September 29, Stirling Castle.

Today we set out for Stirling Castle. Got there fine and though we couldn’t find our way to the castle we found the castle park and ride which was even better. It was chucking down rain. An awful storm when we got to the parking lot but it had stopped by the time we got to the castle. We were just in time for a guided tour. Gary, our guide was so good. He was interesting and injected lots of humour so they we finished the tour feeling we had learned a lot. We learned about various features of the castle and he debunked the inaccuracies of “Braveheart”. We now know the facts of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The castle sits high on a hill, you can see Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh on a clear day. You can see 50 miles in either direction from the castle. An excellent location.



We had a bite to eat and then started our self guided tour. They give you free audio guides but the people, dressed in period clothing throughout the castle provided so much good information that I rarely used mine. One I particularly enjoyed us in the Queen’s throne room. There are several tapestries, the Unicorn tapestries. They tell two stories. One tells a mythical story of men hunting a unicorn and in the other story the unicorn represents Christ and tells the biblical story of his life, death and resurrection.

Spotting the Unicorn or the Betrayal of Christ

The ceilings had carved faces on them. They are called the Stirling faces and are fascinating. Our guide magically reappeared just as we got to the room displaying and explaining them. Gary was fascinating again. He explained that in the 1700’s one fell down on a soldier so for safety they removed them and put them out for firewood. The jail keeper, Ebinezer Brown, the jailer, learned that they were being destroyed and saved as many as he could. He distributed them to nobility at various castles. In the 1960’s they got as many of them as they could back. There are some interesting stories about them. John Donaldson has made reproductions of many of them. There were 80 of them to fill the ceiling and they were short one so he carved his daughters face and they called it “the carvers daughter”. We almost bought a book about them but decided it was very heavy and will see, when we got internet again, if it is available through Amazon

Carved face at Sterling Castle

Recreation of carved faces on Kings Room ceiling Sterling Castle

I visited the place they weave tapestries while Roy toured the Argylls Regiment museum and then it was time to go. We missed visiting the kitchens and didn’t have time to see the old jail. We wanted to see Bannock Burn Battle site. Both the road signs and Andromeda were useless. Roy went in a pub to ask the way. When we finally found it an Australian couple were coming out and they had experienced the same problems. They were quite excited about telling us all the difficulties they had experience (mirrored our experience). They were told a truck had knocked down the sign outside.

The museum was very interesting but not near as elaborate as the Culloden (last battle fought in Britain). We went there in 2008. After the museum we walked out to Robert the Bruce’s monument and tried to find Bannock Burn but couldn’t. When we went back inside Roy had someone show us on the map where it was. We were looking in the wrong place. Hard to put yourself back in time and imagine 10000 to 15000 men being killed there in the battle. Hurrah for the Scots!

Time to go home to the Laundry Cottage on the Estate.

The castle was another one that was never taken by force. Several times seiges and political manuvering causes it to change hands. The castle was in English hands when Robert the Bruce defeated the English at Bannockburn. Afterward when the English left he did not want the castle to be used against him so he had it destroyed in 1314. The castle was slowly rebuilt over the later centuries. The rebuilding is quite notable as there are many places where several different stones are used at each level. The great hall has a type of stucco covering the stone with a yellow wash over the stucco. The whole castle was originally covered in this, but it has all flaked off. The castle was in disrepair in the 1960’s and was still used to house the army when it was turned over to the Scottish Heritage group for restoration. They have tried to restore the castle to what it was in the 14^th and 15^th century. The Royal apartments were build for James V for his new French Bride in the style of the French and Italian decore. Unfortunately for him he died never having lived in the new building. His wife and daughter (daughter became Mary Queen of Scots) did live there until Mary was 4 or 5 when they left to join the French court.

The Stirling faces carved in oak copies were carved by John Donaldson. The are round panels done in the raise plane style. He made copies which are placed on the ceiling of the Kings Hall. John was watching a show on Harps and how the music is 0,I, and II. He thought it re-minded him of something. It finally came to him that he had seen it on one of the carvings. It looked there is a mistake on the border of on that carving. Above the mistake and all around are 0’s, I’s, and II’s. It could be a music score but they are not sure, and the mistake is the start of the score. What they have done is taken the music score, recorded the playing of it on a harp and the recording is played on the way into the galley. There is another strange thing. One of the original panels is of a women looks like her throat is cut and it goes up through the left eye. This is due to the delamination of the wood glued together to make the carving. The new copy is also delaminating in exactly the same spot. The Argyalls were the original thin red line during the Crimea war.

September 27, Carmichael Farms

Well, a lot has happened since we last wrote on our blog. This is yesterdays blog entry as we have no internet again.

Reluctantly, we left Burnbrae and Thairn Cottage. It was a mistake not to book longer but hindsight is so good. We are booked into another self catering place between Biggar and Lanark. The news says Pebbles main street is flooded and Andromeda has routed us through Pebbles. The road we took through the town is quite a bit higher than the river and we didn’t see any flooding. It sure looked bad on the news though. We arrived in Biggar in time for lunch. We walked around town and couldn’t decided on a place to eat but did find the book store that is talked about in the guide book. We had lunch at the cafe/bakery next door, stopped briefly in the book store and were on our way to Carmichael.

Amazing! Andromeda found Carmichael farm. Mary at the visitor centre/grocery said it was too early to check in so we decided to go to New Lanark though it was a bit late in the day to start touring the site. It turned out that you buy your ticket and have it stamped at each place you visit.

Linda at New Lanark School

We toured until 3:30 and returned to Carmichael for 4:00 so we could get checked in and oriented. Good thing we were there in time. The directions Mary gave us were confusing. Down the road, turn in at the Estate Gates, with the eagles, first turn on the right. Ha! Fortunately the maintenance man, Darren was there and offered to guide us. Doubt we’d have found Laundry Cottage on our own.

　

To go back to New Lanark . New Lanark is and was a cotton mill. Robert Owen felt that workers had rights and deserved a more comfortable life than most experience. He built a utopian type of town for the workers. They had a medical plan (1/60^th of their wages went to it, day care, schooling a store that sold high quality goods and charged less than the stores in the nearest town, they got one day off a week. The children didn’t go to work until they were twelve and were in school until then. They worked 10 ½ hours and had two meals during the working day. Families had an apartment to live in though they might be crowded. There was work for everyone.

New Lanark and River Clyde

Roy and I thoroughly enjoyed everything we saw. They have a ride - you get in a Ferris wheel type car and as it goes along you learn about the workers lives in the town and mill through a guide, Annie McLeod, a young girl who works in the mill. It was great! The work was hard and Mr. Owen is fair but demands that you work hard.

The Clyde River supplies the water for the mill which I will let Roy talk about.

Corra Linn Falls River Clyde

….Back at Laundry Cottage, Darren has guided us to the cottage and comes to the door with us. On the way to the cottage, I said to Roy, “he is the Duncan of the Carmichael Estate, just like Duncan at Glen boggle (Monarch of the Glen). He is just as enthusiastic an full of energy. We didn’t have coal and wood for our fire so he went back and got us some. I am unable to get the wi/fi so he becomes the IT man and attempts to get it going. The phone line is down. He will report it to the boss as there is nothing he can do. Now we have a huge bag of coal and an equally large bag of wood. For free (18 pound value). Sure hope the power doesn’t go out.

　

The cottage, as the 15 other the rent out are 200 to 300 years old. We are feeling more and more like we are in the Monarch of the Glen show. The cottage is old, with thick walls. Will insert pictures later when we can get this on the blog.

We purchased groceries at Galashields but they would have had provisions from the farm here for us if we needed them. We had a frozen pizza in the oven when there came a knock at the door. It is Andrew Carmichael. His father is the Carmichael clan chief. He inherited the estate (1000’s of acres) when Andrew was 4 and moved the family here from New Zealand. Andrew (the Archie of M of the Glen) is young and good looking. They are doing everything they can do to keep things going . They farm, have cows, sheep, pigs and deer. They sell their meat at the store at the visitor centre and at Saturday markets. He is at our door at 5:30 to say that he is sorry about the internet and will get the phone company on it but doubts anything will happen quickly. The stags are rutting and the sounds they make are quite eerie. Pete has made the sound for the girls and he is bang on.

We crawl into bed early. Staying on estates in centuries old cottages is tiring.

September 18 Scarborough  (North Yorkshire Railway)Scarborough ( North Yorkshire Moors Railway)
The upstairs neighbours were up at 5:00 am, they went back to bed around 6:00 after someone left but it was hard for us to go back to sleep. We were up and ready, lunch packed to leave at 8:00 for Pickering and the 9:00 train. However, it was not meant to be. First Andromeda sent us in the most roundabout route and then traffic was unbelievably heavy. Every mile or so along the A170 there was a village to slow down for and in between we had slow traffic. As we drove along we recognized the villages we had driven through with the Brownes on Sunday. Finally we arrived in Pickering and knew we were late. I saw a sign for the train; thought it said go straight but it was turn right. We drove straight on to probably what was the next village. Roy turned around we got to the station 15 minutes late. Coffee at the station tea room was in order. After coffee we got tickets for the 11:00 train and then walked down the street to an HSBC and withdrew some cash then over to the TI where we got lots of good information and post cards. Time for the train.

Steam train to Goathland

First you hear the chug a chug of the train and then see the clouds of steam and the pssh sound of the steam venting. The whistle blows and the train is there. We were on the train and into window seats. Roy even had paper towels to clean the window as suggested in Rick Steeves book. No sooner did he wash the window than they came along and cleaned them. Nicely settled for our ride, the conductor asks, “is everyone in this car with action tours?” Nope, we have to move to a different car - rats!! We wind up in a compartment for 8 people. There are only 6 of us and a dog (a very well behaved dog). One couple is from Kent, they are older and he is a classic type that we have all seen on a tv show. Very friendly people. The dog people are younger and from Manchester. We enjoyed the ride with them and they seemed to enjoy me trying to take a video and have the camera going when the train whistle sounded. We chug a chugged along to Goathland where we got off. The station was used in the first Harry Potter movie and the village was used as Aidensfield. As you walk up the hill into the village you see the Aidensfield Arms and across the street is Scripps Garage.

Aidensfield Arms

 The garage is a tourist trap with Heartbeat bric a brac for sale. They have a dusty car on display and a couple of motorcycles. Outside there are Ford Anglias. But the gas pump is there and the front of the garage looks just like it does in the show.

Scripp's Garage

  We didn’t go in Aidensfield Arms but continued on into the village. We had our lunch looking onto the Green and grazing sheep and the shops. Very like the show except the Green seems way too small. After lunch we wandered on down (or up) the road past the doctors house, what looked to be the police house and several houses that looked like they had been in the show. There were splendid views of the moors too. We walked as far as a cross road then headed back to the village. Visited the church which is at the crossroad. Back in the village we checked out the shops. Roy got a Ford Anglia police car and I got some coasters. They have a Ford Anglia Police car outside the Aidensfield shop. Next stop Aidensfield Arms - just like is in the show. The pub was actually used for the first five years of filming and then a replica was built at the studio. We had a drink by the fireplace. Could only get near the bar long enough to order. Back to the train - this time we are able to get window seats. We took lots of pictures as the village and the train station are very quaint and picturesque.

Aidensfield Arms



Aidensfield Arms later for a drink

Michael and Shirley had invited us to join them at a pub they go to on Tuesdays for curry but we were back too late and we were exhausted. We think it might be the wind that is tiring us but at the end of the day here in the north we are bagged. We were disappointed to miss going for dinner but they were lucky as we would have been poor company.

I just talked to Michael and we will go see them tomorrow evening.

September 17, Scarborough

No September 16^th date! We didn’t make an entry. As we have no internet here we are making our entries on a word processing program and we got involved in a Jackie Chan movie thought I watched most of it through my eyelids.

Michael and Shirley took us on a road trip. We began by having coffee at a place out of town. It is a Best Western- the Ox something. It was very nice. There had been a wedding the night before and the wedding party was still there.

Next we drove through the forest where Michael played and camped as a boy. It is original forest as it was since in the ice age. Stopped by the river and went for a walk. Jes enjoyed his walk and play in the river. It was very picturesque.

This was followed by a drive through the countryside to a quaint village where we had Sunday lunch. I had ham, Roy had roast beef. It was all accompanied by roasted potatoes, and perfectly steamed carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and mashed turnips. A big lunch for us! Good thing we took Jes for a walk afterwards. The walked ended with an ice cream cone and then we drove on to Whitbey. Micheal gave us a short tour of the town and we visited the fish store where he bought kippers and whelks. I had heard of whelks but never tasted them. It was nice to try them but I think once was enough for me. We stopped for tea and then home. What a lovely day. It was so nice to see the area through the eyes of people who have lived here all their lives.

Today we were up and ready to play golf with Michael at his golf club. North Cliff Golf Club. He equipped us with clubs and as it turned out balls because ours that we organized for the trip are sitting on our dresser at home.

North Cliff Golf Clubhouse Scarbourgh

The first hole runs along the North Sea. It is long in my opinion. The second hole takes you to Burniston Road (about a five minute walk from where we are staying). After crossing the road you play the third hole. They have an added hazard - undulations in the fairway. Some undulations go parallel to the fairway and others horizontally. They were quite intimidating to begin with. Michael and Shirleys’ house is across the street from the fourth hole. Nice place to live! After 8 holes I got over my nerves and began to play better. Roy had a very good game. It is a beautiful golf course and Michael was so nice to play with. Holes 16, 17 and 18 are back across the road. On 16 and 18 you are driving toward the sea. Very beautiful! We had lunch at the club and I got to use the Lady Members only change rooms. My goodness, I was a long way from the Valley Golf wash room.

We returned to Pine Lodge for a cup of tea and a snooze. 18 holes of golf and a pretty strong wind played us out! Just as we decided to go for a walk to Scarborough Castle it started to rain. After about ½ hour the rain stopped and off we went. About 100 yards up the street from us you cross the road and follow a path through the trees which takes you to the Scarborough outdoor theater ( more about it later) and then to the beach. We walked along the beach and up the hill to the castle. It was open for another hour so we paid to enter. It was quite an interesting site. The site has been inhabited since 800 BC. I will leave this to Roy.

The theatre has just been restored and is quite fabulous. Michaels dad did theatre lighting for the original theatre and he performed as an extra in many performances. Shirley was in the plays too.

Over to Roy

Well as Linda said, we walked from our abode to Scarborough Castle up on the highest hill around. The headlands have a panoramic view to the surrounding area.

Scarborough Castle from North Bay

 This made it an ideal as a point of early warning and for building a fort. Earliest evidence of people date back several thousand years BC. (800 BC) Whether the early people had a settlement or just used it as stopping point during migrations. Found on sites are stone and flint tools which date this early period. Some of them just look like rocks to me so I have to take their word for it. A bronze sword was excavated which now resides in the British Museum. Along with this is evidence that the bronze tools were actually manufactured here, bronze poured into moulds. When the Romans were worried about the Scots, they put a signal bases all along the coast including here. The base only had a small garrison, but was established in the early 300’s AD and was manned until they left. Shortly after William the Bastard conquered Anglia in 1066 he started building castles all over Anglia.

Scarborough Castle Keep

 Scarborough was one he started in 1068. On 3 sides are steep cliffs and only the 4^th was practical to attack. The main building is the keep, a building within the walls which would provide the last level of defence with only one entrance.

South Bay Scarborough from Castle walls

As kings came and went, they all seemed to feel that it was important and kept upgrading and building on. King John put more money into this castle than any other during his reign. It continued to be used up until WWI when the German Navy shelled it and the town early on in the war. It was interesting and almost empty of people made it quite enjoyable to walk around. We left just as the castle was about to close and walked down hill back to our self catering unit.

 

As for the golf , it was great. The sun was shining and the course was quite open, but difficult. The wind was only slightly under force 4. The undulations Linda talked about are terracing that people used hundreds of years ago to increase the surface area of the farm land. When the city allowed a golf course to be built here, the terracing was and is considered heritage and must be left. When I think of terracing, I think steps, but these have no flat spots instead they are round at the top and bottom. I was using a Taylormade draw driver that Michael use to use. I was really hitting well. I shot 101, with twice shooting 9’s on par 5’s. Those were the only holes I 4 putted. Overall a good day.

September 15, Oxford to York

Sunny skies greeted us this morning. It was even too warm for a jacket by mid morning. Last evening we suffered the smell of very strong perfume in our room. Man, you felt like you were eating it. We decided it was coming from the room above. I opened our window for a while and put the bathroom fan on but it didn’t go away. Next morning we discovered the “night light that didn’t work” was a room deoderizer doing its job! Our host, Richard served us a delicious breakfast that his wife had cooked. They manage the property with the help of staff. Richard has a broken shoulder from a fall downstairs and is very tattooed, even inside his ears. He and Roy share the same taste in reading so they had a grand old chat about Bernard Cornwell and others. We set out for the York Museum where they trace Yorks history back to the Romans. We had a good morning there tracing the history of York through Vikings, Celts, Romans, Saxons etc. Fascinating, if only I retained all I learned. None the less, I enjoyed seeing things so very old. Pubs have been very convenient but we are tired of them so we decided to go to a tea shop for lunch. All the tea shops inside the walled York were very busy. HMS York was given the freedom of the city today. The sailors, with their band paraded through the streets. Very stirring. We decided to head over the bridge and go to a place closer to Linden Lodge. We had seen one with a Tetley sign - that would be good, it turned out to be a pub. Lunch was eventually purchased from a bakery and eaten on a bench outside a church on Scarcroft Street.. Back to the car and off we go. Richard has given us more direct driving instructions to get to the A64. Andromeda brought us in on a very winding out of the way route, but she got us where we needed to go. Traffic was stopped dead at the on ramp to the highway. We had to pull to the side to let an ambulance through. In a short time we were on the highway and traffic was moving. The trip to Scarbourgh was uneventful. Found Pine Lodge and Denise got us settled. Carol and Harry stayed here two years ago and had told us the story of the black towels. This is a small apartment. We have a front room/dining room, kitchenette/shower and sink (shower and sink are part of kitchen), toilet room and bedroom. Very comfy. Anyway most people who stay here are from England and they bring their own towels. Too bulky if you are coming from North America.. Harry and Carol had to ask for towels and they were given brand new black towels. New towels shed so they were covered in black lint after a shower. It was hard to keep a straight face when Denise brought us the famous black towels. We are grateful for the towels as otherwise we’d have to go buy some. Next we hit Tesco for some groceries and then we called Michael and Shirley. They gave us a great welcome. The view out their front window is of their beautiful garden and a golf course beyond. They moved into the house 18 months ago and have done extensive renovations as well as building on. The house is 56 years old (they have been married) 56 years Shirley had a delicious dinner for us. There was a lot of food and it was all so good. They are going to show us around town tomorrow and we will go for lunch at a pub with them tomorrow. After Skpying the Caines we came back to Pine Lodge before it got dark. Michael and Harry were in the National Service together. I am off to watch Midsommer Murders (there really is a Midsommer) and have a drink of Scotch to salute the end of another good day. God Bless, good night Just a quick note. We turned on the TV and there was Oliver Stone and his show Vikings which starts out in York.

October 2, Glasgow

We had a bit of downtime yesterday and it was evidently much needed.  Both of us felt better this morning.  The shuttle bus took us into Edinburgh and we made our first stop Wetherspoons (Campton).  What a great place, we give it a 10 out of 10.  Prices were very good, as was the food and the ambiance was good too.  As Roy said, it didn't have the character of some of the old places but it more than made up for it.  Next stop, the tourist information place where we got a map of Glasgow and subway directions.  Off we went - their subway is old and a bit claustrophobic but it got us to our destination.  It was orignially powered by a steam engine and cable system.  It was a short walk to the Kelvingrove Museum.  Wow, an amazing place.  The first room we went in was filled with life size animals (not live ones) from all over the world.   It reminded me of "Night at the Museum".  There was a full sized Spitfire hanging from the ceiling.  We learned about the "Glasgow Boys".  20 artists 1880 -1920? from Glasgow who formed into a sort of group.  Hornel was my favorite.  Dali's "Christ of St. John is in the collection and really touches you.  It is hard to stop looking at it.
There were rooms dealing with furniture, womens rights, life in Glasgow, I could go on and on and on.  We limited our time there as there are only so many hours in the day and our brains can only absorb a small amount at a time.  Pity we won't be back.

After the Kelvingrove museum we took the underground to the Transportation and Maritime museum.  Another great place which we didn't have near enough time to do it properly.  There are all sorts of cars, motorcycles, trams, trains,model boats, and steam engines throughout the museum.  We heard that there was going to be a tour in 15 minutes so we went over to see about it.  We were the only people who showed up for the tour.  Our private guide took us to all the highlights as he called them.  It took about an hour.  There was the remains of a steam engine coach built in 1837 which was like a horse drawn coach with the engine separate and infront of the passenger coach.  The builder was light years ahead of his time in design, but opposition to non horse drawn coaches was too strong for him to overcome.  When ever a ship building company built a major ship, they would make a model of the ship to use as advertising to other clients.  Inside the museum are models of at least 100 of these models, including the QE1, QE2, and the Queen Mary.  These alone could take a long time to enjoy them. One of the cars was an MG TC.  After the tour we told our guide that we would be leaving and going back to the airport.  He offered us a ride, as he had a car and was going right by the airport on the way home.  We thanked him, but declined as we wanted to go down town to see what it looked like.  Instead of the underground we decided to walk along the River Clyde.  It took about 40 minutes, but was good excercise for our long flight tomorrow.  Dinner was at our Glasglow local where we had breakfast.  Good food, reasonable prices and a pint of Guiness.  doesn't get any better than that.  

We have packed up, weighed our bags and blogged.  Time for bed and our flight home tomorrow.

Another marvelous trip.  A couple of hiccups but lots of fun and new things to see and people.

September 30, 2012

Today we traveled to Edinburgh.  We didn't want to have to drive in the city and find a place to park so we stopped in at the TI in Lanark and asked about train service.  Being Sunday, train service is lousy from the small stations, one train and if you miss it you are hooped.  Next was can we park somewhere and get a bus.  Yes of course you can and there is good service.  The guy at the TI spent at least 1/2 hour trying to confirm that the busses run from the Park and Ride at Herminston and which bus to take to get to city centre.  It didn't matter which site he went into, it directed him to the same site which gave no information.  Finally he found a painful way get the information and confirmed we could get buses in and out.  Next he printed us directions to the park and ride which was really helpful because the GPS would only accept the town nearby.  We did put in the nearby town for the GPS and of course it was different than the ones the TI gave us.  It was pouring rain when we left, but the weather report told us it would clear up in Edinburgh by 10 AM.  Part way the road was closed due to flooding.  Divert onto the road which the TI gave us and carried on.  Fortunately the diversion put us right to the Park and ride.  Walked over to the bus stop and met a nice older couple and had quite a chat about Canada and the west coast.  A bus comes not ours and they told us we were at the wrong bus stop, oh well, we only hadto cross the street..  Really glad we didn't plan on driving into Edinburgh.  A lot of the streets are torn up with construction, it would have been a nightmare for us.  Got off the bus and walked to the Royal Mile and picked out a resturant for lunch.  It was almost empty when we went in but it started raining cats and dogs and the resturant quite quickly filled up.  After lunch we decided to hit the main attraction for us, the Scottish National Museum.  We planned on a couple of hours there.  Its another one of these places which takes days to give it justice.  Its also free.  There are two buildings, one has Scottish heritage and the other has the rest of the world.  We went into the Scottish heritage side and found out there were 5 floors, starting at the bottom for the beginning.  Looking confuse, a nice enthustactic young man told us all about the museum and its history and what we absolutely must see.  First floor took over 1/2 hour and we didn't spend too much time at each area.  By the time we had done 3 floors we had spent over 2 hours and felt we needed a lot more time on each floor.  We decided to do one more floor and leave the rest for next time.  On the way out it was almost time for the milleniun clock to do its thing so we decided to wait.  It was quiite a sight to see this clock built from pieces found in scrap yards to do its thing.

.It is hard to see, but inside there are gears, wheels and objects which move to music played to represent all the people killed all over the world in the 20th century

 

  The air was getting stale and we were getting tired, it was time to leave.  Once outside we needed a drink, which spells pub.  Greyfriers Bobby pub was on the corner, as was the statue of Grey Friars Bobby, so in we went for a glass of water and a swift half.  Refreshed we headed out to the royal Mile for a stroll. 



 There wasn't anything particular we wanted to do or shop for but it is a nice stroll and different.  We stopped at the whiskey centre  and I bought some travellers bottles of BenRaich to try out.  There was a bottle of 50 year old Johnny Walkers there, selling for only 1750 pounds.  Tempted, but no, probably tastes the same as Red Label.  After strolling about 1/2 way down we decided it was time to head for the bus.  On the way we walked through part of the gardens which were created from a drained lake.  Uneventful bus ride back and Linda was able to program the GPS to take us around the flooded area.  Back to our abode to have supper, clean up and do some packing.

October1 Glasgow (Linda)

The  rules for Carmichael Cottage state that "as this is a self catering cottage, please leave the cottage as you found it".  Well, that didn't set too well.  Cleaning the fire place and toilets?  Don't think so...
We checked at the Visitor Centre and it just means don't leave a mess.  Our options were a light clean 15 gbp or 30 for a full clean.  We opted for neither and left the place as we would leave any other.
It was quite an experience to stay there.  The son of the Laird told us how hard it was to keep things going.  How 200 year old cottages have quirks and kinks and need tlc.  True, but they have 15 cottages in Avimore (Scottish highlands), a flat in Edinburgh near Holyrood Palace and 3 flats in Cypress.  They had a family holiday skiing at Whistler, etc.  Not so sure about the hard life!
Anyway, I left them a note suggesting they get a new mattress as the one we slept on must have been there since farm staff lived in it 30 years ago.  It did have everything we needed and we slept fine.  Never had pheasants in my front yard before or deer grazing next to my garden. (Nor Stags making mating sounds at 6:00am.  It was fun and too bad it was so muddy and wet or we could have explored some of the walks on the estate.
Off to Glasgow.  Andromeda gave a very confusing sounding route.  I tried to make sense of it as it is much easier if I can see where she is taking us on the map before we start out.  Couldn't but off we went.  She did a wonderful job and we enjoyed the stunning scenery on the way.
Found the Ramada with no problem at all ... it was just when we got inside.  No, they had no reservation for us.  I had written the number down in our book.  They did find it but no credit card transaction had gone through.  We were a little frazzled by it all but they did have a room available for the same price and we are in it!  Returned the car, and went into the airport to see where to go Wednesday when we leave.  It is lunch time by now so we had something to eat and planned our afternoon.  Roy looked as wiped out as I felt - we went back to the hotel had vegged for the afternoon.  It  is 6:00 and we are in the lounge using the wi/fi. Think we will eat here though it is a trifle pricey.

One more day and we are homeward bound!  Can't wait to be there.  It seems like it has been a long time away and we miss everyone.  We made a mistake not making firm plans for the last few days and so felt like a boat with no rudder.  Edinburgh was great as was Lanark but the high winds and rain did put a damper on the walking we might have done in better conditions.
On the whole it has been a marvelous trip filled with lots of great memories, which I won't list right now.

September 29 the end of the day!

We did a catch up blog this mrning.  This is what happened today.  First of all Andromeda has a touch of travel sickness and her battery isn't charging and her power cord is touchy.

We did our blog at the tearoom and then went back to New Lanark.  Visited the school house and saw what education was like.  Very interesting.  They had a huge globe with uncharted territory in Canada.  Learned a lot more about Robert Owen.  The big water wheel was working outside.  After lunch we hiked up the river to see the two sets of waterfalls.  Stunning views.
Stopped at the TI for information about getting to Edinburgh (we may go tomorrow) and we are back to the tea room.
Robert Owen was a mill owner who was way ahead of his time.  He believed in socialism to a point.  He started the first nursery for children under 3 so mothers could work at the mill.  He also had sick benefits for workers to ill to work.  The company store sold high quality goods cheaper than town and the profits went into health care and education.  At New Lanark they credit him with starting the co-operative and union movements.  When other workers found out what he was offering his workers they believed they should have the same opportunities.  He became so dissolutioned with the legislation to help workers and fighting to get better conditions that he finally moved to the USA to try and set up an ideal town in Indiana.
Walking along the River Clyde is going to be one of the highlights of our trip.  Beautiful walk on a well maintained trails with 3 falls to visit.  It took about 2 hours to walk it and back, but unbelievable as it may seem, the sun came out and it was so nice. Closing the tea room so have to go.  Hopefully will be on again soon. 

September 29, Carmichael

Feels more like January than September.   They say there might be snow next week!  According to locals everything stops when it snows so pray it waits until we are on our way home.
We are staying on the estate at Carmichael in Laundry Cottage (200 years old).  Its all very Monarch of the Glennish!  The phone line in our cottage is out so no internet.  That internet is illusive and is so convenient when you travel.   We really miss it.  This morning we are at the tea room on the estate having coffee and eating scones and using their wi/fi.

We reluctantly left Burnbrae's Thairn cottage and came to our new abode.  Will leave here Monday morning for Glasgow where we are staying at a Ramada near the airport.  The car gets turned in Monday too. 

The day we arrived here we visited New Lanark, a cotton mill, built in 1799.  Robert Owen began a utopian type town there for his workers.  Very progressive for the time.  Yesterday we went to Stirling Castle and Bannock Burn Battle Site.  Great historyBlogspot we will!  It was a very good day.  We are off to New Lanark today to visit the sites we missed the other day.  We have written up blogs for the days we missed, and as soon as we figure out how to transfer them to the Tomorrow is still up in the air.  Probabily won't have internet until we get to Glasglow now.

September 26, Burnbrae

Woke to quiet!  The wind wasn't blowing.  Yesterday at Haddington the wind was blowing so hard it felt like it could blow our clothes off.  It drove the rain right into our pants,  brrr!  It was a bit misty out when we got up but not bad.  We got off to a leisurely start.  Roy went for a stroll around the grounds while I finished getting ready.  He visited Yvette to ask her to reconnect our wi/fi.  They were setting up for a machine embroidery class.  I went down to snoop but no one was around.  Damn.

We went to Jedburough first.  I really wanted a sweater.  The shop in Kelso didn't have anything that was the right colour or size so we looked at the Jedburough Woolen Mill.  We both got sweaters.  It took awhile as they didn't have a full line either.  The quality wasn't as good as the shop in Kelso but the price was much better.  There was a quilt store across the street so we checked it out.  Not much different from home.  Prices about the same.  Enough stores - we are off to Melrose,

The roads were dry but the rivers and streams (burns) are very full.  We went straight to Abbotsford (Sir Walter Scotts home) but it is closed until next year for an update.  We were so disappointed.  There is a new visitor center with lots of information about the great writer but we have heard so much about his home that it was a real let down.  The town of Melrose is very pretty and we had a mediocre lunch there.  Found the Abbey but didn't feel it was worth $15.00 to see the ruins.  We did visit the Melrose Roman Museum.  It is small and the people associated with it are passionate about it. Most people don't know that the Romans were this far north of Hadrian's wall.  There were 6 major forts and about two dozen minor forts.  They arrived in this area in about 80 AD and stayed for about a 100 years. When they left it was very hard on the local people.

That was our nod to culture for the day.  We hit the road for Galasheils and the Asda store.  Yvette told Roy they have Fire Man Sam stuff and they did so we did some Christmas shopping!  We are moving to a self catering place in the Lanark area tomorrow so we got some groceries and headed for Braeburn.  Feel like we know the road now.

Back at the cottage we did some suitcase organizing and had chicken, steamed veggies, potatoes and salad.  Fresh local strawberries and dark chocolate for dessert.   A feast!

Off to bed

September 25, 2012  Tuesday
Woke up to more high winds and rain this morning.  The storm continues.  This is the worst September storm in 30 years.  The storm is tropical mixing with the cold air over the UK.  Apparently the clouds are 6 miles high, loaded with moisture and dumping it on the UK and remaining fairly stationary.  The rain and wind let up around 10 and we decided to try an get to Haddington where my Grandfather was born and raised.  Check with the landlady and she had not heard of any closures our way, so off we went.  Yes we did see a spot of water around.

A68

Most of the trip we had to slow down every few miles to travel through flooded roads.  The good thing was that the water wasn't too deep, but it was a worry.  When we got to Haddington the road over the bridge we were on was closed due to flooding.  The sat nav (GPS) had trouble finding an alternate route, but we were able to follow some other cars into town.  Once there we had lunch at a local, not the best we have had but okay.  After lunch we went to the town hall to see if we could get upstairs.  The security person was having lunch so we told him we would come

back after lunch.  When we came back he was very helpful.  He took us upstairs and told us what he knew about history of the town hall building.  After we had finished the tour he found some papers in his office which gave more information about the buildings history.  He told us we could go next door to the new library and make copies if we brought them back, so we did.  The old library has closed and the new library is very modern, and the archive files have also been moved there.  After wandering around for a while and visiting some shops we decided to try and see the Rossyln Chaple in Roslin.  Uneventful trip, jus train and wind.  The chapel was awesome.  Much of what Brown wrote in the Da Vinc Code has been refuted but it is still amazing.  The chapel is small but inside and outside are covered with carvings.

As we were walking around this gentleman, Ed Thomson asked if we needed any help.  And he started to tell us all about the Templers and Masons and what the carvings mean.  He had lots of stories and was very interesting.  Anyway as he finished off, we talked more about the Templars and I mentioned about what happened to the Templars.  They are still here and he is not only a Templar, but he is at the 33rd level and the grand master for southern Scotland.  Anyway after he explained the leigh lines and how several intersect right in the middle of the church he left and disappeared.  We then came joined a group who had an official guide with them.  Again lots of interesting information and stories about the church.  After the tour we asked some questions and got to talking to the guide and told us that Eddie has some views on the church which are different from the official version.  A few items of information.  There are green men all around the church giving the 4 different seasons.  The story of Christ is written in stone around the walls as well as the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues.  The guide said that since people couldn't read that churches used stone carvings to depict the bible.  He thought this is where written in stone came from.  It was hard to leave this ornate chapel.  As we started for home we happen to catch a road condition sign saying the road we had come from was experiencing flooding.  Fortunately there was an alternative, a little longer but not too far.

Over to Linda

That was a very full day!.  We didn't start until late because it was so nasty outside so we crimmed a lot into a short time.  Roy did so well driving through the flooded roads.  The Scots were getting through so we did too but it was pretty tense at times, expecially the longest flooded area which was at least a 1/2 mile.  When the big lorries passed us I wondered if we would start to float.  Most of the time you could make out the broken line down the middle of the road but there were times when the water was too high.  Poor sheep!  The water was coming out through the gaps in a stone fence about 2 feet up.  Morpeth was flooded - it flooded after we were there 4 years ago.  We'd best stay away from therre!  It was good that we were able to come home the A7 and though the roads were very narrow and twisty, they weren't flooded.

When we got to Rosslyn Chapel the computers were down and they couldn't sell us an admission ticket or tea - now cash registers.  I started talking to the couple at the next table - they were about our age.  (People our age always seem to like to talk, )  He, with a twinkle in his eye told me that the Countess of Rosslyn was in the room.  I thought he was teasing but he wasn't.  The couple lived just down the lane, on the corner.  He pointed out one of the pictures of the St.Clairs on the wall (Dukes and Duchesses of Rosslyn).  The man in the picture was a bit of a gambler and was "the man who broke the bank at Montecarlo"  Really!  It developed that my new friend was a retired fish biologist.  We learned a got deal about fish lice.  It was very interesting in spite of the fact that his wife was a bit embarrassed.  She is on the vestery for the Chapel.  The church members do not have to find money for the upkeep of the church - it is the responsiblility of the St Clair family.  Since the Dan Brown novels they must have been raking it in.  They have about 90 regular attendees.  These people were very interesting, we were fortunate to meet them

It was so good to get home to Thairn Cottage.  It is such a wonderful place.  We will hate to leave!

September 24, 2012  monday
What a change in weather.  Part of a tropical storm from the America's has reached Britain.  High winds and rain.  Today winds gusting to 30 mph were attained and tonight gusting to 60 mph are expected.  In some parts as much as 3" of rain is expected today and tonight which is just below the usual rainfall for all of September.  The extremes are not expected where we are, most are on the west coast and Ireland.  Today we took off from touring.  Instead we did some domestic chores.  I spent almost an hour with Chris, the new landlord trying to get the WiFi working and Linda did some washing.  The problem turned out to be not our computer, but the router and extender had to be reset.  Fortunately for us there is a washer and drier here we can use and its nice not to have to wash things in the sink.  After doing our blog for yesterday we headed off to Kelso.  Hey parking is free in Kelso, what a novel concept.  We pulled into a parking lot and couldn't find the place to pay and were wondering if it was a private lot.  Linda asked and was told its free.  Off we went to tour Kelso, about 4 streets each about 2 blocks long.  Stopped at the information and found out where the Hoot and Cat cafe, woolen stores, and Robertson the cobler is.  Since we hadn't had lunch we started at the Hoot and Cat cafe.  Carol and Harry had met some people there and wanted us to take some information on Moose Jaw airbase during the war.  Had a lunch, the soup was great.  There is a ruined Abby in Kelso and and that was our next stop.  There wasn't much left, but as others it is impressive.  The massive amount of stone and the height they built to makes one think about the time and effort which went into these structures.  After that it was strolling the streets, window shopping and just taking it easy.  We did go into A. Robertson which is a cobbler and Carol's research came up with the fact that our grandfather's uncle owned this shop until about 40 years ago.  Its cold here, so we did some shopping for sweaters.  Didn't buy but there are some possibilities, so may go back.

We returned to Burnbrae and even though it was a bit chilly we sat in our own private conservatory and had a glass of wine.  The cows didn't seem to mind the strong wind!  We are going to have a fire in our fireplace and a relaxing evening.  Had the last of the meat pies from Alnwick market with some steamed veggies for dinner.  We bought meat pies from 2 stalls - now, if we were to go back we'd know which stall to go to for a good pie.

Kelso Abby

God Bless

September 23, 2012  Sunday
Today the sun was shining when we got up and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Cottingburn House has received a breakfast award, which they claim is due to the saugage and bacon they receive from the local butcher.  The bacon was very good, but the saugage was not quite to our taste.  After breakfast we loaded upand headed to Alnwick about a 40 minute drive.  No trouble finding the place or finding a parking lot near the market square.  The square was busy setting up a food market for the day.  We walked around and picked out some meat pies etc which we could buy on the way back.  It was a short walk to the castle grounds.  The grounds consist of the Castle and the Gardens.  The area is huge.  By the time we reached the castle grounds the sky had clouded over a bit and the wind had picked up.  We were beginning to wish we had brought our coats from the car.  Our hands were getting so cold as soon as we bought our tickets we went inside and brought ourselves some hot chocolate.  Warmed up a little we headed off to the castle owned by the Percy family since the 1300's.    The bought it from some Norman family, and we missed the story so don't have the details

  Upon entering the castle we were asked if we wanted to join a free tour of the cellars.  With the price right we naturally said yes, and were given tickets to the 12:20 tour.  The apartments weren't open until 11:00 so we started off exploring the other parts of the castle such as the outer and inner bailey where Harry Potter learned to fly on his broom.  Inside there is a courtyard where kids can learn to fly brooms, learn jousting, wear period clothing and just have fun.  As we wandered back a tour of the castle was just starting so we joined in.  Sally our guide was excellent and very informative. 
The castle was purchased in the 1300's and has been in constant renovation ever since.  It was built orginally as a defensive works to provide protection from the Scots.  The square towers are Norman design and come from the 14th century, the round towers were much later and replaced many of the orginal towers.  In many areas there is evidence of stone work of the 14th century, with stones from the 15th century on top and more stones of the 18th century built on top of that.  The castle was so well built defensively that it has never fallen in battle.  It was twice abandoned to seige armies, the inhabitants getting out secret doors before the seiges had begun. The castle is surrounded on 3 sides by the river which prevents attackers from coming on all sides.

Inner Bailey

The castle area is huge and the building s impressive.  Down through the ages the Percy lineage has remained.  If there is no heir, only a heiress, the husband changes his name to Percy.  Once the tour was over we hurred back for the cellars tour.  It was a bit hoaky but funny.  It was suppose to be scary, with actors playing the parts of evil people who take you through the area with props etc.  Overall it was okay, but would not mind missing it either.   After the cellar tour, I went over to the archery area and took the opportunity to try my had at it.  The target was
only 30 feet away and I had a light bow, and I managed to shoot 69 0ut of 80. 

It was a lot of fun.  Good thing the bow was a light pull, my arm was wandering around the last few.  My last arrow was the best, a bulls eye in the 1" centre.  The apartments were open so it was finally time to go inside, and hopefully warm up.  The poor outside attendents were freezing as well as the tourist.  In dise was marginally warmer but out of the wind.  The collection of antiques and paintings were amazing.  The entrance room walls are fillwith pistols and swords that Lord Percy had purchase for his own private volunteers during the threat of invasion by Napoleon.  As you go up the stairs each wall is covered in paintings.  Talking to one of the people who works in the gardens he told us the paintings have an estimated value of over 500 million pounds.  There are many Gainsboroughs, Van Dykes and Titains on the wall as well as hunreds of other paintings.  One of the Percys who travelled extensively brought Italian carvers in to do the shutters and doors.  Each piece took months to complete, and one marquitry table took 4 ten years to complete and depicted the 5 senses.  It was amazing to see and the guide/seurity pointed many things in the table which were difficult to see until you looked closely.  Unfortunatley no pictures were allowed, they even have sensors to detect picture taking.  There are two cabinets about 7 feet high which were bought from Versailles when they were changing decor in the 18th century and they are similar to marquitry only done in stone.  They are believe to be the onlyu two left in the world.  One of the gentleman who changed his name to Percy was Smithson.  He had an eligitimate son who he refuse to acknowledge.  The son who was very intelligent became very bitter and changed his name to Smithson and became very wealthy.  He died without an heir and part of his will was to give a grant to the USA ti start a science and technology centre.  The USA did not want to accept the money and finally did and the Smithsonian Instute was born.  When we left the castle we were so cold we decided to go back to the car and get our coats.  First we stopped at the market and bought supper and some Alnwick beer.  Back at the gardens with our coats on made the expierence much more comfortable.   As you enter through the pavilion, the first thing that strikes you is a huge cascading fountain.

Over to Linda

Going back to the morning.  Our B&B was very comfy.  Duvets again.  Only once have we had a banket.  I am definitely not a duvet kind of gal.  Our breakfast was nice but not near as nice as the landlady warned us it would be.  Funny, it never pays to build people up - expectations are hard to meet.  Do wish we could have enjoyed the place a bit longer though.

Alnwick Castle and gardens were fabulous.  I do think it would have been no fun to work there as a servant.  We were very lucky to get in on the guided tour.  It lasted an hour and was very comprehensive. The guide seemed to get to know us and when we saw her later in the castle she spent extra time explaining the things we were seeing.  So much wealth - VanDyke paintings, Turners, and an Italian name Canaletto.  The dishes, the porcelian, the doors, everything is so valuable.  The current Duke and Duchess live there most of the year now, though they aren't short of places to go - they have homes all over the place.  They do have a private suite at Alnwick though they seem to live in the areas we toured too.  There was a very adequate bar set up in the library.  A wedding picture of Elizabeth and Phillip, signed by both of them.  Charley has a snap shot too as well as many family photos strewn about the place.

As Roy said, it was freezing bloody cold.  When we went back to the car park for our coats we stopped at the market (very high on my list of things to do) we bought bread, meat pies, a bottle of Alnwick beer.  The pop I had at Beamish was there Dandelion and Burdock (not elderflower) but was a cordial and you had to dilute it.  It was too much for us to use so had to forgo the pleasure.

The gardens are wonderful.  I was ready to skip them.  I was tired and cold and didn't give a hoot about anything but getting warm.  Good thing we went as they were lovely to walk around and the poison garden was a must.  An elderly gentleman took us round and in a suitably ominous voice told the hazzards of various plants.  Just as a little boy reached out to touch a plant he said,"don't touch that you will get a severe rash that would reappear everytime he went out in the sun for 3 months.  A good many would kill you.  Surprising how common they are!

Off to Kelso.  Found our new home with Carol and Andromeda's directions.  It is so nice.  We could live here year round.  It is vary spacious and has every thing we could possibly need and more.  Yvette and Chris have taken over from Yvette's parents Sam and Pat.  Sam and Pat turned a row of cattle. barns into a pretty row of cottages.  They have done a very good job but after 15 years of renting the cottages have retired.  Chris and Yvette have been here for a year. 

The weather has turned nasty today.  High winds and lots of rain so we took the morning off touring.  Nice to have a bit of a rest.  Once we were able to get on the internet we have been typing up this diary.  It is hard to get behind as you forget to much and it is a bit time consuming.  I am doing some laundry (and learning how to work a spin washer and dryer that are totally alien to me).  In a few minutes we will go to Kelso and have a poke around.  Hopefully we will find the Hootin Cat.

September 22 Durham to Morpeth

We enjoyed a good sleep at the Three Horseshoes as well as a delicious breakfast.  The owners son and daughter in law had stepped in to help them renovate the place.  The land lady said they were pretty much on their knees.  I think that meant they needed help.  The kids have done a wonderful job on our room and have one room left to do as well as the hall ways.  A bit like Monarch of the Glen.  The son comes back to save the family estate sort of thing.

There was frost on the car but it had melted in the sunshine before we were ready to set off for Beamish Museum.  We arrived just at opening and still had to stand in line for tickets.  What a deal - concession tickets were 13 pounds.  The girl wanted to know if we'd like a one year membership.  Well, no.  The memberships was the same price as entry for a day, so if any of our older friends are coming this way....

Beamish is a living museum.  You can walk around in most of the displays.  It is set up as a coal mining village.  There are 3 main areas - the colliery, the farm and the village.  Trams and buses drive you from one site to another.  There is a variety of buses and it would have been neat to ride on them all as some were doing but very time consuming.  The grandchildren would all love the place.  Some had their bikes and there were some strider bikes too.  We've seen a lot of strider bikes on this trip.

First stop was the Colliery.  The school teacher was in the school even though it was Saturday and the students were not there.  There were up to 90 students, ages 6 to 12 in the room st times.  ONE teacher, poor soul. 

RLinda, the dilegent student.    Roy, was naughty. 

Next we visited the chapel.  There were ladies making lace at the back of the church.  It is fascinating to watch them work.  All those bobbins to keep untangled.  There also was a lady making a whole cloth quilt.  Of course I had to spend a little time there.  The whole cloth quilts were wedding quilts only.  Other quilts were made of scraps.                                                                                        

 

You are able to go into a mine shaft and see how it was for the miners.  We donned hard hats and went down into the mahogany drift.  Good thing we had those hard hats.  I banged my head once.  They are very low.  I cannot imagine spending long days down there mining the coal or hauling it out.  All the things I have read about coal mining are true.  You couldn't exagerate how bad it must have been.  next, over to the spot were the coal is brought up.  The lifts are steam operated where we saw the only cable winch operated by steam in the world.  The lift operators job was considered to be a highly skilled job and was a plum job because they never went down in the mine.  The position would pass from father to son.  The lift operator was so important that he was not allowed to leave his post.  There was a comode fitted into his chair so he could take care of everything without leaving his post.  A good lift operator could get the cage within 1/4 inch of each level.

 

The cottages are set up just as they were and you are free to wander through most.  Some have people baking or cooking and one had a lady making a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  Naturally Linda had to have a look.  She invited me to sit and sew awhile but we had miles to go before we slept.

 

Sausage rolls and a pop for lunch.  Sounds bad but tasted pretty good!  The best pop I have ever had.  Elderflower and dandelion.

 

On a quaint old bus for a ride to the village.  The stores are set up as they were in the day and there were quite a few for the miners to spend their wages in.  Dry goods store (sold Hudson's soap), auto and bicycle dealer, dentist, candy store, etc.  It was fun to look around.  We got an ice cream (I had a flake in mine.   It's a stick of what seemed like grated chocolate loosely made into a stick) and headed to the train station.  Roy saw the steam train go by while I bought the ice cream.  That was about it for action at the trains. 

 

The tram took us back to the entrance and we picked up the car and faced it toward Housteads fort on Hadrians wall.  It was later than we had intended as Rick Steeves said to allow 3 hours for Beamish.  Now where near enough!  We will always add time to his estimates in future.

 

Arrived at Housesteads in sunshine and warm weather.  Direct opposite to our visit 4 years ago.  Then it was driving rain and wind.  From the entrance at the road you follow a path down into a sheep filled valley, across a stream, through a gate, up a very, very steep sheep filled hill to get to the fort.  It's a hike!  It was much more enjoyable to visit the fort this time as you weren't being blown into Roman latrines and the pictures will turn out as the camera lens isn't covered in water.  We re toured the ruins.  Amazing people those Romans and then did an sort of no no (we weren't alone).  We climbed up on the wall at the edge of the fort.  Cool.  But people were on the wall further to the east where it was much wider.  How to get there.  We climbed a fence and went down a very steep hill, found our way through an extremely muddy area, went up another hill and it was an easy climb, even for me, up onto the wall.  Got our pictures taken and everything.  Now we have been on the Great Wall of China and Hadrian's Wall.  We felt like World Travellers.  Up the steep, steep hill to the fort, climb the fence and we are back in the fort.  It is amazing how the building foundations have endured.  There is so much more for them to excavte.  Feeling we are content with our visit we head back down the hill.  The sheep are all at one side now as while we were in the fort we saw a sheep dog move them to one area.  Wether it was supposed to happen or some visitors dog couldn't resist we don't know. We did the hike in resverse and back at the car tried to program Andromeda to go to the White Swan a pub we visited when were were here efore.  Frustration reached a high point before we finally got there.  She can be so stubborn about the route she wants to take.

 

The Swan, what can I say.  The best meal we ate in all of Britain was at the Swan.  Would it be as good this time.  Yup!  It has received several awards from us.  Best carvery in the world, best sticky toffee pudding in the world.  Wow, they should be famous.  We left, stuffed with food and happy.

 

Morpeth was only a short drive away and we were there in no time.  Finding our lodging was a diffent matter.   Andromeda didni't tell us to turn when we should have .  We had to driv on and find a place to turn.  When we were back on the correct road she took us down a narrow lane.  So narrow that you had to pull the side mirrors in.  Any way we found Ctingburn House.  Very nice and old.  Our hosts were very welcoming.  Tim had a hip replacement 10 days ago.  His other hip was done 4 1/2 months ago.  He was happy to talk about it and we were happy to listen.  His wife is originally from Russia but says she is English and crosses herself as she says God save the Queen. She told us the history of the house as she aquainted us with our room and the breakfast room.  She brings our luggage in through the kitchen because there are no stairs that way.  We cannot go in the kitche - health rules - but the dog lives there.???

I will have my dog rant later.

God Blesss

 

 

.

September 20, 2012
Well this is actually being written a day later.  We have been without the internet until today so we wrote our blog in word, but still do not know how to transfer them over.  So we will resume from yesterday.
Today is the day to explore Scarborough.  We had a leisurely breakfast before heading off.  We decided to walk into the town even though it was showery.  It didn't look too far and in fact it only took us a half hour or so.  We thought we could use the WiFi at the library to update our blogs.  When we got to the library the librarian told us the WiFi wasn't working and we could have 1/2 hour free on their computers and then we had to start paying.  We elected to just take the free time. Somehow we just didn't feel like sitting in the library.  After the library it was lunch time and we found a bakery type resturant which was fine except very noisy.  After lunch we walked around on the no traffic streets looking at a few shops, but not buying anything.  The south bay looked interesting, although it was a long steep walk to the beach. What a neat place.   There half a dozen casino type operations with slots, bingo and those grab the toy with the crane  gameswhich never work.  Suprisingly, there were a lot of people in these establishments.  This is where the fishing boats come in so there were sea food stores and marine equipment establishments.  And of course dozens of souvenier and places to buy beach toys.  After walking around and buying an icecream it was time to head back.  Descretion is the better part of valor and so we took a tram back up into the city.  As we walked back we stopped at another bakery and bought a couple of meat pies for dinner.  Next door was an art galley and it had some post card prints which we liked so we picked a few of them up as well.  In no time we were home, too early for supper.  We set off to the Ivanhoe pub just down from where were staying.  We were told that the food wasn't as good there anymore so it was good that we had dinner at home.  While we're sitting there 4 guys came in for a drink and decided to play pool.  They were a hoot to listen to.  They even sang the song "put your right foot in" etc.  They were having a blast.  On the way home, as we walked by the golf course we played on we found a golf ball in the hedge by hole # 17, so I got a souvenir.

Roy has said he is done so I will have a turn.
As he said the South Beach was interesting and to think we almost didn't bother to go!  Starting with the place called Coney Island there must have been 10 arcades.  All pretty much the same.  It really lives up to being a holiday by the sea town.  Scarborourgh was the first seaside holiday place in the British Isles.  You can just imagine the bathing beauties in their old fashioned suits.  Michael and Shirley said that when they were younger there were so many places to rent for vacations and almost every house took in holiday goers as lodgers.  Different towns would have their weekly holiday and trains would bring in load after load of people for their week of vacation.  How times change.

We repacked in the evening.  It had been nice to unpack for a few days.  Also nice to eat in and not have to go out for every meal.  The Browne's were wonderful, what a lovely couple.  Such a close family.  It was interesting to hear them talk about the area and its history.

Pine Lodge was a good place to stay, unique in some ways but excellent value for money.  One morning when I showered I forgot to close the kitchen blind and as the shower was in the kitchen that was not a good thing.  We learned how to put the 1 pound coin in the slot to keep the electricity flowing and managed on the same coin the whole time we were there.  The tv was a little different too but we got the hang of it.  I had planned to go to the laundry while there but managed to hand wash everything we needed so didn't have to sit and wait for clothes to wash and dry.

The road was familiar as far as Whitbey the next morning and Andromeda was a good guide to help us get to Durham.  We found the 3 Horseshoes Inn.  It is about 5 miles outside of Durham on the A181.  We arrived at 11:20 and check in wasn't until noon.   There was no one around so we continued on into Durham.  Rick Steeves said we could park at the Prince Bishops shopping mall but we couldn't find it in the GPS or on the map.  Luckily we drove right to it, parked and off we went exploring.

After lunch we walked up to the castle and cathedral.  First we toured the castle with the best tour guide we have ever met.  The young man is studying for his PhD in History and is obviously in the correct field.  His love of his subject was evident in every word.  He also added a little levity to his narrative and that made it even more interesting.  The castle has been added on to many times over the centuries as each Bishop prince had to outdo the previous one.  The last stop on the tour was the World Heritage site chapel.  It is the original Norman chapel built around 1068.  The designs on the pillars make it unique and because of that difficult to date.
The cathedral is awesome.  It is so beautiful.  It was built to house the bones of St. Cuthbert and is Norman (Romanesque).   The Venerable Bede is entombed here.  We met him at ( learned about him) at the Abbey in Whitbey on Tuesday.  He is an 8th century scholar who wrote the first history of England.  Once again I enjoyed the designs in the tile floor in the choir.  They are always a quilt design (or so I think).  We couldn't take pictures, unfortunately.

After we finished in the Cathedral we walked along the old city wall to the river for a beautiful view of the castle and cathedral

On the way up the hill to the Cathedral we saw the "Shakespear Pub"  It had been in that spot forever and according to the sign, was haunted.  We decided to stop in on our way back.  It was loaded with character.  Exactly what an old English pub should be.  The fellows at the next table started talking to us and we were there for quite awhile.  A good choice.

Back to the Three Horseshoes.  It is 5:30 and there is still no one around.  Oh, no!  Have they gone broke?  There is absouletly nothing around it.  It stands alone in the countryside.  Roy rang the bell a few times and finally a man appeared and let us in.  The pub doesn't open until 6:00.  He shows us upstairs to our room, #1.  The carpet on the stairs is very dirty, again I'm thinking - damn Booking.com.  (Are they one of Hudson's .com companies?) .  Well our room is a gem!  Clean, new feeling and it smells divine!  Oh, yes!  Settled in and went downstairs to the pub for dinner.  It too is sparkly clean.  The menus feel and look as though they just went into use today.  Food is great, as is the service.  We both hate to go back to our room we are so comfortable.  Eventually we have to go and here we are in our lovely room.
Time for bed
God bless.