Vacay in the UK!
Vacay in the UK (Title credited to Andy)
PART TWO
Hello Friends,
Here is part two of my Travel Blog of our recent trip to England, Wales, and Scotland!
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Menai Bridge to Keswick
Lunch at Ambleside
Dinner and Stay at Swinside Farmhouse
Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England. Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake. The town is within the Lake District National Park.
Interesting facts about Ambleside:
- ‘Steamers' (in reality diesel-powered ferries) run to Bowness-on-Windermere and Lakeside offering fine views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Ambleside is a base for hiking, mountaineering and mountain biking. It has a number of hotels, guest houses, pubs and restaurants as well as shops. In particular, there are a number of shops selling equipment for walkers and climbers in the town. Ambleside is a popular starting point for the Fairfield horseshoe, a hill-walking ridge hike.
- William Wordsworth (the poet) worked in Ambleside, as Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland, from 1813, while living at Rydal Mount in the nearby village of Rydal. This government position gave Wordsworth the financial security to pursue his poetry. In 1842, he became the Poet Laureate and resigned his office as Stamp Distributor.
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| Where we had lunch on Thursday, July 12th |
Keswick - Swinside - Lakes District, England
Keswick (Kesick) is an English market town in Cumberland, and since 1974 in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria. The town, in the Lake District National Park, just north of Derwentwater, and 4 miles from Bassenthwaite, ha a population of approximately 5000.
There is considerable evidence of prehistoric occupation of the Keswick area, but the first recorded mention of the town dates from the 13th century, when Edward I of England granted a charter for Keswick's market, which has maintained a continuous 700-year existence. In Tudor times the town was an important mining area, and from the 18th century onwards it has increasingly been known as a holiday centre; tourism has been its principal industry for more than 150 years. Its features include the Moot Hall; a modern theatre, the Theatre by the Lake; one of Britain's oldest surviving cinemas, the Alhambra; and the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery in the town's largest open space, Fitz Park. Among the town's annual events is the Keswick Convention, an Evangelical gathering attracting visitors from many countries.
Keswick became widely known for its association with the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. Together with their fellow Lake Poet William Wordsworth, based in Ambleside, 12 miles away, they made the scenic beauty of the area widely known to readers in Britain and beyond.
Here is a poem by William Wordsworth most commonly associated with the Lakes District - his home:
Daffodils by William Wordsworth (1804)
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
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| Sheep were everywhere in the countryside! |
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| Beautiful Walking Trails - on way to Derwentwater Lake - July 12, 2018 |
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| An afternoon walk to the lake (Derwentwater) from our accommodation at Swinside Farmhouse. |
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| Dinner at Swinside Inn - for Robyn's Birthday! |
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| Happy Birthday to Robyn!!!!! |
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| All of us after celebrating Robyn's birthday! |
Friday, July 13, 2018
Keswick to Muir of Ord
Lunch at Artisan Cafe
Eileen Donnan Castle
Dinner at the Priory in Brouer
On our way toward Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands, we stopped for lunch at a lovely cafe: the Artisan Cafe inside a lovely old church building:
Strathfillan Church was last used in 2000. It was well used in it's day and fondly remembered by the locals, being the venue form many weddings, christenings and of course funerals.
After undergoing a renovation in 2014/15, Jim, Diane and Donna were delighted to open the doors to the public once again. The building maintains many original features but at the same time has a 'homey' feel to it which hopefully encourages people to stay and relax a bit longer.
The owners of the building and the cafe are members of a "mums group" of crafters in the area:
The name came from our crafting days when (as mums living in the country!) we made lots of crafts to sell locally. Now in the cafe workshop, we are continuing to make and also run a variety of courses throughout the year from candle making, wet and needle felting, silk painting, and children's crafts - free craft table available.
Since I am into the craft of felting a bit, I was intrigued by all of the crafts and gifts for sale in the cafe. We had a very delightful lunch and were quickly on our way toward our dream of seeing the Scottish Highlands!
Driving the Glencoe Valley - Scottish Highlands!
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| A Random Chicken Where We Stopped for Fuel |
It is very hard to put into words how beautiful the Scottish Highlands are - a stark, yet inviting vista of God's handiwork is the closest that I can come. Here is an anonymous poem that I found about the Lure of Scotland:
Onward Toward Eilean Donan - oh my what a day this is!
Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three sea lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland. A picturesque castle that frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island, which lies about .6 mile from the village of Dornie. Since the castle's restoration in the early 20th century, a footbridge has connected the island to the mainland.
Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.
Eilean Donan, which means simply "island of Donnán", is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.
The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan Macrae. In the early eighteenth century, the Mackenzies' involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap's twentieth-century reconstruction of the ruins produced the present buildings.
We are so happy that we made this special trip up to Eilean Donan even though it is making for a very long day. We then decided to make our way up and around a VERY small coastal road toward our final destination of the day - Muir of Ord:
Muir of Ord is a village in Highland, Scotland. It is situated near the western boundary of the Black Isle, about 20 km west of the city of Inverness, and 10 km south of Dingwall. It has a population of 3,026.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Muir of Ord to Edinburgh
Lunch in Edinburgh on Victoria Street
Dinner at Makars Mash Bar
Shortly upon arriving in Edinburgh we made our way to city center where Mitch was the brave and ordered the Haggis!
Haggis is a savory pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal's stomach. According to the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique: "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour".
It is believed that haggis, has been eaten from ancient times.
Although the name "hagws" or "hagese" was first recorded in England c. 1430, the dish is considered traditionally of Scottish origin. It is even the national dish.
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| Edinburgh Castle - July 14, 2018 |
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| Mitch very happy with a large glass of ice - not commonly served in the UK |
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| What we ordered to eat in Scotland! |
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Edinburgh to York
Lunch at Fat Hippo in Durham
Dinner at the White Swan - Escrick - outside of York
After 5 nights away, we traveled back into England for our last three nights!
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| Back in England! |
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| Lunch in Durham, England, July 15, 2018 |
CHICKENBrined, double fried buttermilk chicken. | |
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| Hangover III * Buttermilk chicken, cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, pickles, BBQ sauce & ranch | 10.5 |
| Great White Buffalo * Buttermilk chicken thighs, cheese, bacon, Buffalo hot sauce & purple ‘slaw | 11.5 |
| The Last Samur-Thigh Buttermilk chicken thighs, cheese, lettuce, sriracha, hoisin, herb mayo & Asian ‘slaw | 11.5 |
| M:I 5 Five piece tray boneless buttermilk thighs and fries, smoked chilli jello, pickled jalapeños with a choice of 5 sauces | 10.9 |
Mitch and I shared the Hangover III and Robyn and Andy had the M:1 5 - delicious!
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| Durham cathedral |
Here is information on the amazing Durham Cathedral:
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, United Kingdom, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in 1093. The cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle, which faces it across Palace Green.
The present cathedral replaced the 10th-century "White Church", built as part of a monastic foundation to house the shrine of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. The treasures of Durham Cathedral include relics of Saint Cuthbert, the head of Saint Oswald of Northumbria and the remains of the Venerable Bede. In addition, its Library contains one of the most complete sets of early printed books in England, the pre-Dissolution monastic accounts, and three copies of the Magna Carta.
Durham Cathedral occupies a strategic position on a promontory high above the River Wear. From 1080 until the 19th century the bishopric enjoyed the powers of a bishop palatine, having military as well as religious leadership and power. Durham Castle was built as the residence for the Bishop of Durham. The seat of the Bishop of Durham is the fourth most significant in the Church of England hierarchy, and he stands at the right hand of the monarch at coronations.
There are daily Church of England services at the cathedral, with the Durham Cathedral Choir singing daily except Mondays and when the choir is on holiday. The cathedral is a major tourist attraction within the region, the central tower of 217 feet (66 m) giving views of Durham and the surrounding area.
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| Absolutely amazing that this was built in the 11th - 12th century! |
While we were inside the Durham Cathedral, we came upon a men's trio practicing! Just listen to the acoustics! LOVELY!
Onto York, and another awe inspiring cathedral - The York Minster!
The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the mother church for the Diocese of York and the Province of York. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the Dean of York. The title "minster" is attributed to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and serves now as an honorific title. Services in the minster are sometimes regarded as on the High Church or Anglo-Catholic end of the Anglican continuum.
The minster has a very wide Decorated Gothic nave and chapter house, a Perpendicular Gothic Quire and east end and Early English North and South transepts. The nave contains the West Window, constructed in 1338, and over the Lady Chapel in the east end is the Great East Window (finished in 1408), the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. In the north transept is the Five Sisters Window, each lancet being over 53 feet high. The south transept contains a rose window, while the West Window contains a heart-shaped design colloquially known as The Heart of Yorkshire.
We made it just in time for the York Minster Evensong Service!
Here is a description of a Choral Evensong - it did not disappoint!
About Choral Evensong
Choral Evensong is a 45-min long peace-inducing church service in which the ‘song’ of voices sounding together in harmony is heard at the ‘even’ point between the active day and restful night, allowing listeners time for restful contemplation – Church members, agnostics and atheists alike. It is both free of charge and free of religious commitment, and its 470-year-old choral music tradition - established around 1549 - is performed live and often to a very high standard.
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| On our search for the famous Shambles Street we ran across another historical Methodist Church site. |
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| Dinner at the White Swan - Sunday, July 15, 2018 |
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| Our Bed and Breakfast on Sunday, July 15, 2018 - The Parsonage in Escrick, England |
Monday, July 16, 2018
York to Stratford Upon Avon
Lunch at Carluccios
No dinner - wine and cheese at the AirBnB
Romeo and Juliet
The Guild Chapel
The Guild Chapel in Stratford Upon Avon was supervised in the 1500's by John Shakespeare (father of William Shakespeare). He was required to paint over centuries old paintings in the Chapel during the Protestant Reformation. The fact that he just had them lime-washed instead of destroyed indicates his probable view that they might someday be uncovered. Sure enough - the Stratford Town Trust has done just that! Click on the link above to learn more about it!
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| Carlucci's - Where we had a late lunch - now heading to our AirBnB to get ready for Romeo and Juliet! |
We were so excited to get to see a Shakespeare Play while in his hometown, Stratford Upon Avon!
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| We bought the last two seats together - one of which had a restricted view with this pole! Mitch was a trouper and managed to enjoy the performance by leaning my way and the opposite way to see around the pole! We were impressed with all of the young people in the theater who remained at rapt attention throughout the performance! |
Click here to see the trailer for the modern adaptation of the traditional play of Romeo and Juliet! It was wonderful!
On Tuesday Morning, Mitch and I took a walk over to the nearby Tesco (grocery store) for a delicious flat white coffee!
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| I love their descriptions of the shopping carts! |
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Stratford through the Cotswolds to Henley Upon Thames
Lunch in Bibury at the Catherine Wheel
Dinner at Bottle and Glass
A highlight - Cotswold Lavender!
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| A funny little castle thing in the middle of nowhere! We just had to look up information on it! |
Broadway Tower is a folly on Broadway Hill, near the large village of Broadway, in the English county of Worcestershire,at the second-highest point of the Cotswolds (after Cleeve Hill). Broadway Tower's base is 1,024 feet above sea level. The tower itself stands 65 feet high.
History
The "Saxon" tower was the brainchild of Capability Brown and designed by James Wyatt in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1798–99. The tower was built on a beacon hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered whether a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester — about 22 miles away — and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. Indeed, the beacon could be seen clearly.
Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s. William Morris was so inspired by Broadway Tower and other ancient buildings that he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877.
Near the tower is a memorial to the crew of an A.W.38 Whitley bomber that crashed there during a training mission in June 1943.
In the late 1950s, Broadway Tower monitored nuclear fallout in England; an underground Royal Observer Corps bunker was built 50 yards from the Tower. Manned continuously from 1961 and designated as a master post, the bunker was one of the last such Cold War bunkers constructed and, although officially stood down in 1991, the bunker is now one of the few remaining fully equipped facilities in England.
Oh well - we decided not to pay the entry - just took the photo and headed on our way to Bibury!
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| A painting of the Catherine Wheel where we had a delicious lunch! |
Bibury is a very quaint little town in the middle of the Cotswolds, England. Here is information on the Cotswolds and on Bibury:
The Cotswolds, England
The Cotswolds is an area in south central England containing the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills which rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment, known as the Cotswold Edge, above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat rare in the UK and that is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone. It contains unique features derived from the use of this mineral; the predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, historical towns and stately homes and gardens.
Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966,the Cotswolds covers 504,000 acres and is the second largest protected landscape in England (second to the Lake District) as an Area of Natural Beauty (AONB). Its boundaries are roughly 25 miles across and 90 miles long, stretching south-west from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath.
Bibury, in the Cotswolds, England
Thank you to my friend, Danice Phillippi Sockler for the recommendation to go here!
Bibury is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on both banks of the River Coln which rises in the Cotswolds and which is a Thames tributary. The village is located 6 1⁄2 miles northeast of Cirencester. Arlington Row here is a nationally notable architectural conservation area depicted on the inside cover of all United Kingdom passports. It is a major destination for tourists visiting the traditional rural villages, tea houses and many historic buildings of the Cotswold District.
The village is known for its honey-coloured seventeenth century stone cottages with steeply pitched roofs, which once housed weavers who supplied cloth for fulling at nearby Arlington Mill.
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| Our AirBnB - Our last night - boo hoo! |
Bottle and Glass Inn - Dinner Finally!
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| Andy ordered a Scotch Egg for all of us to share as a starter: What is a Scotch Egg? |
Scotch eggs are a common picnic food. In the United Kingdom packaged Scotch eggs are available in supermarkets, corner shops and motorway service stations. It consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked or deep-fried.
Mains
Confit Berkshire chicken leg with chicory, mushrooms, sweetcorn and lovage 19.5
Pearl barley with truffle and cheddar, charred spring onions, caper and hazelnut dressing 16
Haunch of estate fallow deer with baked celeriac, pickled blackberries and black pudding 21
Rump and shoulder of Newbury lamb with heritage carrots, wild garlic and goats curd 22
Cornish Bream with roasted cauliflower, samphire, capers and smoked mayonnaise 21.5
Andy had the Rump and shoulder of Newbury lamb, and Mitch had the Haunch of estate fallow deer.
Robyn and I had a dish not on this menu - a delicious fish that I had not heard of before - Plaice. I found out that it is a European North Atlantic fish related to the Flounder family. It was DELICIOUS - melted in my mouth!
Our last photos of our amazing trip to the UK!
Our Favorites!
Stretch of Road
Robyn and Andy: The Glencoe Valley in the Scottish Highlands
Mitch: Traveling through the small villages in the Cotswolds, England
Karla: Our drive through Snowdonia National Park in Wales
Accommodation
Robyn and Mitch - The Old School House in Clutton (Near Bristol, England)
Andy - The Carndaisy House in Muir of Ord, Scotland - because Linda, the owner gave him an extra scone at breakfast!
Karla - Ty Capel - Furnace, Wales
Even though it was our least expensive and rather rustic place, I loved how quaint it was and its surroundings.
Restaurant
Mitch - The Anglesey Arms - Menai Bridge, Wales
Andy - The Bottle and Glass near Henley On Thames
Robyn - Makars Gourmet Mash Bar - She had the Confit Duck Leg with Orange Marmalade Glaze!
Karla - Welsh rarebit our very own traditional Welsh Rarebit with chopped bacon on a toasted ciabatta with a fresh dressed salad and Tomato chutney, small £7.75 Large £9.95 (V O)
at Hebog Bwyty & Llety in Beddgelert, Wales
Site
Robyn - The Tower of London and seeing the Crown Jewels!
Andy - Westminster Abbey - "It was all I expected and more!"
Mitch - Edinburgh Castle - "Massive and Beautiful - set on top of the rock like it is"
Karla - Lavender Fields!
MEMORY!
Mitch - "Seeing so many things that I have heard about and learned about in history come alive."
Karla - Secretly video-recording the men's trio practicing their song in Durham Cathedral!
Robyn and Andy - "Mitch calling a driver who he thought cut him off an Ass Hat!"
If the measure of an experience is that you grieve its ending, then, I have to say that I am experiencing a bit of that today, as I finish the writing of this blog. We experienced so much in such a short amount of time, I am still making sense of some of it - getting it settled nicely into my memory bank so that I can draw upon it whenever I like.
Thank you, United Kingdom, for adding to My Story - I will never forget you!
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