Dumfries House

Had a lovely day today with Donald and Lucy. Went to Catrine House out in the country for a nice lunch.

Lucy had organised tickets for all of us to go to Dumfries House, a large house in the country near Ochiltree (http://dumfries-house.org.uk/about/history/) which has been bought by a trust that has restored the place to its original state.



We had a 90 minute guided tour of the house which contains a lot of original Chippendale furniture as well as furniture by a number of other famous English and Scottish designers.

There were also lots of paintings to admire and one name that came up was Campbell of Louden, to which Roger has a link through his mother's ancestry.

When we finished the guided tour, we went over to the shop and had a browse, before heading back to Catrine House for an ice cream.

Had another lovely meal cooked by Lucy, then relaxed for a chat afterwards.
It was lovely to see Gayle and David and Eilidh on Skype tonight. Eilidh seems to have grown more and is trying to say more. We are missing her heaps! And of course, the rest of the family back home LOL!

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Location:Main Street,Ochiltree,United Kingdom

Roman Forts and Hadrians Wall

Found our way to the roman fort at Corbridge, not too far from Durham.
It was not too expensive to get in so we decided to explore a bit.

It never fails to amaze me how good the Romans were at design and engineering.









After leaving the fort, Roger decided he wanted to try to find Hadrians wall as well so we drove down some back road to find a place where you didn't have to pay to get in!!

By now the weather had turned a little bit damp, but not too cold. After Roger and Gina went for a walk to see the wall, we got back onto the main road and headed for Carlisle then Gretna Green. Stopped at the outlet shops and had a late lunch at Costas then did a wander around the shops. Found a little top for Eilidh and bought some chocolates.

Took the road across to Dumfries then up to Ochiltree. Arrived late afternoon at Donald and Lucy's house. It was so nice to see them again and we got a guided tour around the new house. It is amazing what they have done to make it a really comfortable house for their retirement.

Had a lovely meal of roast beef - the last from the butcher's shop. Did a lot of talking then off to bed.
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On the way to Durham

Left the hotel at Carlisle about 9 and took the A65 towards Hexham then turned off onto a smaller road towards Alston. The countryside is very hilly and the road quite winding. We stopped at the Cumbrian Pantry in Alston for a coffee. The locals were very friendly and a mine of information.



Wandered a bit round the corner and found some really old buildings and a lovely little town.

Drove back to a lookout where you could see a great panoramic view. Lots of bikers there and a little cafe as well. Apparently very popular place.


From here we passed back through Alston village and took the road to Durham. We passed through another few villages and stopped for lunch at Crook in The Butterfly Cafe. The food was wholesome and good.

Not too far from there we found Gina's cousin's house. It was lovely to meet them and Sheila played us with tea and a scrummy carrot cake before Cousin Roger took us on a guided tour in the centre of Durham. Went to the Cathedral and wandered around looking at the different parts of the place,
Including St Cuthbert and St Bede!





Wandered back through the town and back to the car which Roger had parked on a small side street.

Back to Almoners Barn where Sheila and Roger live for drinks and a beautiful meal cooked by Sheila. Gina enjoyed looking at Roger's family pictures and even found some of herself.

After a good nights sleep and breakfast, set off for Carlisle and Gretna Green about 10am.
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Nearly in Scotland!

We had a lovely meal with Beth and Aleck in Freckleton last night. We had to drive back into Preston then out to Freckleton which is on the way to Blackpool.

Got back to the hotel in Bilsborrow about 10.00pm - the latest night we have had since arriving in the UK!

This morning we left about 9 am and took the road to Lancaster after having a brief look around the village.


There is a canal boating club at Bilsborrow and a number of canal boats and other motor boats were moored here.

We arrived at Lancaster about half an hour later and drove through the city, past the castle, which is now one of HM Prisons.

From here, we went over the county border to North Yorkshire and had morning coffee at a tea rooms in Hornby.




Back in the car again and off to a village called Ingleton which turned out to be really quaint. There was even a peacock walking along the footpath in the middle of the town!



The next stop was the Lakes district and about an hour later we arrived in Windermere where we stopped to have lunch, then found a Lakeland store near the railway station so we could get some things for Suzanne. Lakeland is a fabulous kitchen store and there are 65 stores all across the UK. the one at Windermere is the flagship store and is probably the biggest one in the UK. This area is always busy at this time of the year and it was full of tourists wandering around - just like us!!

We then drove around the lake to Ambleside and on to Grasmere where we stopped at Dove Cottage, the home of the poet, William Wordsworth. We didn't go in because it was quite expensive, but we did take some pictures!



The countryside around this area is very picturesque and we stopped a bit further down the road to take some pictures of the farmland.



We then got to Keswick and headed across towards Penrith, and on to the M6 towards Carlisle. The hotel is just off the motorway and was easy to find. There is a Hobbycraft shop just nearby so went over and had a look around. They had some good bargains too...

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Location:Carlisle

Southport

After having lunch at the lovely Tea Rose cafe in Southport, we drove to 3 Manx Janes Lane so that Gina could find the house where her aunt lived some time ago. We found the house down a small lane tucked in behind another row of houses.

Gina went and knocked on the door but no-one was home, so she decided to take a couple of pictures anyway. Just as she was finishing up, the owners arrived home and when she explained who she was and why she was there, they invited us in to have a look around and also have a cup of tea. While we were there, the owner found the title deeds which showed the original plans and also included a marriage certificate for her aunt. Gina was quite thrilled to see all this and she was able to take more photos of these documents.

From there, we found the road that led down to the marshes where there is a bird sanctuary. There were a few people with binoculars eagerly watching the marshes. Unfortunately, while it was at the coast, it was quite a distance to the sea shore so we did not go down for a paddle.

Got back on the road to Preston and found the hotel, which is just north of the city, in a country setting in Bilsborrow. Tonight we are going over to Freckleton to have dinner with Beth and possibly Aleck - if he is home! It will be nice to see them again. Beth has even offered me the use of her craft room should I have an urge to get inky!



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Location:near Preston

Garden Centre Shopping

Managed a little more sleep last night and it was a bit cooler! Packed up and managed to get on the road by 8.30am. The Premier Inn at Gresford was a very nice place to stay. Not too big, comfortable and very quiet.

We headed north towards Liverpool and took the Kingsway tunnel under the Mersey then took the road towards Southport.



Down the road a little, we came across a garden centre that also had a craft shop and cafe so we had to stop for our morning coffee and a little bit of crafty shopping!


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Location:Ince Blundell

Manchester and Liverpool

Had another early start today. Roger made us a cup of tea at about 4.30am and we stayed awake until it was time to get up! So we had an early breakfast and watched the World Athletics Championships from Moscow for a while.

Had decided to go to Manchester and Liverpool today as both are not too far from Wrexham, where we are staying. Left about 9 and by just after 10 we were sitting in Starbucks in Manchester having a coffee. We went for a walk into Albert Square where the Town Hall is located, then down to Canal Street so Roger could see the canal. Brought back memories of three days spent in Manchester last year with Suzanne!



By 11.30 we were ready to move on so we found the way (eventually ) to the M62 which takes you to Liverpool. Less than an hour later, we were at the car parking building just opposite the Albert Dock and in the middle of a large shopping centre. Had a nice lunch at Pret a Manger and were just about to leave when there was a torrential downpour. Fortunately it only lasted a few minutes so we were able to wait for the rain to go off. Went to John Lewis for a browse and Roger found something to buy.

We walked over the road to the Albert Dock and walked around the area that used to be the warehouses for the ships. It is mostly restaurants and tourist shops now with apartments and galleries above.



Of course, Liverpool is the home of The Beatles and you can't go home without something relating to them so I got this cute little bear...




We are going to head back to Wrexham soon via the tunnel to Birkenhead, then to Chester, an old Roman town.

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Location:Liverpool