Life's Breeze

Saturday, 28 July 2012

THE LAKES & BEATRIX POTTER

14th May 2012

Being such a cultured Irishman like “’myself’ Sharon was just amazed that I had never heard of Beatrix Potter. The Kids had been raised on the little rabbits and Sharon being Sharon has every conceivable book on Beatrix potter known in existence. At home we have boxes! I could go on however I’m sure Sharon will have some comments.

We pulled into the car park in Hawkshead and parked the car. Hawkshead is a small little village with Lots of little village shops and of course Beatrix Potter

After lunch we made our way out to view the birthplace of Beatrix potter not far out of town. We struggled to find a spot in the tiny carpark and just as we got out of the car it began to rain. We dug out our umbrella and made our way up and walked through her house which is full of volunteers just itching to tell you all about the good lady and her furry creations & adventures. The old building had a stove burning and the smell of burnt wood permeated the old building. Sharon was in love. We walked around the garden in the rain and had a giggle at the rabbits in the garden when we worked out they were actually fake, before exiting and setting off to find our accommodation for the night

The Fake Rabbits

Beatrix Potter's Garden

We drove out of Hawkshead and made out way to Windermere along the winding little roads. This is truly storybook country and I laughed as Sharon relived her childhood with big “Wow” and “My goodness this Is just beautiful” Oh and my favorite “Thank you for taking me here Johnny” One should think I should get some mileage out of this ?- Not convinced?, well neither am I but it sounds good.

We entered Windermere around a windswept lake on some beautiful but treacherous landscape. It was raining heavily when we passed through the narrow main street. I parked near the lake and we went for a short walk and fed the swans which are everywhere in abundance

Back in the car we rang the B&B and got some directions. Half an hour later were settled in and set off to find somewhere for dinner finally settling on a Thai Restaurant right in the centre of town where we were just lucky enough to find a parking spot right outside the front door. No walking in the rain tonight

Carrot Flower

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

EDINBURGH - LAKES

13^th May Edinburgh to Lakes

We bid our farewells to the tour group and caught a taxi to Hertz car hire in the centre of town to pick up our hire car for the start of our England trip. No Ritzy ford Mondeo hire car this time as we ended up with a ford galaxy zetec people mover which was to later become a pain on the tiny roads were to encounter in the lakes.

After our experience with driving the narrow streets in Ireland we decided to continue the extra expense of Insurance cover (something we never do at home) – getting soft in old age. I had an International license as we were warned that it would be required by the hire car company. Despite my protests Sharon insisted I purchase it on the advice of our travel agent. This was a sore point as I was told the same thing when I first travelled to Australia in the early 80’s and that international license like this one still remains unused as authorities and hire car companies only want to view your local country licence and just frown on the international licence. (Lesson to be learned for anyone viewing this post).

We got some basic directions from the hertz agent and unlike the animated directions we received in Ireland we proceeded with maps in hand out of Edinburgh toward the English border

Leaderfoot bridge what a feat of engineering

The sky was grey and gloomy as we drove out of the city and the wind picked up as we pushed further south passing more gothic churches and the magnificent abbey ruin in Jedburgh where we stopped for a walk and some pictures. We got some great pictures of the old village before heading off toward England – (I got a fabulous photo of the carved rock depicting our entry into England and some photos of the harry potter bridge like the one depicted in the movie).

Jedburgh Abbey ruins

Another gorgeous church

Jedburgh Abbey ruins

Old Goal Jedburgh

Jedburgh Abbey love the blossom tree

Jedburgh town centre

THE MAGIC WALL

We passed the English border & into Northumberland and the landscape became very wild indeed. Occasionally I got glances of the wall in some sections. It appeared between the stone hedges and dips in the road then just over a large turn in the road a huge section of the wall presented itself and I had to stop the car as this was a fairly significant event for me.

English border

The views at the English border

I had heard about Hadrian’s Wall in my history lessons at school and it remained in my mind as a distant memory all these years. The wall at this section was dilapidated and broken but it stood out among all the other hundreds of stone walls stretching in every direction over the top of hills and into the distance. The stones were carefully carved and placed in a formed structure and stood solid in their dilapidated form even though they were centuries older than any of the other primitive stone walls that surrounded them. It was evident even to the untrained eye that something much more sophisticated had taken place here.

Hadrians wall complex

There are several Roman sites in this area but we decided to stop at the Housesteads Roman fort on the advice of the local information centre.

10th century well Hadrians wall Housesteads

Hadrians Wall

As we exited our vehicle in the carpark I was considering if this was indeed a good idea. The wind had picked right up and was howling as we got out of the car. I huddled into my overcoat and reached for my scarf (which I had reluctantly accepted from Sharon earlier but now was just pure comfort) as I wrapped it tightly around my neck and face. We paid our fee and proceeded to walk a further kilometre uphill into a gale force wind passing through a wind blasted landscape which was unkind to both man and beast. Even the livestock of sheep and lambs huddled out of the wind as we proceeded upwards until we reach our destination

The Fort

Foundations for heating at the fort

At the top of the hill we enter a visitor centre through open doors which magically block the freezing wind where we enter through the open doors and pass through some kind of invisible wind shield. Inside is hot and no wind can be heard from the outside completely obscuring the external climate.

Fort foundations for Grannaries

Stone walls everywhere

The food storage section

When we exit the visitor centre it is like stepping onto the North Pole. The freezing wind just blast into your face and cuts through your clothing like it is not there. The fort is just a ruin but the layout of the structure is still clear. It is huge and stretches across the landscape and set against the sky. We view the signs which depict what was here and it just seems incredible that such an advanced civilization could exist when the local people were living such a primitive life. They had heated flooring which explained how they could exist in such a hostile landscape.

It sure is cold up here

Is that you Sharon

I paced all over the fort and got totally caught up in the history of the place, finally catching up with Sharon who I found frozen in one of the far gates of the fort. We decided to return to the car park and continue with our journey with Sharon insisting on taking pictures of the cute (as she called them) lambs on our decent. (Lambing season here) until we finally got into our hire car and got the heater revved up and set out on our way to the lakes.

Lovely Lambs

Lambs with Mum admit it they are cute Johnny

This has been a wonderful experience for me and I look forward to the showing Sharon the Lakes district with wonder as to what we will see next.

Heading to Lakes District driving alongside Lough Ullswater

Heading to the lakes District we drove along past Ullswater Lough it was breath taking driving on a narrow windy road right next to the waters edge.I was very excited about what was to be seen in the Lakes district as this was just the edge of the district.

It would be lovely to live here

Living here would have been lovely I think it is just a summer home for some lucky family.

These roads were narrow, windy & tested the nerves

The roads into the district are scary but the area sure gives you a feeling of wonder. As we got higher & went through Kirkstone pass I just had to hold my breath & look out the window. The roads were narrow with bend after bend & both sides of the road were flanked by a low stone road no room for error & no room to pass another vehicle.I thought amusing that there was a centre line as we really had to drive in the centre of the road.

Then in came the mist to add to the anxiety

Lastly the mist came in to add to the anxiety the beauty & the eerie feeling of the area.

We arrived safely down the mountain into one of England's most beautiful areas I quickly declared I could live here.

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

SCOTLAND - Edinburgh

12^thMay Edinburgh

We were allocated a separate bus tour to view the sights of Edinburgh starting with the sheer volcanic cliff which rises majestically over the city. Perched on top of that cliff was the castle.

We spent most of the day in the castle then explored the narrow streets & parks that make up Edinburgh.

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Fantastic shop signs

Edinburgh has mansions of the Georgian style in the 200 year old new town with the narrow lanes and medieval townhouses along the Royal mile – the oldest part of the city.

THE ROYAL MILE IN EDINBURGH

We visited Princess Street the main shopping thoroughfare that separates the two areas. Our tour finishing at the imposing Edinburgh castle where we seen the historic buildings and enjoyed the fantastic views over the city