday said one wag) that in the end we came back to Cowan Bridge so don’t know who won the competition. Maybe it will be on the North West News tonight!
12 September
No news on the winner of the Brass Band Festival so will check on the net when we have a chance.
Today is a rest day as a low depression is due from the leftovers of Hurricane Katya and the winds are expected to reach up to 120 km per hour plus, of course, more rain
We drove into the big smoke to explore the city of Lancaster. Had a look at the shops and found the Library. We both joined and spent an hour or so on the internet. On the way home Brian was concerned because the car was playing up again.
We had to contact Hertz when we were in March because there appeared to be something wrong with the timing. They sent the AA man and he discovered that the car was almost out of oil. Doesn’t say much for the service supposedly performed before we rented the car. It seemed to be okay for the journey from March to Cowan Bridge but on the way back from Lancaster, a warning light kept coming on. As it was late when we got back, Brian waited until next morning to ring again. This time the AA man said that it needed a new part and as the car is still under warranty, the nearest place to repair it was Kendal. So we followed him to the Vauxhall place in Kendal, left the car for about three hours, and explored the city.
Another big centre with lots of interesting shops – I’m going back on my own next time so that I can spend some time in them! Also found the library there and joined it as well so that we can get access to the internet in Kirby Lonsdale which is the town closest to us with a Library that has computers for use by the public.
8 September – Westmorland County Show
After our sunny day on Sunday the weather reverted to what appears to be the norm around here. Cold, windy and showers. Thursday morning was no different except that the showers appeared to be heavier. However, we decided that as it was close by we should go to have a look at the Show. We left in the rain, wore our wet weather gear and were pleased we did. By the time we arrived the sun had come out, but the grounds were a sea of mud. We wandered around the various pavilions and were hugely entertained by a Kiwi doing a sheep show. He had about 7 sheep on a stage and they all danced!
We also enjoyed the grand parade which like the Sydney Easter Show commenced at 3.00 pm. There were impressive Clydesdale horses, and lots of different breeds of cows and sheep. Brian’s comment was that the experience is in the “at least you can say you have seen it” category!
9 September – Ennerdale Bridge for the Ennerdale Water walk.
Wet and cold again when we woke up, but we decided that we will just have to ignore the weather and go walking in the rain. We did wait a while to see if it would clear, but at it did not look like it, drove from Cowan Bridge to Ennerdale Bridge. This was our first stop when we did the Coast to Coast walk in 2002. On that day we walked from Ennerdale to Borrowdale a distance of about 24 kms, so we thought that the walk around the lake would be a breeze.
Not so. There was one really tough stretch which meant a slight climb up an escarpment and down again most of it on our bums. Then a comparatively flat walk along the edge of the Lake – but we had to go through lots of water. Fortunately I had my waterproof boots on, so my feet remained dry, as did my legs thanks to my waterproof trousers. Brian’s trouser are lightweight and they dry quickly so he was probably a bit more comfortable in them than his shorts. However, his shoes are not as waterproof as my boots, so his feet were very wet. The trouble with my boots is that they give me a rash and even though I have spent a lot of time walking them in, whenever I do a long walk and this was about 17kms, I end up with the rash. The end result of this adventure was that we had to drive back in the rain in the dark. Moral of the story is that we will start out earlier in future so as to avoid driving in the dark.
10 September – Heritage Open Day at Farfield Mill and a walk to an English pub with no beer
Our landlady Sandra very kindly left us a list of what is on in September and October, so Heritage Open days are in September. There were lots of buildings open this weekend, but we opted for Farfield Mill because it has a long history, and like the Majestic Theatre was preserved as a result of community involvement, fund raising etc, and is now a site for a number of traditional arts and crafts created by artists who work in the mill. There were demonstrations of lace-making, weaving, spinning, knitting, embroidery with textiles, and hand embroidery, felt making, pottery, as well as exhibitions of local artists and photographers showing works relating mainly to the moors and surrounding countryside. We arrived in time to see a series of snippets by members of the volunteers and helpers at the Mill about various aspects of working life in a large textile mill during the Industrial revolution.
I enjoyed arts and crafts, but the stories were all about how hard life was – I just can’t believe that it was as bad as they make out! Brian’s comment was another of the “at least you can…..” I’m reconciled to the fact that this is going to replace – “seen one church, you’ve seen them all”.
In the steps of the Bronte sisters
As we did not spend all morning at the Mill we returned to Cowan Bridge in time for lunch and decided to do the walk that the Bronte sisters used to have to do every Sunday when they were pupils at the Clergy Daughters School.
Charlotte Bronte used her experience at this school as the example for Lowood School in ‘Jane Eyre’ and the Rev. William Carus Wilson was the character named Mr. Brocklehurst. Every Sunday the students from the school went to Church at Tunstall, and in Jane Eyre, Charlotte wrote that ‘where a bitter wind, blowing over a range of snowy summits to the north, almost flayed the skin from our faces’.
(If you haven’t already done so, make sure you go and see the latest movie on Jane Eyre – we saw it before we left thinking it would have been finished here, but it was only released last Friday).
Unlike Charlotte Bronte, we did not do the walk in the middle of winter. It was reasonably warm with an occasional glimpse of the sun – that is until we were about half way, when it started to rain. We had a guide book as well as the Ordinance Survey map, but it still turned out to be longer than I anticipated. I thought it would take about 2.5 to 3 hours, but instead it took 4. Our plan was to have a beer at the pub in Tunstall, but when we arrived there – in the rain – the pub was closed! So we continued on and eventually the rain cleared and we arrived back very mucky. The fields were very wet, full of mud and cow and sheep shit! This time I wore my walking shoes and had very wet feet by the time we returned.
11 September. BRASS BANDS.
There was a big brass bands festival in the list of activities Sandra gave us so today we have been to the Hardraw Scar Brass Band Festival near Hawes. We listened to 7 of the 14 brass bands playing a medley of four different pieces of music – March, hymn, solo and whatever they chose as the last category. I enjoyed it very much, except that it got very cold sitting in the very windy ravine. When it started to rain, we along with just about everyone else there decided to retreat to the pub. The crowd inside was so large (you should get a beer by Tuesday said one wag) that in the end we came back to Cowan Bridge so don’t know who won the competition. Maybe it will be on the North West News tonight!
12 September
No news on the winner of the Brass Band Festival so will check on the net when we have a chance.
Today is a rest day as a low depression is due from the leftovers of Hurricane Katya and the winds are expected to reach up to 120 km per hour plus, of course, more rain
06 September 2011
Update from Cowan Bridge via Lancaster
24 August - 3 September
The recovery took longer for me than for Brian. I don’t think I started to feel over it until we were about to leave Wivenhoe which we did a week ago. We had three very enjoyable days with Bill who as always was the perfect host. We had a delightful lunch the first day at the Jubilee Cafe and met Bill’s friend Terry O’Brien whom we had heard so much about and then the next day, Billie and Jean took us to a pub not far from Wivenhoe for another delicious lunch. Bill’s other son, Ronnie came around in the evening – to repair Billie’s attempt at fixing the light outside Bill’s back door. I was delighted because it was the first time I had met him.
The trip from Wivenhoe to March went well and we dropped into the Costa Coffee shop at the Tesco store at Ely. Found out there that coffee size as well as food servings are huge. From now on I’ll only be ordering a small coffee. The medium one was about the size of two mugs at home.
Tina and Alan made us feel very much at home. They have been doing some renovations and the new bathroom and kitchen are great. They have a new Jack Russell dog – called Black Jack. He was named by Jodie’s daughter Georgia and I asked her if we could rename him BJ telling her that Aussies always shorten names. She seemed agreeable, but Mason, who is a couple of years younger, was not very impressed. Saying sensibly, I have to admit, that the dog might get confused. However, we both won BJ’s approval, Brian in his self-appointed role of pack leader and me by taking him for a few walks.
We had an Aussie style B-B-Q lunch on Sunday with Danielle and her boyfriend Kenny, Jodie, and Alan and Tina’s delightful 92 year old neighbour, Evan Jones. You won’t be surprised to learn that he was born in Wales and despite having lived in Cambridgeshire for a good number of years has not lost his Welsh accent. He is very fit, totally on the ball and an inspiration to all of us youngsters in our 70s.
After lunch we began the Real Estate tour. Both Danielle and Jodie have new homes and both are impressive. Danielle is buying hers and it looks like a really good investment. It is on a large block of land which in time may be able to be subdivided. Trouble is that Danielle has not proved much of a gardener so far, and it is about waist high with weeds. She says she will get round to doing more soon.
Sunday night we spent some time on a phone call to Peter and Christine in Germany. Great to talk to them and catch up with all their news.
Bank holiday Monday, Alan and Tina took us to the lovely stone town of Stamford. We were really impressed and enjoyed a nice walk with BJ, followed by lunch at The George Hotel. Great place with a lovely open fire where we sat to eat our lunch and drink – a pint of Guinness for Brian and half a pint of Stella for me.
Tuesday went to Peterborough and continuation of the real estate tour when we dropped in on Lynette. She bought her lovely house in the village of Crowland about half way between Peterborough and March about the time we were leaving on our last visit to England 5 years ago. She and Darryl were married soon after and it is really a credit to them.
Wednesday, met up with John and Val Smeed in Kings Lyn. He is the bus driver who picked me up when we were living in Norwich in 1995. I was amazed because all I said to him was “City Centre please” and he recognised my accent immediately. Their son had just moved to Australia and John was delighted to find another Aussie he could talk to. We initially explored the possibility of swapping houses, but couldn’t coordinate the time. Who wants to be in England for the winter? However, whenever they come to Oz, or we come to UK we try to meet up. Both of them looked wonderful and we will hopefully see them again when they visit in 2013.
Thursday was spent having a good long walk around March. I discovered this plaque when I went for a walk earlier in the week and immediately thought that I should write an article in the style of Rupert Murdoch’s journalists who invent the news by creating controversy when none exists. My by-line would be headed:-
Locals angry about antiquarian history and other aspects of how life is going down the drain in this country.
That’s as far as I got but maybe I will spend some time and send it off sometime in the future. I can’t believe how boring the news has become both here and at home. I really used to enjoy both the BBC and ABC news, but now BBC TV repeats the same thing over and over again. My theory is that it is due to the increase in the number of students who do journalism at University and the Rupert Murdoch’s desire for money and power.
Thursday night we had yet another huge meal – this time at the Balti Indian restaurant in March. Tim and Hazel, Linda and Roy, Lynette and Ed’s son Daniel who is now 14 and almost as tall as I am all came. So we have now seen or spoken to all the Smith family descendants with the exception of Simon and his son, initially known as little Charlie (to avoid confusing him with his grandfather) but probably not any longer. Having spent so much time in the past visiting big Charlie, it felt strange to be in March and not be with him. One of the things we really missed was not going to visit the United Services Club – one of his favourite haunts when he was alive.
2 September
We left March around 10.30am and arrived at Cowan Bridge about 4.30 pm after an uneventful trip on the A1 to Knaresborough where we had lunch and then the A65 through Skipton. Met our landlady Sandra and her husband Malik and are very pleased with our home for the next two months. They have done an excellent job in restoring this historic house and we are thrilled with it. It is on a par with the one we had in Alhama de Granada last year and there are many similarities. Very thick walls, a wide staircase and non-symmetrical structure in that the rooms upstairs don’t line up with the ones downstairs. High ceilings, wooden floors with really wide boards and delightfully painted timber doors. The house is really light with lots of windows and lovely views across very green fields with white woolly sheep with black faces.
The Weather
The first week was coolish but grey – we saw the sun a few times, but had more rain than sunshine. Yesterday was fine to begin with, but our first day in the cottage has been wet, wet, wet.
I’m glad we arrived in time to see some beautiful flowers before the summer finally ends. Lovely hanging baskets in the main street in March as well as private gardens, with lots roses, peonies, begonias, hollyhocks and petunias. As we got further north however, most of the flowers are beyond their best, and the first signs of autumn are starting to appear. Buildings covered in deep red ivy and trees that are beginning to loose their leaves.
4 September
Today we awoke to the ‘Wow’ factor; the grey skies and the rain had gone to be replaced with a full blue sky and blinding sunshine.
Not to miss this positive switch in the weather we set off on a local walk up to Leck Fell. We took the road (just a narrow lane really) and walked the 6km to the end of the road which was near the top of the fell. Other walkers had driven up to this point to save time which was why we couldn’t continue as we were uncertain as to how long it would take us to walk up to the cairns of the Three Men of Gragareth; also we needed to consider the 6km return walk down the road. An alternative return option was to walk down from the fell cross country to pick up a track along the beck but with all the recent rain and the area of the fell being a watershed we decided to return half way by road and pick up the track at a lower point. This we did and had a pleasant walk across pastures alongside the beck back to the cottage.
Of course we were back well in time for lunch and so as not to miss the good weather we took off across country to walk to Kirkby Lonsdale via Casterton. We arrived at Devil’s Bridge in time to see all the bikers assembled for their customary Sunday muster. A ‘café-de-wheels’ and an ice cream van supplied their refreshments i.e. no booze. We walked the extra 500m to the pub and enjoyed a pint each. We returned a different way with no track which involved a bit of ‘field bashing’ including some climbing over rusty gates and through a barbed wire fence (safely I might add). Finally we got to the home run down a local road and returned to the cottage just after sunset but before dark.
5 September
Alas the good weather did not last. Showers today so we have been shopping and will now try to post this to the Blog. We have discovered that the walls are so thick mobile reception is only available when we go outside and the same seems to apply to wireless reception for the Internet. A café in Cowan Bridge reportedly will let us have access to their system, so hopefully we will be successful. If not we will have to resort to using the Library Internet service in Kirby Lonsdale which has limited opening hours.
6 September
Wireless not successful so far but we have today travelled to Lancaster and joined the library and have joined the library. So now we have a reserve access to the net if we can't connect through the wireless at the local cafe.
Tried to add a pic here but the 'puter froze on me - I will try and put them in our gallery.
The recovery took longer for me than for Brian. I don’t think I started to feel over it until we were about to leave Wivenhoe which we did a week ago. We had three very enjoyable days with Bill who as always was the perfect host. We had a delightful lunch the first day at the Jubilee Cafe and met Bill’s friend Terry O’Brien whom we had heard so much about and then the next day, Billie and Jean took us to a pub not far from Wivenhoe for another delicious lunch. Bill’s other son, Ronnie came around in the evening – to repair Billie’s attempt at fixing the light outside Bill’s back door. I was delighted because it was the first time I had met him.
The trip from Wivenhoe to March went well and we dropped into the Costa Coffee shop at the Tesco store at Ely. Found out there that coffee size as well as food servings are huge. From now on I’ll only be ordering a small coffee. The medium one was about the size of two mugs at home.
Tina and Alan made us feel very much at home. They have been doing some renovations and the new bathroom and kitchen are great. They have a new Jack Russell dog – called Black Jack. He was named by Jodie’s daughter Georgia and I asked her if we could rename him BJ telling her that Aussies always shorten names. She seemed agreeable, but Mason, who is a couple of years younger, was not very impressed. Saying sensibly, I have to admit, that the dog might get confused. However, we both won BJ’s approval, Brian in his self-appointed role of pack leader and me by taking him for a few walks.
We had an Aussie style B-B-Q lunch on Sunday with Danielle and her boyfriend Kenny, Jodie, and Alan and Tina’s delightful 92 year old neighbour, Evan Jones. You won’t be surprised to learn that he was born in Wales and despite having lived in Cambridgeshire for a good number of years has not lost his Welsh accent. He is very fit, totally on the ball and an inspiration to all of us youngsters in our 70s.
After lunch we began the Real Estate tour. Both Danielle and Jodie have new homes and both are impressive. Danielle is buying hers and it looks like a really good investment. It is on a large block of land which in time may be able to be subdivided. Trouble is that Danielle has not proved much of a gardener so far, and it is about waist high with weeds. She says she will get round to doing more soon.
Sunday night we spent some time on a phone call to Peter and Christine in Germany. Great to talk to them and catch up with all their news.
Bank holiday Monday, Alan and Tina took us to the lovely stone town of Stamford. We were really impressed and enjoyed a nice walk with BJ, followed by lunch at The George Hotel. Great place with a lovely open fire where we sat to eat our lunch and drink – a pint of Guinness for Brian and half a pint of Stella for me.
Tuesday went to Peterborough and continuation of the real estate tour when we dropped in on Lynette. She bought her lovely house in the village of Crowland about half way between Peterborough and March about the time we were leaving on our last visit to England 5 years ago. She and Darryl were married soon after and it is really a credit to them.
Wednesday, met up with John and Val Smeed in Kings Lyn. He is the bus driver who picked me up when we were living in Norwich in 1995. I was amazed because all I said to him was “City Centre please” and he recognised my accent immediately. Their son had just moved to Australia and John was delighted to find another Aussie he could talk to. We initially explored the possibility of swapping houses, but couldn’t coordinate the time. Who wants to be in England for the winter? However, whenever they come to Oz, or we come to UK we try to meet up. Both of them looked wonderful and we will hopefully see them again when they visit in 2013.
Thursday was spent having a good long walk around March. I discovered this plaque when I went for a walk earlier in the week and immediately thought that I should write an article in the style of Rupert Murdoch’s journalists who invent the news by creating controversy when none exists. My by-line would be headed:-
Locals angry about antiquarian history and other aspects of how life is going down the drain in this country.
That’s as far as I got but maybe I will spend some time and send it off sometime in the future. I can’t believe how boring the news has become both here and at home. I really used to enjoy both the BBC and ABC news, but now BBC TV repeats the same thing over and over again. My theory is that it is due to the increase in the number of students who do journalism at University and the Rupert Murdoch’s desire for money and power.
Thursday night we had yet another huge meal – this time at the Balti Indian restaurant in March. Tim and Hazel, Linda and Roy, Lynette and Ed’s son Daniel who is now 14 and almost as tall as I am all came. So we have now seen or spoken to all the Smith family descendants with the exception of Simon and his son, initially known as little Charlie (to avoid confusing him with his grandfather) but probably not any longer. Having spent so much time in the past visiting big Charlie, it felt strange to be in March and not be with him. One of the things we really missed was not going to visit the United Services Club – one of his favourite haunts when he was alive.
2 September
We left March around 10.30am and arrived at Cowan Bridge about 4.30 pm after an uneventful trip on the A1 to Knaresborough where we had lunch and then the A65 through Skipton. Met our landlady Sandra and her husband Malik and are very pleased with our home for the next two months. They have done an excellent job in restoring this historic house and we are thrilled with it. It is on a par with the one we had in Alhama de Granada last year and there are many similarities. Very thick walls, a wide staircase and non-symmetrical structure in that the rooms upstairs don’t line up with the ones downstairs. High ceilings, wooden floors with really wide boards and delightfully painted timber doors. The house is really light with lots of windows and lovely views across very green fields with white woolly sheep with black faces.
The Weather
The first week was coolish but grey – we saw the sun a few times, but had more rain than sunshine. Yesterday was fine to begin with, but our first day in the cottage has been wet, wet, wet.
I’m glad we arrived in time to see some beautiful flowers before the summer finally ends. Lovely hanging baskets in the main street in March as well as private gardens, with lots roses, peonies, begonias, hollyhocks and petunias. As we got further north however, most of the flowers are beyond their best, and the first signs of autumn are starting to appear. Buildings covered in deep red ivy and trees that are beginning to loose their leaves.
4 September
Today we awoke to the ‘Wow’ factor; the grey skies and the rain had gone to be replaced with a full blue sky and blinding sunshine.
Not to miss this positive switch in the weather we set off on a local walk up to Leck Fell. We took the road (just a narrow lane really) and walked the 6km to the end of the road which was near the top of the fell. Other walkers had driven up to this point to save time which was why we couldn’t continue as we were uncertain as to how long it would take us to walk up to the cairns of the Three Men of Gragareth; also we needed to consider the 6km return walk down the road. An alternative return option was to walk down from the fell cross country to pick up a track along the beck but with all the recent rain and the area of the fell being a watershed we decided to return half way by road and pick up the track at a lower point. This we did and had a pleasant walk across pastures alongside the beck back to the cottage.
Of course we were back well in time for lunch and so as not to miss the good weather we took off across country to walk to Kirkby Lonsdale via Casterton. We arrived at Devil’s Bridge in time to see all the bikers assembled for their customary Sunday muster. A ‘café-de-wheels’ and an ice cream van supplied their refreshments i.e. no booze. We walked the extra 500m to the pub and enjoyed a pint each. We returned a different way with no track which involved a bit of ‘field bashing’ including some climbing over rusty gates and through a barbed wire fence (safely I might add). Finally we got to the home run down a local road and returned to the cottage just after sunset but before dark.
5 September
Alas the good weather did not last. Showers today so we have been shopping and will now try to post this to the Blog. We have discovered that the walls are so thick mobile reception is only available when we go outside and the same seems to apply to wireless reception for the Internet. A café in Cowan Bridge reportedly will let us have access to their system, so hopefully we will be successful. If not we will have to resort to using the Library Internet service in Kirby Lonsdale which has limited opening hours.
6 September
Wireless not successful so far but we have today travelled to Lancaster and joined the library and have joined the library. So now we have a reserve access to the net if we can't connect through the wireless at the local cafe.
Tried to add a pic here but the 'puter froze on me - I will try and put them in our gallery.
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