FUN-travel: Scotland to England’s Lake District & York
October 14, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Scotland to England’s Lake District & York
Day 24 – Friday, October 7 – Edinburgh to England’s Lake District – mostly blue skies w/cotton candy clouds – low 50’s – depart 11:15
Hadrians Wall
- 1st stop – 1:15 cap/latte @ Gretna Bakery in Longtown
- 2nd stop – take deviation to Hadrian’s Wall – (never even knew this existed) A.D. 122 Roman Emperor Hadrian has troops (10,000) construct 15′ wide by 18′ high rock wall (takes 10 yrs) from coast to coast across narrowest stretch of England – spans 80 roman miles (73 miles) with a guard castle @ each mile & 2 turrets between each mile (parts of the wall & footprints of the castles still exist)
- 3rd stop – arrive Keswick – walk through town looking for a B&B – main areas are The Heads (find one for 100 lbs – too much!) & Stanger St – only one left @ Brun Lea – dbl bed, very small room, 62 lbs cash only
- 4th stop – Bank Tavern – Stella/Guinness & whisky taste tasting of Jameson & Jura – we think Irish is smoother
- FUN-food – Star of Siam – owner from Chang Mai – noodles with chicken – duck in garlic sauce w/vegetables & rice
Keswick
FF (FUN-facts) – Lake District is about 30 miles wide & 30 miles long – lush & green w/lots of lakes
Day 25 – Saturday, October 8 – Lake District to York – much colder, high 40’s – steady drizzle – low clouds & fog – depart 9:30
York Entry Wall
- drive south – narrow, twisty, tree canopied road – spot extremely rare Red Neck Sheep!
- 1st stop – Hawkshead – (pay n’ park local gives us his ticket – good to Monday afternoon & says “pass it on” – third time on our trip someone has done this – good parking karma!)
- Beatrix Potter’s Gallery – housed in former office of husband William Heelis (her lawyer turned into her husband) & filled with wonderful intimate drawings & watercolors that illustrated her books
- find lovely Scottish couple to “pass on” the parking ticket
- 2nd stop – Hill Top Farm – Beatrix Potter’s home is just as it was when she died in 1943 (on way here see some of the real buildings & features from her tales)
- 3rd stop – Harvest Gourmet Store & Cafe
- tummy is feeling upset again – this is not good
- FUN-food – Lunch – spicy carrot & tomato soup – tuna melt served open face w/sweet taste – realize it has catsup on it!
- Arrive York 5:00 – horror! Horse Racing Weekend & no rooms – lovely lady @ The Hazelwood calls around – one room left @ Monk Bar Hotel (Best Western) 110 lbs – has very narrow iron spiral staircase w/bath on 1st floor & bedroom on 2nd floor – have to be very careful!
- 6:00 stop – Cross Keys Tavern for pints & shot
- stroll through town attempting to read map
Hill Top Farm
- FUN-food – Dinner – Masons Bar & Bistro – no wait – garlic Portobello mushrooms topped w/cheddar & stilton bleu cheese – Halloumi (from Cyprus) cheese salad w/shredded carrots, red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes & crusty bread – Masons burger w/cheese & bacon on Ciabatta, onion rings & chips
- walk back to hotel & get totally turned around – lovely young man walks us to our hotel
York Minster
FF – typical breakfast consists of cold selection of yogurt, cereals & fruit & hot meal of bacon (more like our ham) sausage, eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, baked tomatoes & toast (bigger hotels & B&B’s have more fruit & bread selections & cheeses & meats) & one of the reasons we don’t buy lunch is because we make sandwiches to go
Day 26 – Sunday, October 9 – York to Manchester to Brussels, Belgium – pouring rain early – much warmer high 60’s – pouring rain & heavy fog in afternoon
- 11:00 take walk & finally figure out map
- 1st stop – York Minster – massive Gothic cathedral (King Henry VIII destroyed England’s great abbeys but not this one)
- 2nd stop – The Shambles – most colorful old street where butchers hung their meat – soil wasn’t good so buildings settled helter skelter – now filled w/shops
- 3rd stop – Clifford’s Tower – ruins from 13th century castle – climb to top for panoramic city views
- 4th stop – Starbucks cap/latte
- York is my favorite English city – fully walled Medieval city – looks like a movie set of Camelot
- Depart 1:00 for Manchester Airport – drive takes 2 hrs – return car w/no scratches, dents or dings!
- flying Brussels Airlines – member of Star Alliance & get access to Club Lounge
The Shambles
FF – one of the reasons many ruins are so sparse is due to locals “seeing perfectly good stones to build their homes & other buildings”